Bridie's Rocks Multi-Cache
Wombat-1: Due to requests from a member of the family this cache has now been archived.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A terrible incident
WARNING
The 3.5 terrain rating is an average. On a good day with a low
tide and calm surf it could be a 1.0. On a high tide with an angry
surf, the plaque would be simply unobtainable. Please don't put
yourself in a situation like others have in this location
The Story
FOR the past decade leading up to this event, the Collins family of
Port Macquarie had enjoyed swimming at a secluded section of
Lighthouse Beach that on one Saturday evening tragically claimed
the lives of two of them and that of a family friend.
Bridie Meddemmen was swimming with Mrs Collins's six-year-old
daughter in the unpatrolled area about 1.5km from the Tacking Point
Surf Club.
The nine-year-old, who was not very far from the shore and got into
difficulty when she was caught in a rip. Mrs Collins' daughter ran
back up the beach to alert her mother.
Mrs Collins had her baby in her arms, and when she saw the young
girl in trouble, she panicked and didn't want to leave her
two-year-old child alone on the beach. She thought she could drag
the other girl in with her arm,
Mother of three, Susan Louise Collins, 33, holding her youngest
daughter aged 2, drowned while heroically trying to save Bridie but
the sand gave way and she and the baby were also swept away.
A teacher of Technical and Applied Sciences at Camden Haven High
School, Mrs Collins was a much-loved and respected member of the
school community.
Four Sydney police divers scoured an area 100m out to sea, directly
east of where Bridie got into difficulties however their search was
unsuccessful.
Bridie was a nipper with the Port Macquarie Surf Club and Bridie's
competitiveness earned her the most points in club championship
rounds in the previous year. She was named the under eight age
champion.
A Port Macquarie Surf Club spokesperson said Bridie was a very
competitive nipper who always tried very hard. She was a really
friendly little girl. She had a lot of girlfriends at nippers, they
all stuck together each Sunday, and she was always in the top three
in the flags and sprint events. Bridie was a great runner and she
always joined in the team events.
The bodies of Mrs Collins and her daughter were found by surf
lifesavers about 6.45pm the same evening, however an extensive air
and water search failed to find Bridie. A search of the ocean and
beaches between Tacking Point Surf Club and Lake Cathie continued
for a couple of days with surf lifesavers using inflatable rescue
boats to aid police. The Port Macquarie Sea Rescue vessel was put
on stand-by while police divers searched the ocean floor. Rain and
cloud slowed the search with limited visibility for the police
divers, however, conditions had cleared later in the day. The seach
was officially called off on the Monday which was three days after
Bridie went missing.
At this time I was doing some work for a local charter company and
flying school as an electrical engineer and ferry pilot. The family
approached one of the directors who offered an aircraft and fuel
for further search and I offered my time as the pilot.
Over the next few days I flew over fourteen hours in a grid pattern
search from the river mouth to Bonny Hills and miles out to sea
with family observers on board and the Tacking Point Lighthouse
surf club boat on standby.
We were unable to locate a single trace of Bridie and to date,
nothing has been found of her.
Here is a word of warning for this area. Many
people and families often frequent this stretch of beach and
children enjoy scrambling over the rocks. However rips and
undertows are common along the beach here and to the south and many
people have fallen prey to them.
To find the cache Go to the co-ordinates and there
you will find a plaque in memory of Bridie. You will need to note
down the last date on the plaque.
From this information you will get AB-CD-EFGH Then you have the
information required to locate the cache.
You won't have to go far to find the final location of the
cache,
I have enclosed a number of swappables in this cache as well as a
log book and pencils.
Congratulations Browngang for the FTF.
Cache #2 After the previous cache had been muggled
and confirmed missing, I have relocated this one to a more hidden
location. From here you can still see Bridie's Rocks but there is
less chance of being seen near the cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Byq naq jrnel. Vg vf ng zl sbbg.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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