It was all part of an emotional reunion at  Fleet Air Arm Museum at Albatross on Tuesday when the last surviving member of the WD Atlas, a bucket dredge which capsized off Jervis Bay in May 1966 claiming 13 lives, met up with the family of one of his shipmates he hadn’t seen for 50 years.

May 20 marked 50 years since, Sam De Vries, then a 25-year-old seaman, was in one of the biggest fights for his life when the Atlas capsized (he has since beaten cancer three times).

Mr De Vries was one of four seaman to escape the sinking vessel.  Another was his “great mate” Gordon Fairbairn.

Their little known story of survival is incredible and until recently went largely untold.

There are so many aspects to the story - the capsizing; the men’s survival and rescue; the role helicopters from 723 Squadron at HMAS Albatross played; the bravery of the rescue pilots; the incredible coincidence when Mr Fairbairn’s daughters saw a memorial notice online Mr De Vries had placed in an Adelaide paper almost at the exact time of the disaster 50 years earlier; through to the connection with the “helicopter on a stick” at Nowra and the other in the Fleet Air Arm Museum which actually rescued the men.

Mr De Vries, a humble man from Whyalla in South Australia, came to the attention of the museum recently when he donated footage and newspaper clippings of the incident.

When he learned the two helicopters instrumental in his rescue were still in Nowra he made the two day journey east to see them.

The Fairbairns saw the story and through museum director Terry Hetherington the two families were reunited.

On Tuesday Mr De Vries met up with Mr Fairbairn’s widow Thelma and his two daughters Leonie and Terri.

“I haven’t seem them since they were little girls about five and six,” Mr De Vries said.

“This is unbelievable. Very emotional. Gordon passed away many years ago. He should have been here.

“When I found out the helicopters were here I had to come.

“The one on the pole, 894, picked us up. We were taken to Crookhaven Lighthouse and then 897 took us to the naval base.  We were five kilometres apart and 894 went back out to pick up Gordon and Macrae.

“When Gordon and I went back to Sydney I met his family.

“I will always remember Gordon, it will never go away.”

Leonie said the circumstances leading up to the meeting were unbelievable.

“It was astounding the fact I happened to be at Currarong, where we have a holiday van, on the night on May 20 and an aunt had just seen an article about Sam. That led to me getting online and finding the memoriam he put in the paper,” she said.

“I contacted my sister and found out the accident happened at 10pm. It was 9.45pm and all this happened 50 years ago within that hour and here I was only about 10 miles from where the tragedy occurred. It was like I was back there representing my father.

“He [dad] would be so chuffed and delighted to think Sam is here still with us today and can still tell stories about the tragedy and the wonderful job all services, in particularly the navy, did to save the four survivors.

“It’s a story people can’t believe - the conditions - waves 30 feet high, torrential thunderstorms. I remember as a young girl my father saying he had clung to body of one of his mates to get through the night and save himself.”

For Terri, who is a medium with the ability to talk to dead people,  her research into the disaster started way earlier.

“Leonie had been at me for years to try and channel dad as he’s been gone for the greater part of our lives,” she said.

“One night I did and this incident came up. Leonie wrote down notes and afterwards I started to investigate and found the record of the inquiry and newspaper articles.

“The details of the inquiry had never actually been released to the public, I was the first to obtain them.

“The more I read I knew this was a story that has to be told. It is an extraordinary incident in not only maritime but Australian history and it’s never been told.

“The incredible heroism of the pilots and the civilian ships which led to their rescue.

“For years we have travelled down here and seen the helicopter on the stick and never known the connection we had with it.”

She intends to write a book and hopefully produce a documentary.

The Atlas had sailed from Whyalla in South Australia bound for Sydney in May 1966.

When she reached the coast off Jervis Bay, she ran into heavy seas accompanied by gale force winds and by 10pm and hove-to off Point Perpendicular, the dredge listed badly.

A Mayday call was put out and the captain called for the crew to “stand by the lifeboats” but the ship sank so fast only one boat was able to be launched.

Mr De Vries, threw a raft over the side and was able to swim to it and pull in his companion, Jeffery Mulder.

From there they drifted about 16 kilometres north before being rescued more than 10 hours later by two navy Iroquois helicopters from 723 Squadron.

Two other seamen, Gordon Fairbairn, and Richard Macrae, were also rescued under extreme conditions.

The helicopters hovered in 45 knot winds above 10 metre waves to winch the four exhausted survivors to safety.

The five navy aircrew involved in the rescue, Lieutenants Patrick Vickers and Barry Lovett, Petty Officers Greg Peters and Fred McCreanor and Leading Seaman Cec Beaton, all received Queen’s Commendations for brave conduct.

One of these helicopters is now perched beside the Princes Highway at the entrance to Nowra, the other is in the Fleet Air Arm Museum.