Certainly gives ex-professional fishermen a bad name!
So an anchor gave way. Let's see what sort of CQR it was!

The guy did not choose the weather well for refloating. Although the tide is great in the next few days the swell will be over 2 metres for about a fortnight. So bugger about that.

I am skeptical of the idea of using a trawler to tow the boat. The bollard pull of a 50ft trawler could be about 3 tonnes. This is nothing compared to what you can do with a system of anchors and pulleys led to the sheet winches.

I remember about a year ago there was a similar situation in Coffs. An old crappy steel 50ft yacht washed ashore and the guy had locals in the water pushing on the hull at high tide. A few lines led to large danforths and to winches could have pulled him clear.
I winched my 4000kg cat off a sandbank in a gale with a single danforth kedge and 100m of nylon. You gotta get the anchors out as soon as possible.

Maybe there is some inexperience or ineptitude that comes along with calling a block a "spring block" or thinking that it is important to fix the boom by going ashore at Byron (I mean what is on shore at Byron?) or buying an old steelie and having it so the boom breaks and not being able to sail along to Southport under genny alone. I once tried to help a guy who waterways were hassling at Wooli. His trimaran had ripped a hole in its bum. I tried assisting the owner until he said I was stressing him out and he needed to go back inside and take it easy. I don't think that ended well.

At least this Catalina was light enough to be lifted by a truck

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1260942562061990

Hahaha I came to this thread thinking it was a comment on the the federal budget🤣

^^^ returning to port is a bigger issue than leaving after a day out ! On a serious note not any sort of licence / qualification/ certificate is required to cruise the coast. The case at hand if old mate was a retired pro fisher, his certificate of competence should be reviewed, he could of motored to south port

Let’s not suggest certificates of competency, we could end up going down the NZ path with CAT 1 requirements to depart the country. Or an ICC requirement.
One of the joys of sailing in Australia is minimal bureaucracy,
The biggest yacht owning cohort are boomers, they are getting on a bit, we will probably see more of this.

EastCoastSail said..
Let's not suggest certificates of competency, we could end up going down the NZ path with CAT 1 requirements to depart the country. Or an ICC requirement.
One of the joys of sailing in Australia is minimal bureaucracy,
The biggest yacht owning cohort are boomers, they are getting on a bit, we will probably see more of this.

I'm not suggesting full blown cat 1 or a RYA certification, at least a general boating license would introduce elements of safety at sea, colregs & passage planning. It might avoid a situation like the tragedy in Ballina

Ramona said..
Certainly gives ex-professional fishermen a bad name!
So an anchor gave way. Let's see what sort of CQR it was!

He said the winch gave way and the bitter end snapped.

Whats the deal with NZ?
If you sail over there for a brief visit do you have to get inspected if you want to leave again?

woko said..


I'm not suggesting full blown cat 1 or a RYA certification, at least a general boating license would introduce elements of safety at sea, colregs & passage planning. It might avoid a situation like the tragedy in Ballina

I agree with woke, there needs to be something more.

Anyone who spends too much time on any of the other social platforms would have to have noticed the hugely varied answers and opinion to posts and questions such as 'what does this mean' or 'who gives way'. I know some of those posts are designed to create an argument (more than discussion) and a lot of commenters are just keyboard warriors who've never progressed from playing with plastic toys in the bath tub, but there are a lot of real sailors amongst them too.

Here in WA and it's probably the same in all Aust states, you can go and get your skippers ticket on the river in a little aluminium dingy and then go skipper your 50' Riviera straight away. Its scary.

Yet more in the old farts being really stupid - a ****ty old steelie that has been a pain in the arse for locals ends up on the beach. The ****ty old boats are getting reduced in numbers but there are still many more to go

www.facebook.com/dean.deland/posts/pfbid02TZrEU358kkZp1UQvnzRhLUZa6vptwiRDKRzK2J2hiki9wFCCEDpgxLztm4x2otzcl