Boating rules

[Old Farang]

In another life I was a member of a Sea Rescue Group in WA. In addition to that I have spent another big part of my working life on the ocean.
I cannot understand these idiots at all. Not only does their ancient boat appear to be well past its use by date, it appears that what safety equipment that they did have was mostly out of date.

Evidently one of them has already been fined in relation to the safety equipment, but what should really happen is that they are forced to pay for what the search has cost!

Missing SA boaties safe and well after largest sea search in SA historyMissing SA boaties safe and well after largest sea search in SA history - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/sa-men-missing-on-boat-found-alive-near-salt-creek/12647950)

"I feel fine, I've been doing this s*** all my life, it's only everyone else who's freaking out," Mr Higgins said to media who journeyed out to see him.

"This is not my first rodeo, I've been out in cyclones, this is just a walk in the park."

He thanked the rescue teams who went looking for the pair but was confident of making it back without them.
"If they hadn't turned up, I'd have been sneaking through the channel, up the river, I'd be parked on the jetty now swilling beer!"

[Gordie]

I had a Duncanson 29 which I would happily have done that trip in, but certainly wouldn't have in that tub! I know in this modern world there is 'duty of care' and all that ****, but really, it's a pity 'the good old days' rules didn't apply...and he was indeed left alone to complete the trip that he so confidently thought he would, or sink. Rather than costing other people time and money.

[NavyDiver]

Its funny on one side and cost a bucket load of money on the other side. I happily go a long way from shore fishing I appreciated the risks and also take epirb and all required saftey kit. Comms can be very tricky over the horizon as most of us who go to some nice remote places know. Only do it when forecast is suitable for my little boat[thumbsupbig]

The funny is the Air crews not spotting the boat. In the Air forces defense - Rough seas makes small boats almost invisible to radar an white caps+ do make spotting difficult.

I would agree Mr Higgins is a cowboy[bighmmm]
"Mr Higgins has copped a $1,000 fine for having an out-of-date Emergency Position Indication Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and for also having only expired flares on board.SA Police also discovered Mr Higgins did not hold an appropriate recreational boat licence."

One or two things smell a bit ""I fell in the drink off the wharf on the first night … so my phone was buggered the whole way through," Mr Robinson said." The search began when someone on the boat told some one off the boat that they had propeller troubles?

Odd Happily no one died and a old boat has a new home[bigwhistle]

[bob10]

They had just bought the boat, so the out of date flares and crook EPIRB were the responsibility of the previous owner, but what a pair of dills, to set out in what even looks like a dodgy boat, with dodgy gear. And, they were miles from where they reported they were meant to be. Something dodgy about this whole incident. My guess is they got on the turps and had to anchor up to sober up. Then panicked when they realised their families would be freaking out not having any news from them. I'm betting the Authorities are not finished with them yet.

[trout1105]

They had just bought the boat, so the out of date flares and crook EPIRB were the responsibility of the previous owner

Wrong.
It is the responsibility of the new owner or even just the skipper to make sure that ALL the safety equipment is in good working order AND still in survey.
You can't simply assume that everything is in perfect condition just because you have bought a boat especially a rickety old tub like this one, You Have to check it all out for yourself Before you head out to sea.
Your Safety at sea is your OWN responsibility NOT the boats previous owner.

[bob10]

Wrong.
It is the responsibility of the new owner or even just the skipper to make sure that ALL the safety equipment is in good working order AND still in survey.
You can't simply assume that everything is in perfect condition just because you have bought a boat especially a rickety old tub like this one, You Have to check it all out for yourself Before you head out to sea.
Your Safety at sea is your OWN responsibility NOT the boats previous owner.

I Agree. And there is nothing to say that the buyers didn't supply their own out of date EPIRB and Flares. My bad, I guess. There is just no way to make any sense out of this .

[trout1105]

I Agree. And there is nothing to say that the buyers didn't supply their own out of date EPIRB and Flares. My bad, I guess. There is just no way to make any sense out of this .

I think it was simply a case of Old Mate buying the boat and his impatience to give it a sea run over ran his common sense in this instance.
We have some pretty strict boating rules here in WA and inspections at boat ramps, beaches and even at sea are pretty common and the fines for non compliance are pretty hefty as well.
I have bought dozens of different boats over my lifetime and ensuring that the safety gear is up to scratch on each of them BEFORE I go to sea has always been the first priority.

[ramblingboy42]

Do you keep your safety gear up to scratch to comply with the law or for personal insurance for yourself?

[NavyDiver]

Do you keep your safety gear up to scratch to comply with the law or for personal insurance for yourself?

$$$$Fine just one reason. Not being able to get help if it is 'really needed' makes me check my safety kit is all up to scratch before the motor starts every time. Its on my checklist. Bait, Rods, water, fuel, Life jackets, flares, radio and Epirp all date checked before I leave my house to be honest. [thumbsupbig]


I am sure a few of us, have got to a remote camping site with to find some twit has turned up with no food, swag, sleeping bag or cooking kit or similar needs missing out trying to scrounge. Not a place I want to be in myself on the water or on land[thumbsupbig]

[bob10]

Do you keep your safety gear up to scratch to comply with the law or for personal insurance for yourself?

Take a boat on the water as skipper you are responsible for the safety of all those with you. In a nutshell. If anything, I tend to probably over do it. When you get into trouble on the water you not only put you and the lives of those with you at risk, but the lives of those coming to your assistance. [ considering that circumstances often dictate such a situation ]. Cowboys like the ones in the news here are not only a danger to themselves.

[trout1105]

I do a lot of fishing in remote areas and always carry plenty of safety gear and double up on most of it including an extra radio as well as a spare prop, anchor, chain and rope'
I also carry a basic tool kit, spare fuel filter, folding solar panel, extra water, some dry/tinned food, brew gear and a small gas cooker.
All up about an extra 40kg of extra weight on the boat But it is all easily and neatly stowed away even on a small 4.6m tinny.

I have been out on the water both professionally and for leisure for over 50 years now and have Never had to be rescued But that doesn't mean that it won't ever happen and the safety gear I carry Will save mine and my passengers lives IF the **** ever hit the fan.
Lack of or poor maintenance on boats is very common especially on out board motors, batteries and wiring which are the cause of many sea rescues and then we have the fools that forget to make sure they have enough fuel that are forever running out at sea.

[NavyDiver]

Take a boat on the water as skipper you are responsible for the safety of all those with you. In a nutshell. If anything, I tend to probably over do it. When you get into trouble on the water you not only put you and the lives of those with you at risk, but the lives of those coming to your assistance. [ considering that circumstances often dictate such a situation ]. Cowboys like the ones in the news here are not only a danger to themselves.

I agree Bob but note the Navy had cowboys and incompetence or arrogance in some cases so I am not tossing stones at the odd quirky gent in South Oz myself. The Fines are fine of course. Hanging for this one would be overkill

[Old Farang]

Whether it was arrogance, stupidity or "mind your own business", what they failed to realise is that other people had to put their lives at risk, or put on hold, to go and look for them. And that is just is just the volunteers. The cost to the tax payer has not been published, but it would probably run into several hundred thousand dollars.

Many years ago the sea rescue group that I was involved with installed a small "letter box" and a stack of cards that boat owners could fill in with details of where roughly they were going, how many POB, and approximate ETA of return , etc. The box was right at the only boat ramp in town, and as normally a trailer would be involved, it was a simple matter at the end of the day for somebody to go and clear the box and check the cards against any trailers still at the ramp. Members of the group were rostered to go and clear the box, at their own cost and time, and there were always some boat owners that knew better and would not fill in a card. In fact, some members of the group were abused on occasion when they questioned an owner about not bothering to fill in a card. This of course was in the days before reliable radios.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/tony-higgins-explains-what-happened-on-missing-boat/12653378

No alert because they were 'not lost'The search covered more than 120,000 square kilometres, with help from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Royal Australian Air Force and Kangaroo Island and Volunteer Marine Rescue, as well as police.
The Margrel did not fire off any flares or activate its Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), leading police to suspect it did not have the emergency gear on board.
But Mr Higgins said that was because they did not consider themselves lost and had "back-up plan on back-up plan on back-up plan".
He was fined $1,000 for having an out-of-date EPIRB and for only having expired flares on board.

[4bee]

$$$$Fine just one reason. Not being able to get help if it is 'really needed' makes me check my safety kit is all up to scratch before the motor starts every time. Its on my checklist. Bait, Rods, water, fuel, Life jackets, flares, radio and Epirp all date checked before I leave m[thumbsupbig]y house to be honest.


I am sure a few of us, have got to a remote camping site with to find some twit has turned up with no food, swag, sleeping bag or cooking kit or similar needs missing out trying to scrounge. Not a place I want to be in myself on the water or on land[thumbsupbig]


Not being able to get help if it is 'really needed' makes me check my safety kit is all up to scratch before the motor starts Motor? You have a Motor? Are you some sort of Posh Git James?[bigrolf]



Edit. I believe that is the same area where a family of four Victorians?? disappeared in the last few years.

I called into my Dentist one day & there was a bloke in there describing to the Staff how he knew there was deep trench offshore & believed that is where they would be found. Apparently it doesn't appear on electronic gear (according to him). That sounded like a bit of bull**** but of course you never know.


One theory was, & I haven't caught up with anything further, that one of the adults had discovered they had a life threatening illness & they decided to take their own lives. Dairy Farmer Family from SW Vic if I recall. Supposedly a very tricky area

Haven't read or heard anything since then about them. Talk about going to Davy Jones Locker en masse.

[QUOTE]checked before I leave my house to be honest. /QUOTE][thumbsupbig]


You have a house as well? A proper house? You really are a Posh Git.
[:Rolling::Thump:

[NavyDiver]

Motor? You have a Motor? Are you some sort of Posh Git James?[bigrolf]

Got me there. I do like paddling with no engine or swimming speedo's and googles only a few km from shore. The Great Whites, Makos Thresher and Blues sharks I see when out with a motor on do make me wonder about that habit[biggrin]


Life Jacket now is worn now as well in my little canoe . I did used to frequently only wear a wetsuit only when in a very small boat several thousand km from shore at times. A habit I brought in to civilian life when sub 5km from shore still.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/8/83/71423763-2085-4F98-8461-FC6E2C48828E.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/620?cb=20181210152244

[4bee]

Got me there. I do like paddling with no engine or swimming speedo's and googles only a few km from shore. The Great Whites, Makos Thresher and Blues sharks I see when out with a motor on do make me wonder about that habit[biggrin]


Life Jacket now is worn now as well in my little canoe . I did used to frequently only wear a wetsuit only when in a very small boat several thousand km from shore at times. A habit I brought in to civilian life when sub 5km from shore still.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/8/83/71423763-2085-4F98-8461-FC6E2C48828E.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/620?cb=20181210152244



He is saying, in shark speak of course, "I'm gonna get you one day young Jim".


Why more people "who go down to the sea in ships" don't automatically don PFD as a matter of course I don't know. No good hurriedly scounging around amongst all the surplus boat **** when the ship is going down. "Oh **** how do I wear this thing"

[V8Ian]

Got me there. I do like paddling with no engine or swimming speedo's and googles only a few km from shore. The Great Whites, Makos Thresher and Blues sharks I see when out with a motor on do make me wonder about that habit[biggrin]


Life Jacket now is worn now as well in my little canoe . I did used to frequently only wear a wetsuit only when in a very small boat several thousand km from shore at times. A habit I brought in to civilian life when sub 5km from shore still.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/8/83/71423763-2085-4F98-8461-FC6E2C48828E.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/620?cb=20181210152244
No doubt that would scare off the hungriest shark, unless they fancied a sausage roll. [bigwhistle]

[4bee]

No doubt that would scare off the hungriest shark, unless they fancied a sausage roll. [bigwhistle]


James it's not him you should be bothered about, just stay clear of Gibraltar.Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats | Marine life | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/13/killer-whales-launch-orchestrated-attacks-on-sailing-boats?utm_term=43a526cd0a5e1cbfc9c989a57de16cd4&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email)

[JDNSW]

I would point out that I have sailed offshore for the last fifty years (but not to any extent in the last fifteen). In that period I have had two alarms about me, both by wives of a crew member. The first was actually on Moreton Bay, and when she raised the alarm, was informed that "If it is a sailing boat (it was) I would not worry - the bay bis like a mirror, and there is not a breath of wind".

The second was in Bass Strait, and we were a day late returning to Westernport due to adverse winds - this was before mobile phones, we did not have HF radio and there was no VHF coverage until well into the bay.

My only real experience of an actual emergency, was not our emergency, but that of another yacht which had lost its rudder in rough seas off the Glennie Group in Bass Strait. We took it in tow, and towed it to Refuge Cove on Wilsons Prom. By then VHF coverage had improved, both boats had VHF, as did the rescue helicopter which turned out not to be needed. If we had not been nearby, in another hour or so they would have been on the rocks.

[NavyDiver]

I would point out that I have sailed offshore for the last fifty years (but not to any extent in the last fifteen). In that period I have had two alarms about me, both by wives of a crew member. The first was actually on Moreton Bay, and when she raised the alarm, was informed that "If it is a sailing boat (it was) I would not worry - the bay bis like a mirror, and there is not a breath of wind".

The second was in Bass Strait, and we were a day late returning to Westernport due to adverse winds - this was before mobile phones, we did not have HF radio and there was no VHF coverage until well into the bay.

My only real experience of an actual emergency, was not our emergency, but that of another yacht which had lost its rudder in rough seas off the Glennie Group in Bass Strait. We took it in tow, and towed it to Refuge Cove on Wilsons Prom. By then VHF coverage had improved, both boats had VHF, as did the rescue helicopter which turned out not to be needed. If we had not been nearby, in another hour or so they would have been on the rocks.

Sydney to Hobart train wreak 98 would rank as a WOW in the sailing sense. RIP sailors

Give some idea of the power those who have sailed know is so much bigger than us. Yet we keep sailing and blue water allure is compelling.

Suspect my wow plus beside ghosts of my recovery jobs, is still our amazing Great Australian Bight. Words cannot describe what I saw. Just imagine the MCG disappearing in front of you, reappearing and disappearing again and again and again..... and you have a smidgen of an idea of the wonder our oceans gifted me.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIdTBwxDseI

[bblaze]

I have had the misfortune o f busting a 6 meter boat 54 km out in bass strait. As a skipper I made the wrong call and ended up in a channel with a high flow between 2 island and a recordded 60knot wind against the tide. Was doing alright untill we come off the backs of 2 6 meter waves with no backs in them, we hit very hard. No visable damage after the first hit, after the 2nd hit the back of the boat was broken, bulhead shattered, helm hanging in the air, all front substructure under bunks was shattered.
Fought5 like mad for about an hr to get boat into the lea of an island at which point on it was a simple calm sea return to port.
This sea blew up in a half hr from a day forcast to be low swell les than a meter.
As cskipper I had 2 choice to get out of the weather 54km open sea or about a 5km trip across the channel to protected waters. My mistke was thinking I could do the shrt run to shelteredd water.
We eventuall got home and when the poor old girl wass pulled onto the trailer the true extend of the damage was visable, split from bottom to top, midship at the main bulkhead.
Insurnace wrotee the boat off, I purchased it back, completed a total gut and rebuilt to survey standards
cheeers
blaze
ps the rebuild was posted in a long thread on the ausfish web site

[JDNSW]

Sydney to Hobart train wreak 98 would rank as a WOW in the sailing sense. RIP sailors
.......

Interestingly, from my analysis at the time, it seems a major factor in the carnage, apart from the weather itself, was that this was the first real test of the widespread use of carbon fibre in yachting.

What many of the designers apparently failed to fully appreciate is that the advantage of carbon fibre is not that it is stronger than glass,but that it is a lot stiffer. This means that where glass reinforcement, being elastic, allows stresses to spread, enabling you to get away with structures that have built in stress concentrations. But if you do this with carbon fibre, it will not spread, and you will get failure at the stress concentration. This is why you have things like a yacht where the backstay pulled out the entire transom, but it also seems to be behind many other failures.

Designers and builders (and possibly scrutineers) have apparently learned from this, and we don't seem to have had a repeat.

What many people do not appreciate (but designers should) is that for almost any structure, the overall strength/mass ratio of the structure is dependent not on the strength of the material, but its elasticity or stiffness, measured by Young's modulus - some parts depend on tensile strength, but that is the easy bit. And in structures on boat in rough seas, most loads are alternately compression and tension.

The reason for this is that failure of compressional structural members for almost any realistic structure will almost always be due to what is called Euler buckling. And the only material property involved in calculating this strength is Youngs modulus.

An interesting feature of most realistic materials for building things like cars, planes, boats is that the ratio of density to Youngs Modulus is almost identical. Almost the only exception to this is carbon fibre reinforced plastic, which is a lot stiffer than would be expected from its density. This means you can make panels for example thinner and hence lighter for the same strength, but where building in fibreglass you could assume that if it is strong enough in compression it is plenty strong enough in tension, the same may not necessarily be the case in tension, especially if you do not properly manage stress concentrations. This explains the transom failure mentioned above, but also some of the mast failures etc.

[Bigbjorn]

The great quality of Viking ships was their flexibility. They would twist and flex but not break. Kept the crew busy bailing though as the clinker hulls leaked a good bit with the flexing and twisting.

[bob10]

Sydney to Hobart train wreak 98 would rank as a WOW in the sailing sense. RIP sailors

Give some idea of the power those who have sailed know is so much bigger than us. Yet we keep sailing and blue water allure is compelling.

Suspect my wow plus beside ghosts of my recovery jobs, is still our amazing Great Australian Bight. Words cannot describe what I saw. Just imagine the MCG disappearing in front of you, reappearing and disappearing again and again and again..... and you have a smidgen of an idea of the wonder our oceans gifted me.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIdTBwxDseI

Bass Strait is bad enough, but not as bad as the Great Australian bight at its worst. The only time I've ever been truly frightened at sea. And I've seen the Tasman sea at it's worst, been in a Typhoon near Japan , and two cyclones off the West coast in a patrol boat, 15 metre seas, gale force winds. All a doddle compared to the bight when the sea is angry.

[Bigbjorn]

Allan Villiers wrote some great books on the days of sail. He was a sailing ship man. They would take those big sailing ships down to the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties looking for wind. Find them in your council library. He wrote of the big German ships and their masters who were noted as hard ship drivers. Their reputations were made by the amount of time they could keep the lee rail under water. He wrote a hefty book on Cape Horn and the Drake Passage under sail. He reckoned it was the most dangerous place on the world's oceans where a ship could disappear in the blink of an eye.

[austastar]

Hi,
Another brilliant read is books by Tim Severin (https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1Tcwyy5OMTdg9OIuycxVKE4tSy3K zAMAV4kHqg&q=tim+severin&oq=&aqs=chrome.0.46j35i39l3j69i59.-1j0j7&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8), who re creates various voyages.
Cheers

More at timseverin.net

[4bee]

James it's not him you should be bothered about, just stay clear of Gibraltar.Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats | Marine life | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/13/killer-whales-launch-orchestrated-attacks-on-sailing-boats?utm_term=43a526cd0a5e1cbfc9c989a57de16cd4&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email)


James I am glad you weren't born & out sailing when this little bugger was around.


True size of the prehistoric megalodon shark revealed - CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/03/world/megalodon-shark-scli-intl-gbr-scn/index.html)

[4bee]

Bass Strait is bad enough, but not as bad as the Great Australian bight at its worst. The only time I've ever been truly frightened at sea. And I've seen the Tasman sea at it's worst, been in a Typhoon near Japan , and two cyclones off the West coast in a patrol boat, 15 metre seas, gale force winds. All a doddle compared to the bight when the sea is angry.




I remember when the Bight was feared as being rough as buggery for Coastal Shipping. Passenger Liners not so much.

Have seen Video (taken by the the ship's Bridge cameras) from one of the latest Queens leaving Port Adelaide's (Outer Harbour) not showings any rough conditions at all & was a smooth trip to Fremantle. Friends of ours vouched for that small "journey". It seems it can certainly change state very quickly. They also had big problems before they left here with one of the Vessel's Propulsion Units (Pods) which delayed them by nearly a day. Progress huh?

[JDNSW]

Allan Villiers wrote some great books on the days of sail. He was a sailing ship man. ....

Yes, I think I have all of his books.

But when you think of sailing one of the great iron sailing ships through Drake Passage, spare a thought of the 16 - 18th century sailors who used Drake passage, upwind, not really knowing what they were up against, and in ships far less seaworthy than the ones Villiers sailed in. Read the accounts (preferably the contemporary ones) of Drake, Anson, Dampier etc. Even Cook had some "interesting" passages, especially when trying to map Antarctica, although he had a pretty good idea what to expect, knew where he was all the time, and was in a far more seaworthy ship.

[vnx205]

Bass Strait is bad enough, but not as bad as the Great Australian bight at its worst. The only time I've ever been truly frightened at sea. And I've seen the Tasman sea at it's worst, been in a Typhoon near Japan , and two cyclones off the West coast in a patrol boat, 15 metre seas, gale force winds. All a doddle compared to the bight when the sea is angry.

If the waves get bigger in the Bight than the Bass Strait one that broke windows on the second top deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, then I don't think I want to go there.


Waves of up to 20 metres lashed the ferry, smashing a number of windows on its upper decks, causing it to turn back about 4am (AEDT) today.

20m waves force Spirit of Tasmania back to port (https://www.smh.com.au/national/20m-waves-force-spirit-of-tasmania-back-to-port-20050204-gdkmfb.html)

[Gordie]

If the waves get bigger in the Bight than the one that broke windows on the second top deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, then I don't think I want to go there.


20m waves force Spirit of Tasmania back to port (https://www.smh.com.au/national/20m-waves-force-spirit-of-tasmania-back-to-port-20050204-gdkmfb.html)The Southern Ocean has a massive fetch, and equally massive prevailing winds, pushing those swells around the globe. The Bass Strait and Cook Strait in NZ are two of the most treacherous straits around, probably because they are not that far away from the Southern Ocean.

[4bee]

The Southern Ocean has a massive fetch, and equally massive prevailing winds, pushing those swells around the globe. The Bass Strait and Cook Strait in NZ are two of the most treacherous straits around, probably because they are not that far away from the Southern Ocean.

The Noggies want to have an Off Shore Platform out there in the Bight somewhere but I suppose they have encountered bigger sea states in their exploration history of the North Sea than most.

I don't agree with them building a platform there but if the **** hits the fan & there are oil spill accidents then it will wash up all around the GAB with who knows what being able to stop them & the environmental damage it would cause.

[Old Farang]

The Southern Ocean has a massive fetch, and equally massive prevailing winds, pushing those swells around the globe. The Bass Strait and Cook Strait in NZ are two of the most treacherous straits around, probably because they are not that far away from the Southern Ocean.
The Southern Ocean does indeed have a massive fetch, all the way around the World in fact! The thing with both the Bass Strait, Cook Strait and a lot of others is the "funnelling effect" of all that water attempting to squeeze through a narrowing opening.

Not sure just which of the places being discussed, including the Great Australian Bight, are the worst. I have been in all 3 of them during my time working offshore. But just as a point of interest, I worked on the installation of the Maui Gas Field jacket offshore New Plymouth back in the mid 1970's, and the operation was shut down for 8 months "waiting on weather"!

[Gordie]

I worked on the installation of the Maui Gas Field jacket offshore New Plymouth back in the mid 1970's, and the operation was shut down for 8 months "waiting on weather"!Ha yeah, I commercial fished for a while, where we had to go out over a river bar into the Tasman sea, top of the Cook Strait, north of Wellington, south of NP where you were...on average we could only get out 10 days per month.

[bob10]

The Southern Ocean does indeed have a massive fetch, all the way around the World in fact! The thing with both the Bass Strait, Cook Strait and a lot of others is the "funnelling effect" of all that water attempting to squeeze through a narrowing opening.

Not sure just which of the places being discussed, including the Great Australian Bight, are the worst. I have been in all 3 of them during my time working offshore. But just as a point of interest, I worked on the installation of the Maui Gas Field jacket offshore New Plymouth back in the mid 1970's, and the operation was shut down for 8 months "waiting on weather"!

Like anything, it depends on the circumstances. Bass strait can be extremely dangerous because of the depth of water and that funneling effect. However I would have to say the West Coast of Tasmania during the Roaring 40's, combined with any kind of major storm, is not a lee shore any one wants to be traversing. The problem with the bight is, all that water coming up from the south , when it fetches up into the shallower water near the coast , can create huge , very powerful swells. Combine that with a deep low, and and it's a place you don't want to be. We were in company with Melbourne [ the carrier] , she was off to our port bow, and at times she completely disappeared from sight in the swell. The frightening part for me was when our destroyer rolled , and went off the scale of our inclinometer, if hit by another swell, she stayed on her side for what seemed like a very long time. It pays not to have a vivid imagination at such times. Back in 1945 the destroyer Nizam lost 10 men during a storm in the bight.

Having said that, in 1977 we exercised with the RN and RAF in Operation Highwood, transited up the west coast of Ireland to latitude 64 degrees, level with Iceland and 150 miles from the Arctic Circle, returning south via the Orkney islands and concluding in the North Sea off England. The weather was fine. Melbourne lost a Wessex that flew into the sea on approach to land ,at night, we rescued the crew, but that's another story.

[350RRC]

If the waves get bigger in the Bight than the Bass Strait one that broke windows on the second top deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, then I don't think I want to go there.


20m waves force Spirit of Tasmania back to port (https://www.smh.com.au/national/20m-waves-force-spirit-of-tasmania-back-to-port-20050204-gdkmfb.html)

That swell lasted for three days, with really hard S to SW winds. It was right up there with some of the biggest I've seen over the last 40 years.

I was doing cray research off Anglesea 3 months later and the ocean was still a strange milky colour from all the turbulence.

DL

[87County]

I suppose that whenever the subject of the roughness of the southern seas comes up, those of us who have visited Cape Leeuwin recall the memory and the crew losses from HMAS Nizam.

As a person with relatives in the Margaret R region I always wondered what it would be like to travel the waters of the GAB, but I do not suppose a sea voyage in on the cards for me now.

[NavyDiver]

If the waves get bigger in the Bight than the Bass Strait one that broke windows on the second top deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, then I don't think I want to go there.


20m waves force Spirit of Tasmania back to port (https://www.smh.com.au/national/20m-waves-force-spirit-of-tasmania-back-to-port-20050204-gdkmfb.html)


A little bigger[tonguewink][tonguewink][tonguewink][tonguewink]
A monster wave reaching a height of 23.8 metres (78.1 feet) just set a new height record for the southern hemisphere. The huge wave was recorded by a buoy in the Southern Ocean near Campbell Island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of New Zealand.May 12, 2018

[4bee]

A little bigger[tonguewink][tonguewink][tonguewink][tonguewink]
A monster wave reaching a height of 23.8 metres (78.1 feet) just set a new height record for the southern hemisphere. The huge wave was recorded by a buoy in the Southern Ocean near Campbell Island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of New Zealand.May 12, 2018


Just as well the Mooring Chain on the Buoy was long enough or they could be looking at a new Grid Ref. some where near South America.

Talk about calling out for BIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiLL or Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuth!:toilet::Rolling:

[NavyDiver]

Just as well the Mooring Chain was long enough or they could be looking at a new Grid Ref. some where near South America.

Talk about for calling out for BIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiLL or Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuth!:toilet::Rolling:

The POMS show it will with 5 double Decker buses still being a bit shorter

Massive wave is southern hemisphere record, scientists believe - BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44078255)

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/14D3E/production/_101301358_massive_wave_640-nc.png

[trout1105]

Most people that have spent a reasonable amount of time at sea will Know when the weather is turning nasty and head home at the best possible speed.
It doesnt too much time and effort to check the coastal waters forcast BEFORE you head out and if in doubt simply dont go out[thumbsupbig]

Boating safety 101[biggrin]

[NavyDiver]

Fully agree. Must add as it is funny, one stubborn old girl HMAS Vampire now a museum in Sydney had a soft spot for large swells due to her age and being a little frail.

The MEO ( Engineering type) was rather worried one day. After a week or two mostly a long way out from Jarvis Bay. We had a very big swell is a sea state 7 or 8. He was worried her old back would break due to the flexing caused by the swell. Captain and MEO settled on safety 101 and put our backside to the swell and slowed to a crawl to minimize the twist and flex[biggrin].

Unfortunately two side effects- It was the wrong way to get back to Sydney which was not a popular direction and steering a slow ship with waves up the stern is a job from hell[biggrin] I have been driving 90 degrees of course on that and two other occasion both between NZ and OZ.

[4bee]

The POMS show it will with 5 double Decker buses still being a bit shorter

Massive wave is southern hemisphere record, scientists believe - BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44078255)

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/14D3E/production/_101301358_massive_wave_640-nc.png


Somewhere under that wave your old mate "Sharky" was lurking, James.[bigrolf].

[4bee]

Fully agree. Must add as it is funny, one stubborn old girl HMAS Vampire now a museum in Sydney had a soft spot for large swells due to her age and being a little frail.

The MEO ( Engineering type) was rather worried one day. After a week or two mostly a long way out from Jarvis Bay. We had a very big swell is a sea state 7 or 8. He was worried her old back would break due to the flexing caused by the swell. Captain and MEO settled on safety 101 and put our backside to the swell and slowed to a crawl to minimize the twist and flex[biggrin].

Unfortunately two side effects- It was the wrong way to get back to Sydney which was not a popular direction and steering a slow ship with waves up the stern is a job from hell[biggrin] I have been driving 90 degrees of course on that and two other occasion both between NZ and OZ.


Wrong direction maybe but I bet the Crew enjoyed their 3 weeks in 'frisco.[bigrolf]

[JDNSW]

I remember many years ago looking at the sea round about Cape Otway. And going pas, heading east, was a very large bulk carrier, probably iron ore heading for Newcastle or Port Kembla. It was impressive - it was just the wrong length for the seas. As each wave passed it, it would alternately have solid water coming over the bow while the taffrail had water slopping over it, with the turn of the bilge visible midships, and having solid water over the deck midships with the bow bulge and the top part of the rudder visible. My immediate thought was "will it break its back?"

I was in a survey ship only about 55m long, and we were just slowly moving up and down, admittedly pitching a bit - judging from the echosounder record, that swell was only a bit over ten metres.

[NavyDiver]

Wrong direction maybe but I bet the Crew enjoyed their 3 weeks in 'frisco.[bigrolf]
A early opener as well. Not that I would know[thumbsupbig]

[NavyDiver]

I remember many years ago looking at the sea round about Cape Otway. And going pas, heading east, was a very large bulk carrier, probably iron ore heading for Newcastle or Port Kembla. It was impressive - it was just the wrong length for the seas. As each wave passed it, it would alternately have solid water coming over the bow while the taffrail had water slopping over it, with the turn of the bilge visible midships, and having solid water over the deck midships with the bow bulge and the top part of the rudder visible. My immediate thought was "will it break its back?"

I was in a survey ship only about 55m long, and we were just slowly moving up and down, admittedly pitching a bit - judging from the echosounder record, that swell was only a bit over ten metres.

Its not the size that gets me. The Amazing power of a 10 metre wall of water is not something many of us have been able to see. 55m or 147m for my favourite (Hobart) or the tiniest tinny. Respect of our oceans power is needed and in my case given plus[thumbsupbig]

[bob10]

Fully agree. Must add as it is funny, one stubborn old girl HMAS Vampire now a museum in Sydney had a soft spot for large swells due to her age and being a little frail.

The MEO ( Engineering type) was rather worried one day. After a week or two mostly a long way out from Jarvis Bay. We had a very big swell is a sea state 7 or 8. He was worried her old back would break due to the flexing caused by the swell. Captain and MEO settled on safety 101 and put our backside to the swell and slowed to a crawl to minimize the twist and flex[biggrin].

Unfortunately two side effects- It was the wrong way to get back to Sydney which was not a popular direction and steering a slow ship with waves up the stern is a job from hell[biggrin] I have been driving 90 degrees of course on that and two other occasion both between NZ and OZ.

We took Vampire thru a typhoon off Hong Kong back in '69, no problem. The Daring class were an excellent heavy weather ship. The only problem was getting from Fwd to Aft & vice versa, for change of watch in the Boiler & engine rooms. The stokers mess was 3Quebec , right aft, tiffies mess 3 papa2, just fwd of it. The only way to go fwd or aft in rough weather was the catwalk over the torpedo tubes. The upper deck was out of bounds. In real rough weather, the catwalk was out of bounds, greenies would wash right over it. The Darings had a low centre of gravity, and tended not to roll a great deal.

This all changed , when they modernised her. All that extra topweight changed her CG, and brought to play other forces not usually present. I didn't serve on the Vampire after modernisation, so can't comment on how she handled the rough stuff, but one thing welcomed by the bridge watchkeepers was the enclosed bridge. They did remove the torpedo tubes, which would have offset the topweight a little [ we fired the last 21 inch torpedo from a RAN destroyer at HMS London , 1969 off Singapore. She radioed " well done Vampire, your torpedo passed under our bow". London fired her 4.5 guns [offset] at Vampire and her gunnery was spot on. I'm glad they were on our side.

A vessel not suited for real rough weather was the Fremantle class Patrol boat. The deck of the Senior Sailors mess accommodation[ port side just behind the galley, about midships.] used to pop up & down like a wobble board, and made the same noise, when punching into a seaway. Once, on the way to New Caledonia while doing my morning rounds I found a crack in the weld at the aft end of the bridge structure. About 3 inches long, sent off a defect signal, tactfully suggested to the Skipper perhaps we should not punch into the swell as much as we had been. All good. The Buffer threw a coat of paint over it, out of sight out of mind.[bighmmm] Ground out and rewelded at Waterhen on our return. All good. [ tried to get a few extra days in Noumea getting it fixed, we were having a great time, but the Fleet Commander saw through that, I think the comment was " the departure date will not be altered " with an implied " Good try ".

The old Vampire showing her style through a swell.

HMAS Vampire - YouTube (https://youtu.be/V9hrwdWKsTk)

After refit, tarted up like a Nee Soon virgin.

HMAS Sydney and HMAS Vampire - 1972 RAS Vietnam 1972 - YouTube (https://youtu.be/Q44cFABSe40)

[350RRC]

The POMS show it will with 5 double Decker buses still being a bit shorter

Massive wave is southern hemisphere record, scientists believe - BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44078255)

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/14D3E/production/_101301358_massive_wave_640-nc.png

The inference from that info is that particular wave has the record as the biggest ever in the southern hemisphere, but it is only a coincidence that it was actually recorded.

There would have been many more over the centuries that escaped judgement by tech that wasn't in the right place and time.

It's only the biggest recorded wave, south of the equator.

In about 1997 or 98 I was doing some cray data recording on a boat in a bay near Flinders Vic. We were only inshore in Bass Strait, not even close to being anywhere near to the edge of the shelf, or open ocean.

Big swell, no deckhand this day, skipper talking on his mobile, big set coming, I kicked the boat into gear, skipper nodded (kept talking), cruised out over the first feathering crest while watching the sounder.

We went from 15 to 25m, then back to 15. Seemed about right going by the size of the boat (42 foot Randall.........14m). [biggrin]

DL

[NavyDiver]

Do it to my one more time didn't fit really So Whoops I did it again gets a spin in honor of Mr Tony Higgins
Police said they received a call from a man — believed to be the boat's owner Tony Higgins — about 5:00am saying the Margrel was taking on water near Granite Island, off Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide.
Local police are searching for the boat, along with a rescue helicopter and sea rescue volunteers.


I hope he is ok



https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/12682846-16x9-xlarge.jpg?v=3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CduA0TULnow

http://Boat missing for days off SA coast disappears again after distress call near Victor Harbor

[trout1105]

Old Mate needs to either lay off the grog a bit or learn some basic seamanship, This bloke shouldn't be allowed out to sea without adult supervision at the moment[bigwhistle]

[4bee]

Do it to my one more time didn't fit really So Whoops I did it again gets a spin in honor of Mr Tony Higgins
Police said they received a call from a man — believed to be the boat's owner Tony Higgins — about 5:00am saying the Margrel was taking on water near Granite Island, off Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide.
Local police are searching for the boat, along with a rescue helicopter and sea rescue volunteers.


I hope he is ok



https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/12682846-16x9-xlarge.jpg?v=3


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CduA0TULnow

http://Boat missing for days off SA coast disappears again after distress call near Victor Harbor

[bigrolf] I bet they will rename the boat to Mongrel after all this caper.

[trout1105]

[bigrolf] I bet they will rename the boat to Mongrel after all this caper.

Is is Not the boats fault that it ran aground[bigwhistle]

[Bigbjorn]

Old Mate needs to either lay off the grog a bit or learn some basic seamanship, This bloke shouldn't be allowed out to sea without adult supervision at the moment[bigwhistle]

Plenty of ship's officers in that category, both RAN and Merchant.[bigwhistle]

[4bee]

Is is Not the boats fault that it ran aground[bigwhistle]

Yes it is, as it is olde enough to know better.[bigrolf]

[Gordie]

Jeez he is wasting everyones time...hope they fine him for every little infringement on that boat....bucket with a lanyard is a good one to get them on, not many have that on their boats.

[4bee]

Jeez he is wasting everyones time...hope they fine him for every little infringement on that boat....bucket with a lanyard is a good one to get them on, not many have that on their boats.


He probably doesn't own a bucket except one for eeerrr Nightime use, & wouldn't know what a Lanyard is anyway.

While Australia is Party to International Rescue obligations, things like this little foolhardy " Emergency" should be charged out at the going rate Plus GST.[bigsmile1] Should be mandatory to have Insurance for this sort of lark. That might sort a few out?

Remember the British Yachtsman, Tony Bullimore, who capsized down South between Oz & Seth Effrica a few years back while enjoying his Round the World Single Handed little sojourn? Oz had a couple of Orions & a Destroyer down there to pick him up at huge cost? Well apparently he didn't get a bill just as an Aussie yachtsman wouldn't have got a bill if they'd gone arse over head in Seth Effican or other International Waters. Brits & French seem to do that more often than Aussies it appears.

[4bee]

He probably doesn't own a bucket except one for eeerrr Nightime use, & wouldn't know what a Lanyard is anyway.

While Australia is Party to International Rescue obligations, things like this should be charged out the going rate Plus GST.[bigsmile1]

Remember the British Yachtsman Tony Bullimore, who capsized down South between Oz & Seth Effrica a few years back while enjoying his Round the World Single Handed little sojourn? Oz had a couple of Orions & a Destroyer down there to pick him up at huge cost? Well apparently he didn't get a bill just as an Aussie yachtsman wouldn't have got a bill if they'd gone arse over head in Seth Effrican or other International Waters. Brits & French seem to do that more often than Aussies it appears.


Seems he's gone again.

Fishing boat that went missing for four days off South Australia coast disappears again | South Australia | The Guardian


Weather at sea has been atrocious the last couple of days & today is no exception with extremely strong gusts & lots of rain & it is cold.

Another 3 missing off the Coorong today Hub, Wife & Son. A few bits of flotsam have been found but at this time are still missing.

Best of Luck old mate.
(https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/22/fishing-boat-that-went-missing-for-four-days-off-south-australia-coast-disappears-again)

[Gordie]

Seems he's gone again.

Fishing boat that went missing for four days off South Australia coast disappears again | South Australia | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/22/fishing-boat-that-went-missing-for-four-days-off-south-australia-coast-disappears-again)Well to quote Pulp Fiction....."Be gone and stay gone".

[4bee]

Well to quote Pulp Fiction....."Be gone and stay gone".

He may be holed up in a nice, snug, safe anchorage at nearby Port Elliot. Hang on Mr bee, isn't that the nice little bay that saw many ships come to grief with an Onshore wind & are now local wrecks?

Yer roight, it is. Ah well, "For those that go down to the sea in ships we commit..etc....":soapbox:

Then again it may have foundered in 10 fathoms. Old mate with her.[happycry]

[Old Farang]

It looks like he may have over done it this time:

More debris found in search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and his boat Margrel
More debris found in search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and his boat Margrel - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/search-resumes-missing-boatie-tony-higgins-and-margrel/12689916)

Debris which police have described as "consistent with items from the missing boat" has been discovered in the search for Tony Higgins and the Margrel.

[4bee]

It looks like he may have over done it this time:

More debris found in search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and his boat Margrel


More debris found in search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and his boat Margrel - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/search-resumes-missing-boatie-tony-higgins-and-margrel/12689916)

Debris which police have described as "consistent with items from the missing boat" has been discovered in the search for Tony Higgins and the Margrel.


I bet he never got a chance to replace his Flares & EPIRB either. I hope, if it is him, that he was wearing a PFD.

Come back Tony, all is forgiven. By us, not the Cops.

The Cops would have had a good idea of what was on the boat from the previous inspection they made, so it isn't looking too grand atm.



I reckon there is a chance he'll be located propping up the bar of the Robe Pub or even the Buenos Aires Hilton.

I realise the Hilton is on the East Coast of Sth America but jeeeeeezzzzzzzz you should have experienced the strong winds yesterday it could have blown him over the Andes. No, really.



EDIT....... Seems his wallet, Keys & Glasses were also found washed up.

[trout1105]

Maybe Darwin's law finally caught up with this idiot[bigwhistle]

[V8Ian]

I must go down to the sea today,
To the lonely sea and the sky,
I hung my undies out yesterday,
By now they must be dry.

[Homestar]

John Masefield would turn over in his grave...

That was the first Poem I learned off by heart and I still love it.

[4bee]

John Masefield would turn over in his grave...

That was the first Poem I learned off by heart and I still love it.

Me too. "Aaarrrr me eartie's " I bet Old mate had that furthest from his mind the other day on the good ship Mongrel.[bigsad]


One of the first books I recall reading was an olde hard cover Treasure Island, scrounged from someone's locker I suppose.

When I say olde I mean close to a First Edition. Still got it somewhere. Parchment Pages an' all. Lamp Wax soiled. Rum Stains, Vomit covered[smilebigeye] Must drag it out again for another shufti & to check whether some low life has nicked it.

[Saitch]

John Masefield would turn over in his grave...

That was the first Poem I learned off by heart and I still love it.

Perhaps a late evening, around the fire, 'Wombat Recital' could be in order, when permitted. [bigsmile]

.........and beware the Inchcape Rock!

[Tombie]

****ing amazing!!!!

You need a license for operation of a car and if you mess it - they take it away

You also need a license for operation of a boat - surely they should have revoked this idiots ticket from the last 2 events.

Now he's endangering lives of rescue personnel again due to his incompetence...


At minimum I hope the boat has sunk.

[4bee]

Perhaps a late evening, around the fire, 'Wombat Recital' could be in order, when permitted. [bigsmile]

.........and beware the Inchcape Rock!


Don't ignore Wombats climbing tall ships while looking at stars to steer by & going arse over head onto the deck when the wheel kicks & while the wind Sings.

[Saitch]

****ing amazing!!!!

You need a license for operation of a car and if you mess it - they take it away

You also need a license for operation of a boat - surely they should have revoked this idiots ticket from the last 2 events.

Now he's endangering lives of rescue personnel again due to his incompetence...


At minimum I hope the boat has sunk.

Fair point there!

[4bee]

****ing amazing!!!!

You need a license for operation of a car and if you mess it - they take it away

You also need a license for operation of a boat - surely they should have revoked this idiots ticket from the last 2 events.

Now he's endangering lives of rescue personnel again due to his incompetence...


At minimum I hope the boat has sunk.


Me too, but it does appear he is/may be gaining experience & having a jolly old laugh as he goes, although he could have been trapped in that crappy looking cabin & gone down with his ship. I trust he would have saluted as she dipped beneath the waves.


Maybe his anchor dragged while at Granite Island because he shirley wouldn't have put to sea the way the weather has been over the last few days here. Or would he???[bighmmm]

The Jerries & Fuel Can could have simply been washed over board & washed up on the beach but sadly I fear it is worse than that for him.

But, he could surprise us all & turn up ok after sheltering at a nice Beach House along the coast & there are some posh ones probably with some nice Drinks Cabinets but no phone & he is slowly getting ****ed. It sounds like he could be arsey enough so long as he saved a Jemmy Bar to gain entry.

A bugger of a way to go though & certainly not one for me. I want to go with a lovely leggy Honey Blonde on top going her hardest.:Rolling::wub:

[DiscoMick]

If the waves get bigger in the Bight than the Bass Strait one that broke windows on the second top deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, then I don't think I want to go there.


20m waves force Spirit of Tasmania back to port (https://www.smh.com.au/national/20m-waves-force-spirit-of-tasmania-back-to-port-20050204-gdkmfb.html)When we went overnight on the Spirit Of Tasmania in early March I got up early and was having a coffee when the sea was so rough the water was hitting the windows of the deck with the restaurants, so I can imagine it breaking windows.

[Old Farang]

Search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and the Margrel off SA coast enters third day
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/search-enters-third-day-for-missing-boatie-tony-higgins/12695380

An air search for missing sailor Tony Higgins in waters south of Adelaide has resumed this morning, but police have admitted the chances of finding him alive are "diminishing".

Part of the back deck of his boat, the Margrel, equipment from it (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/search-resumes-missing-boatie-tony-higgins-and-margrel/12689916) and a wallet containing Mr Higgins's identification (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/wallet-among-debris-found-during-search-for-boatie-tony-higgins/12692472) were found washed up near the Murray Mouth yesterday, two days after he put out a distress call near Victor Harbor (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-22/margrel-disappears-after-call-to-police-saying-it-was-sinking/12688040).

[Old Farang]

SA boatie Tony Higgins still missing as police call off search after third daySA boatie Tony Higgins still missing as police call off search after third day - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/missing-sa-boatie-tony-higgins-search-called-off-margrel/12698488)

Police have called off the search for missing sailor Tony Higgins in waters south of Adelaide.
It concludes the third day of efforts by air, on the water and on land to find the 57-year-old boatie.


SA Police said in a statement this evening that the search has been been called off pending "any further sightings or information".
The latest search covered about 500 square kilometres of ocean off Victor Harbor, Goolwa and the Coorong.
Sea Rescue volunteers, police patrols, water operations officers, the police helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft were all involved in the search.
But the plane and the helicopter could not be used today because of poor weather conditions.

[Tombie]

In the 80s my mates father was the SA agent for Shark Cats.

We would regularly demonstrate them to KI fishos in Backstairs Passage during some seriously rough conditions.

We had all the gear and those things were near bullet proof in rough seas with a competent Captain.

[bob10]

Search for missing boatie Tony Higgins and the Margrel off SA coast enters third day

Part of the back deck of his boat, the Margrel, equipment from it (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/search-resumes-missing-boatie-tony-higgins-and-margrel/12689916) and a wallet containing Mr Higgins's identification (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/wallet-among-debris-found-during-search-for-boatie-tony-higgins/12692472) were found washed up near the Murray Mouth yesterday, two days after he put out a distress call near Victor Harbor (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-22/margrel-disappears-after-call-to-police-saying-it-was-sinking/12688040).




Tony Higgins probably should not have been allowed back on the boat after the first effort. It was never going to end well.

"He said he knew "a thing or two about wooden boats" — Goolwa is home to a wooden boat festival (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-09/drought-hits-wooden-boat-festival/1612636) — and planned to restore it."It's a very seaworthy boat — a very seaworthy vessel — so we dragged it out of the water, straightened its bum and cleaned all the muck off it, went over it, put a bit of caulk here and there where it needed it and loaded it with stores and then off we waddled," Mr Higgins told ABC Radio Adelaide.
About 120 kilometres into their journey, near Port Lincoln, the boat hit either a turtle or a submerged log and one of the propeller's three blades broke off.


They were sailing a 10-metre wooden-hulled fishing boat called Margrel, which Mr Higgins bought as a restoration project.
On Monday, police said they had "grave fears" for the men's safety (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-07/search-for-two-men-on-missing-boat/12635786) and described the Margrel as a "somewhat dated" riverboat that would struggle on the rough ocean between the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island.
Police found the vessel on Thursday morning and towed the men back to Victor Harbor, but Mr Higgins has stayed on the boat, moored off the Granite Island causeway, to make sure it does not sink.

[4bee]

In the 80s my mates father was the SA agent for Shark Cats.

We would regularly demonstrate them to KI fishos in Backstairs Passage during some seriously rough conditions.

We had all the gear and those things were near bullet proof in rough seas with a competent Captain.



MV Mongrel is/was not a Shark Cat but a wannabe Timber boat Restoration Project. Maybe he should have bought a Shark Cat?
For all we are aware it could have been falling to bits when he bought it, add a bit of rough stuff & it being a Timber Boat obviously in need of some repair, maybe it was just too much for it. If he broached to with a wallowing low aft section & the donk had conked out & the boat filled with water it was going to be curtains. If the busted Prop hadn't been replaced he'd virtually had no power anyway. Did it have a usable Bilge Pump & could it have kept up with a cockpit full of water? The Cockpit was like a large tub so always flooded. How was it powered? Engine out, no power? A bucket probably couldn't have kept up with the incoming water.

But, thinking positive I hope he still turns up & this very minute could be hanging on to a very lonely floatable section of boat & washing around near Penneshaw or some point East. I suppose he could still fetch up at one of the near Antarctic Islands ie. Heard, McQuarie, McDonald but they are sort of 4000km away but if he couldn't get it right from Eyre Peninsular to Victor...... Well,. What hope?[bigsad] Hang on, he'd need a boat for that [bigsad]. or Tassie or his remains could, God help him. Unfortunately the really crap weather is against a decent search at the mo. It also depends on what clothing he was wearing at the time of the mishap & it may be that immersion etc does for him at the end of the day. The colour of his clothing may be such that the Searchers may not spot him amongst all the breaking waves.

Anyway it is all theory & guesswork at the mo, so what will be will be, but I tell you one thing if he he does get out of this alive I bet he will not go near the water ever again.

Just my point of view loosely based on what is known so far. I know, a lot of ifs, buts & maybes.

[V8Ian]

An old river boat, past it's use by date, on th high seas in bad conditions; who'd've thought that'd end badly?

[bob10]

An old river boat, past it's use by date, on the high seas in bad conditions; who'd've thought that'd end badly?

The old drum esky in the deck house looks like it's full of just what you need in an unseaworthy boat with a broken prop. What a pity there was no one to save him from himself. I have wondered how any one could buy a wreck like that, and sail away without some one raising some concerns. More likely old mate had this dream, pulled this wreck from the river , patched her up, and set off to fulfill his dream. About the only thing he did right this time was he was alone. When dream met reality I hope good fortune finds him safe and well. If not, I hope his end was quick.




https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/12653092-3x2-xlarge.jpg?v=2

[Old Farang]

Wreckage from vessel of missing boatie Tony Higgins found washed up on SA beachWreckage from vessel of missing boatie Tony Higgins found washed up on SA beach - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-25/wreckage-of-missing-boat-margrel-found-on-beach/12703966)

Wreckage from the boat of missing man Tony Higgins, the Margrel, has been found about three kilometres south-east of the Murray Mouth a day after the official search was called off (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/missing-sa-boatie-tony-higgins-search-called-off-margrel/12698488).

SA Police said local police and water operations officers discovered the bow of the vessel among other debris just before 1:00pm today.
Images and footage were posted on social media showing other parts of the boatalong the shore, including its name and the roof of its cabin.
The posts showed pieces of timber, a compass and a flare kit were among the items on the beach.
Mr Higgins is yet to be found.

[4bee]

Wreckage from vessel of missing boatie Tony Higgins found washed up on SA beach

Wreckage from vessel of missing boatie Tony Higgins found washed up on SA beach - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-25/wreckage-of-missing-boat-margrel-found-on-beach/12703966)

Wreckage from the boat of missing man Tony Higgins, the Margrel, has been found about three kilometres south-east of the Murray Mouth a day after the official search was called off (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/missing-sa-boatie-tony-higgins-search-called-off-margrel/12698488).

SA Police said local police and water operations officers discovered the bow of the vessel among other debris just before 1:00pm today.
Images and footage were posted on social media showing other parts of the boatalong the shore, including its name and the roof of its cabin.
The posts showed pieces of timber, a compass and a flare kit were among the items on the beach.
Mr Higgins is yet to be found.







****! It is not looking good for Old Mate tone is it?[bigsad]

[trout1105]

****! It is not looking good for Old Mate tone is it?[bigsad]

Old Mate was simply an accident waiting to happen anyway, Maybe just maybe this will serve as a warning to the other dumb arses that own boats that have no ****ing idea in the future.