Tim Whayman
Tim Whayman
Updated
The search for two fishermen missing off Tasmania's south west coast is underway again.
The men's dinghy was found overturned at Point Lucy at the mouth of Port Davey about 1:30pm yesterday.
Search crews will have to battle rough weather, with winds up to 30 knots and three metre high seas.
Inspector Stuart Scott says it is unclear what had happened.
"The dinghy is on the shore upturned so it would appear that it's met with some misadventure," he said.
Inspector Scott says a diving team is expected to join the search.
"We've got the helicopter, should be just about there today. We've got the (police boat) Vigilant, it couldn't get to the scene last night the seas were too heavy and that's just coming around south-west cape and should be there in a couple of hours," he said.
"There's a fishing vessel in the area and we've got a fair bit of searching to do today."
Conditions are expected to improve by about 12:00pm.
Updated
The search for two fishermen missing off Tasmania's south-west coast since Sunday is set to intensify.
Tim Whayman and Benjamin Clarke left their boat Kristy Lee anchored in Port Davey on Sunday night in a dinghy to set cray pots.
The aluminium dinghy was found overturned on rocks a few nautical miles away at Point Lucy on Monday afternoon.
It is not clear whether the men were wearing life jackets.
The police boat Vigilant, fishing boats and the rescue helicopter searched the area all day but were hampered by strong winds and high seas.
Inspector Stuart Scott said five more search and rescue officers had flown to the remote area and would be joined by police divers on Wednesday.
The divers will only be used if the weather is favourable.
Inspector Scott said a more intensive search would start at first light and the mens' families had been briefed.
"As time goes on the chances of finding them diminish," he said.
But Mr Whayman's grandfather Des, a fisherman of more than 60 years, said he believed they could still be alive.
"If there's any chance at all it's Tim's fighting spirit that will get them and the other fellow's just the same; very, very resourceful the both of them," he said.
He said his grandson is an experienced fisherman with enough local knowledge to survive.
"A fighter Timothy, an absolute real fighter for life," he said.
Updated
Worsening weather is hampering the search for two fishermen missing off Tasmania's south-west.
The search for Tim Whayman, 31, and 29-year-old Benjamin Clarke will focus today on the coastline.
It has been three days since their dinghy was found washed ashore near Port Davey.
The men had set out from their fishing boat, Kristy Lee, on Sunday evening to set craypots.
Inspector Stuart Scott says despite poor weather and large swells, there is a chance the men could have made it to land.
Five search and rescue officers will be flown in for an intensive ground search.
"The distance from where the dinghy is to where the fishing vessel was moored isn't that great," he said.
"It is something that I think we need to go through, the process of really carefully examining that area.
"We have done it twice before but we just want to do it very systematically."
But Inspector Scott says hopes of finding the men alive are fading.
The police vessel Vigilant and rescue helicopters will continue the search.
Inspector Scott hopes divers will join the search tomorrow, if the weather allows.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Tim Bolton says a cold front this afternoon will bring wind gusts up to 50 knots, rain and five metre swells.
"[There is ] even the chance of some thunderstorms this evening as the cold front crosses," he said.
"Once that crosses the rain will tend to showers but the temperature will drop down and we'll once again see some snow developing around the higher peaks.
"So yes, not good conditions at all down there."
Updated
Police searching for two fishermen missing in Tasmania's south-west have located a lifejacket but are starting to scale back the operation.
They have been searching the coast and sea near Port Davey for rock lobster fishermen Tim Whayman, 31, and 29-year-old Ben Clarke.
The pair set out on Sunday to set craypots and were reported missing on Monday morning.
Police are scaling back the aerial search but a ground search of the coastline close to where the men disappeared is underway.
Police say the only signs they have found of the men have been their dinghy and a lifejacket which has washed ashore.
Detective Inspector Stuart Scott concedes hopes of finding them alive are fading.
"We recovered a lifejacket which we believe was a spare lifejacket that was in the boat and that was picked up by the helicopter crew and that was on the shore," he said.
Divers will be brought in tomorrow to help what is now becoming a recovery effort.
"I'd say we're into the recovery phase."
"[You've] got to feel for the family, they've got a very challenging situation," he said.
The weather in the search area is deteriorating.
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Police divers have joined the search for two fishermen missing in Tasmania's far south-west.
Rock lobster fishermen Tim Whayman, 31, and 29-year-old Ben Clarke have been missing off the rugged coast near Port Davey since Monday.
The pair failed to return to their fishing boat after setting out in a dinghy to drop craypots on Sunday.
Their dinghy was found washed up on rocks and a life jacket was located yesterday.
Inspector Stuart Scott says the divers will search till dark.
"We have got enough divers and enough tanks and so on to dive till dark, but it will be a question of whether that's a useful exercise given the conditions, the visibility, the risk and so many other factors," he said.
Tim Whayman's grandfather Des says the fishing community has rallied around his family while they come to terms with the situation.
"It is sort of hitting us now," he said.
"We're having a lot of visitors and a massive amount of support from our fellow fishermen.
"Most fisherman live in the real world, they have to, and I would say after half a day you've got very little chance around there of finding anyone alive," he said.
Family members were flown over the search area yesterday.
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A private search organised by the friends and family of two commercial fishermen missing in the state's south-west has ended.
There has been no sign of Tim Whayman, 31, and his crew mate 29-year-old Ben Clarke since their upturned dinghy was discovered near Port Davey last Monday.
Police suspended the search for the men on Friday because of bad weather, but a group of friends and family of the pair hired a helicopter to keep looking.
Mr Whayman's mother Julie says that search has now ended and she has accepted her son is most probably dead.
"I know it most of the family know it, all we can hope for now is that they will be found and bring them home to us where they belong but the sea takes who it wants," she said.
The family is planning a public memorial service at the Woodbridge jetty on Monday and has asked for all search fundraising to end.
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More than 300 people have attended a memorial service in Tasmania's south for missing commercial fisherman Tim Whayman.
Mr Whayman, 31, and his 26-year-old crewmate and friend Ben Clarke went missing at Port Davey two weeks ago.
The pair's upturned dinghy was found but an extensive land, sea and air search failed to locate the men.
Mr Whayman's family, friends and colleagues gathered at Silverwater Park at Woodbridge this morning to pay tribute.
Several people spoke at the public service of Mr Whayman's love of the water, describing it as his heart and soul and his own playground.
The emotional service included poems written by his mother Julie and partner Trish.
Mr Whayman is survived by his partner and four children.