With friend Pam Eals visiting from Lancashire in the UK, Doug, wife Lorraine and a group of friends headed to Mildura to cruise the Murray River on a houseboat before the unthinkable happened.
While Lorraine was mooring the boat, Pam was tasked with throwing the rope ashore but instead she herself ended up hurtling out of the boat and taking an impromptu swim.
‘‘My wife Lorraine was bringing the boat in and she had one corner edged onto the bank before Pam fell in,’’ Doug said.
‘‘If the back of the boat had have continued heading for the shore we’d probably be telling a very different story today.’’
Immediately after landing in the drink, those still on deck grabbed the rope Pam was still holding onto and attempted to pull her back up.
Hearing the commotion, two local council workers came to assist and helped Pam get back aboard.
‘‘For a minute or two there it could have been disastrous. I thanked the two men who came to help but we didn’t get their names, and we want to say thank you to them again,’’ Doug said.
Fortunately immediately after, the group saw the funny side, with everyone astounded that Pam managed to keep her accessories — including her shoes and glasses.
‘‘Afterwards I asked her if she saw any fish while she was down there but she said she didn’t,’’ Doug laughed.
‘‘And after that performance she won some awards, a gold medal for her dive and gold for the wet T-shirt competition.’’
Doug and Pam agreed it was a story that would be told for years, and the perfect tale that began her two-month holiday in Australia.
Thankfully for Pam the rest of her stay wasn’t as wild.
‘‘I’d always said I wanted to swim in the Murray River but not quite like that,’’ Pam laughed.
‘‘I’d never been camping, sat around a campfire or been out in the countryside — it was such a wonderful experience.
‘‘I’m grateful to my friends for taking me to see everything — including some amazing wildflowers in the bush.
‘‘But I’m most thankful for the two men who worked for the shire that helped me back up into the boat.’’
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