Australian circumnavigation attempt - the two day adventure
by Craig Warhurst, Gympie Times/Sail-World Cruising on 17 Mar 2010
Yacht Promise - seems like a lazy afternoon on the water SW
A voyage which was to be one of the great adventures of a life time ended just two days after it started this week, in spite of valiant efforts by the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard.
Three men were aboard the Beneteau cruising yacht Promise, setting out to circumnavigate Australia, when they inadvertently got one of their lines around the prop. The incident happened off Rainbow Beach just south of the entrance to Wide Bay Bar and not far from the southern tip of Fraser Island.
They called the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard, who tried to tow the vessel over the Wide Bay Bar, one of the most 'respected' bars on the east coast, into the sheltered waters of Tin Can Bay. Rough seas at the time of the tow caused the tow rope to break twice, and the Coast Guard had no choice but to leave the yacht to its own devices.
The 47ft yacht then drifted north for some hours until it ran aground seven kilometres north of Hook Point on Fraser Island.
Dean Hayes from Rainbow Beach Recovery was then called and they went into action, first removing the keel and towing the yacht above the high water mark for safety.
The next day the team removed the keel from the surf, brought in a crane and at front end loader to help lift the boat on to the back of the truck to remove it from the beach and transport it back to Brisbane for repairs.
A sad end to an ambitious dream.
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