summer 2014-15 qf4 - colour web - final

8/9/2019 Summer 2014-15 QF4 - Colour Web - FINAL

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2 | Coast Guard Rescue Sunshine Coast

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Welcome to the Summer edition of Coast Guard RescueSunshine Coast. I trust you have all survived the festive seasonand are settling into another year.

Based on recent years, 2015 will deliver another increasingly busyyear for the otillas in the Sunshine Coast Squadron. Our memberswill be busy training to keep their skills up-to-date. Our boat crewswill continue to be there at a moments notice when calls for help arereceived. Our radio rooms will continue to keep watch, providing alistening safety net for boaties at sea. Our fundraisers will continueto work hard raising the vital funds to keep our boats aoat and ourotillas operating, and our administrators will continue to provide

leadership and management of our otillas to hold everything together.If you wanted an example of volunteers in action, look no further

than your local Australian Volunteer Coast Guard otilla. AVCGA is there24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, providing a vitalemergency rescue service for the boating community.

The many and varied aspects of this service are highlighted inthis issues collection of assist stories. Long tows, short tows, big motorcruisers, trawlers, jet boats, small powerboats. Coast Guard was on thescene for all of these calls for assistance. What busy people weve been!

In addition to those stories, we have an interesting collection offeature stories, including unloading a bus on Norfolk Island and parttwo of Pete Wilmots voyage down the Queensland coast. We have a

couple of stories that highlight the dangers associated with boatingin shipping channels - thanks to Brisbane Marine Pilots for comingon board with this important information that is vital reading for allboaties who operate in or around shipping channels.

On the technical front, one of our supporters has sent in a storyabout his (costly) experiences with marine electrolysis, and we havean article about trailer maintenance (and a story that highlights theimportance of this!) As if thats not enough, theres all the news andviews from your local otilla.

This eighth issue ends Coast Guard Rescue Sunshine Coastssecond year of publication. I acknowledge the support of the editorialteams at each otilla - the magazine would not happen without yourefforts gathering contributions. So if you are a member of Coast Guard

or a member of the public and you like what youre reading, let yourlocal otilla know. Your feedback is an important part of keeping thestandard of this publication as high as possible.

Until next time, enjoy the read, stay safe on the water andremember to log on before you leave!

Safety by all Means.

Julie HartwigEditorVice Captain PublicationsSunshine Coast Squadron

Editors CornerPUBLISHING INFORMATIONCoast Guard Rescue Sunshine Coastis

published quarterly by AVCGA SunshineCoast Squadron.Copies are available from QF4 Caloundra,QF6 Mooloolaba, QF5 Noosa, QF17 Tin CanBay and QF21 Sandy Straits. Please contactthe Flotilla.Coast Guard Rescue Sunshine Coastisavailable via email. To join the emailing list,please contact the otilla representative foryour area.Coast Guard Rescue Sunshine Coastis alsoavailable via download. Visit the otillaspage on the Coast Guard website at www.coastguard.com.au.For advertising enquiries, please contact theotilla representative for your area.

EDITOR:Vice Captain Julie Hartwig

Ph: 07 5486 4014

M: 0498 377 402

E: [email protected]

P: 2A Bass St, Tin Can Bay, Qld 4580

Flotilla Editors:

QF4 Caloundra:John Gasparotto

E:[email protected] Noosa:Christian Dearnaley


QF6 Mooloolaba:Ian Hunt


QF17 Tin Can Bay:Julie Hartwig

E:[email protected]

QF21 Sandy Strait:Jon Colless

E:[email protected]

Disclaimer:Whilst every care is taken by theEditor to minimise errors, no responsibilityis accepted for the accuracy or otherwiseof contributions made by AVCGA members,and the information, images, illustrations andadvertisements contained herein. Opinionsexpressed in articles in this publication arethose of the authors. All content in thispublications is published with the consentand approval of the Sunshine CoastSquadron Board.

Copyright AVCGA Sunshine CoastSquadron, 2015

Visit Coast Guard on the web:www.coastguard.com.au
mailto:editor.sc%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:editor.sc%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:john.gasparotto%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:christian.dearnaley%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:ian.hunt%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:julie.hartwig%40coastguard.com.au?subject=http://../AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%208.0/en_GB/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://../AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%208.0/en_GB/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfmailto:julie.hartwig%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:ian.hunt%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:christian.dearnaley%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:john.gasparotto%40coastguard.com.au?subject=mailto:editor.sc%40coastguard.com.au?subject=


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Weather over spring has been just about perfect for on-wateractivity and forecasts are for this to continue. While requestsfor assistance have not always resulted in an assist, feedbackfrom the public is good and helps us keep boaties safe.

QF4s FTO, Coxswains and members-in-training haveproduced great results during 2014. The introduction of aTraining Crew under Leading Coxswain Roger Barnes andhaving three Restricted Coxswains assessed as competentfor Coxswain rating were highlights. The behind the sceneswork of FTO Graeme McKenzie in managing paper ow,the transition to MAR and managing scarce resources iscommendable.

Caloundra Rescue 1has been sold and is now in serviceas the primary rescue vessel for new Flotilla VF15 Mallacootain Victoria. The sale included vessel, trailer and truck. TheSquadron Board has approved the sale of Caloundra Rescue3and we are now awaiting the necessary additional approvals. The Boat Committee is searching for a suitablereplacement for Caloundra Rescue 2as retention of that vessel is not cost effective.

2014 saw considerable changes in QF4s fundraising, with changes to Kawana Shoppingtown making a presencethere no longer viable. The Fundraising Ofcer, Sharon Auhl, has searched out other opportunities which havebeen producing good results. I trust this will continue this year. The effort of all members in meeting the Flotillasfundraising commitment, which in turn maintains QF4s presence on the water, is truly appreciated.

The New Year is upon us, with 2015 offering opportunity and challenge. There is an election in June watchcarefully for advice on nominations and voting. Recruitment is critical to the Flotillas success and I trust last years

experience with attracting younger and female members will continue and grow. Training and fundraising, theperennial challenges, will accompany us through this year.

I am pleased to take this opportunity to thank QF4 members for their support through 2014, and to wish you,your partners, family and friends all the best for 2015. Thank you to QF4 Supporters, notably the Caloundra PowerBoat Club, for its long-standing support and last year, Bunnings Caloundra, and the many individuals and businesseswithout whose support Coast Guard Caloundra could not exist.

Tony BarkerCommander, QF4

Commanders Dispatches


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Top left & right: Santa arriving aboard CaloundraCaloundra Rescue 3with helper Roger Barnes.

Centre left & right:Handing out candy cane lollies to the

kids.Above: Santa delivering his Christmas Message.

Above centre and right: Santawith Roger Barnes.

Quarterdeck NewsCOAST GUARD CALOUNDRA GIVESSANTA A HELPING HAND

When Santa decided to treat the childrenenjoying themselves on our pristine waterways,he needed help so he called in Coast GuardCaloundra to come to his assistance.

We launched Caloundra Rescue 2withBarry Grice at the helm on the Saturday andSunday before Christmas and soon had Santadistributing lollies to locals and holiday visitorsalike.

Santas visit attracted media coveragewith both Local Seven and Win News coveringthe event.

Barry and the crew would like to take theopportunity to apologise to Santa for gettinghis shiny boots wet on the Saturday but thatsanother story.

Santa with the crew of

Caloundra Rescue 2(above)

provided much joy to local

children and visitors alike (left).

CALOUNDRA COAST GUARD HELPSCOMMUNITY EVENT

Caloundra Coast Guard has again supported thelocal community by providing Caloundra Rescue3and crew to look after participants in theannual Lights on the Lake, held on CurramundiLake. But they also brought Santa to life at thiscommunity family event.

According to the event organiser DavidAllan, Peter Gehrig in his role as Santa, broughtthe jolly bearded gentleman in the red suit tolife.

Santa, as we all know, is the heart of anyChristmas festival and having him arrive onboard Caloundra Rescue 3skippered by Roger

Barnes gave a special thrill to the assembledchildren.

Santas environmental message, deliveredon stage, highlighting the needto look after our waterwayswhile celebrating the festiveseason was spot-on!

Santas arrival with hishelper Roger Barnes, and thegreeted by children eager tomeet him and to get a candycane lolly was certainly a

highlight of the night. Rogerand Peter also operated as asafely vessel during the waterprocession ensuring all arrivedback on shore safe.


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Quarterdeck NewsTHREE GENERATIONS OF ONE FAMILY HELPKEEP BOATIES OUT OF HARMS WAY

Three generations of the same family are serving CoastGuard Caloundra at the same time. It all started over 41years ago when the tragic deaths of two air hostessesand a steward on the Caloundra Bar resulted in QF4Coast Guard Caloundra being formed.

A group of like-minded volunteer foundingfathers including Dennis Blumenthal were instrumentalin setting up the local rescue service.

During the early days, Dennis, who lives at Golden

Beach, used to respond to emergency calls at all hoursday and night in his own boat with his daughter Sharonas crew.

It was difcult in the early days to get a crewto respond to rescues late at night so I roped in mydaughter who was 12 at the time to help me crewour boat. The rst thing I taught Sharon was the manoverboard drill, just in case I found myself in the water she could come and rescue me. Dennis said.

Today, at 78, Dennis is still an active member. He no longer crews the rescue vessels but still puts in his time as abase radio operator. Sharon Auhl, his daughter, was appointed to the important role of Fundraising Ofcer and is alsotraining to be a base radio operator like her father.

Fundraising is a very important task in our organisation. It costs over $150,000 a year to keep our boats on

the water, so I would like to thank all who support us through our boat rafes, meat and seafood rafes and calendarsales. Its your kind generosity which keep our vessels on the water, keeping boaties out of harms way, said SharonSharons 24-year-old daughter Kayleen has also joined and is currently being trained as boat crew, and

according to her trainers she will make an excellent member of the Coast Guard.I decided to join the Coast Guard after obtaining my boat licence and it has been enjoyable and informative

training. I just cant wait to go out and help someone in trouble. Kayleen saidI can recommend the Coast Guard to any person over 18 who is looking to learn proper boat handling skills or

who just wants to do something for the community, she added.

Above, left to right:Kayleen and Sharon Auhl with DennisBlumenthal. Three generations of the same family undertakingdifferent roles at Coast Guard Caloundra and enjoying theadventure. (Photo by John Gasparotto)


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QF6 MOOLOOLABA PATRON - CAPTAIN MICHAEL ALEXANDERIt was late and I was very tired, yet I found it so hard to close my eyes. If I fell into a restless sleep would I be wakingup to the urgent sound of the ships re alarms? Would I be waking up to the smell of a burning ship? Would I even bewaking up at all...?

My life jacket had been tied around my body for the last ve days and although it made moving about moreawkward, it was a small reassurance of safety. Our other comfort was the constant presence of the US Coast Guardsailing close by, ready to spring to action should we need to abandon ship. The nerves of every crewman on board weredrawn tight from both fatigue and worry. No one had foreseen how dangerous this voyage would be, yet everybody wascommitted to bring our ship safely to its destination.

A voyage of this kind had never been undertaken before so nobody was aware of the dangerous situations thatwould arise so soon after leaving the dock.

The coal being transported was of a commercial grade, similar to the nest of talcum powder and lay in the ships

ve holds. The friction of the ships movement created heat on the bottom of the hull and it was this warmth that causedits spontaneous combustion. Fire after re ignited in all ve holds and had to be controlled before becoming a seriousthreat to the ship and all life on board. All ve holds were burning for the entire seven day journey across the ocean.

The crew was on four hours on - four hours off watch and had to sleep in their life jackets because they neverknew if they would have to abandon ship at a moments notice. The trip was so dangerous that they were accompaniedby a Coast Guard ship, a Coast Guard aircraft and at times, a Japanese Coast Guard helicopter.

Even after arriving at our destination, the coal continued to burn as they were unloading it and required reghting at all times. The crew was stunned to nd that all ve holds of the steel ship were completely buckled anddamaged from the res; such was the intensity of the heat. They were incredibly lucky to have survived the journey.

I have never forgotten that voyage and have never forgotten how grateful I was for the support of the CoastGuard. When you are so far from land, so far from home and in so dangerous a position, their presence was invaluable.

Born in Athens in Greece around the Second World War, Captain Michael Alexander grew up surrounded by a

culture rich in maritime history and a commercial reliance on the sea.After leaving school, he spent three years as a young man in the Greek Naval world, then continued his studiesand sea service in international commercial shipping. He complemented his Masters license with university studies inthe UK and USA and has worked for major shipping companies in Athens, London, Stockholm and New York.

As a ships Master, Captain Alexander has also delivered two Liberty Ships, M/V Eagleand M/V HawkfromBaltimore in the US to Kawasaki in Japan.

Now a proud father and grandfather, Captain Alexander has spent the last 25 years dedicated to using theknowledge he has accumulated to ensure his childrens children and further future generations have the chance of acleaner and safer marine environment.

In 2000, Captain Alexander was fundamental in the developmentand establishment of the Organisation AUSMEPA - Australian MarineEnvironmental Protection Association - which is a voluntary organisationwhose goals are to inspire students of all ages to engage in activities that

will protect the worlds oceans from pollution.In 2001, Captain Alexander was awarded the Australian Merchant

Navy Commendation, and just recently, his dedication and generoussupport as Chairman of AUSMEPA from its inception was also recognised.

Captain Alexander has never forgotten, however, how importanta service the Coast Guard performed through his time on the ocean andwas deeply shocked to learn that the Australian Coast Guard was purely avoluntary organisation and not supported by the Government, as it is inother countries around the world.

It is for this reason - this belief in the necessity of having a CoastGuard patrolling and protecting our shores - that he has become thePatron of QF6 Mooloolaba. His Patronage brings to our Flotilla, not only

the generous commitment of his time and nancial support but, alsothe knowledge and vast experience accumulated over the lifetime of hismaritime career.

Right:QF6 Patron Captain Michael Alexander aboard Rhondda Rescue.

Squadron News


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MARY RIVER NEWS In the Spring/Summer 2013-14 edition, QF21 published an article about boating facilities in the Great Sandy Strait. Sincethat time, at least one facility has been signicantly upgraded.Beaver Rock Ramp:The parking area at Beaver Rock ramp has been re-graded and surfaced and the area now has solarpowered security lights. The access road is still gravel, but has been graded. Its still an isolated facility and users shouldensure the security of vehicles left there as best they can. An overnight stay is not recommended.Crocodiles:The article also mentioned the appearance of crocodilesin the Mary River. Since then, two have been captured and relocated,but thats not all there are more! QPWS rangers have reportedsighting a 2m crocodile in the same stretch of the river.Mary River Floods:In an interesting sideline to the last major ood,the pontoons at the Lamington Bridge facility were lifted right off the

pylons because of the near record ood height. Normally they wouldhave been washed downriver and most likely lost or destroyed.

Fortunately, the design of the pontoons ensured that theywere not lost or even signicantly damaged. They are linked togetherwith steel cables, which are in turn anchored to the concrete baseblock. They were washed downriver to the extent of the cables, andleft perched in the mangroves a couple of meters above and awayfrom the river, from whence they were lifted back into position andthreaded back onto the pylons, little the worse for wear.River Navigation:A note to ramp users travelling down river fromthe Lamington Bridge facility. When making the turn around the bend just above the Granville Bridge, mariners areadvised to keep close to the inside of the bend at lower states of tide. The river is quite shallow for about 2/3 of the

width to the shore on the outside of the bend, and the bottom is coarse gravel and rocks. Not very good for aluminiumpropellers (here speaketh the voice of bitter experience!)Jon Colless, QF21

Shark CatTHE ORIGINAL AND THE BEST

Manufactured by

6 Producon Street, Noosaville Qld 4566

Phone: (07) 5449 8888 Fax: (07) 5449 9480

hp://www.noosacat.com.au/

Squadron News

Above:After a 2 year hunt, this 3.8m crocodilewas nally captured in the Mary River andrelocated to a crocodile farm near Rockhampton.(Photo by Brad Marcellos)


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WIDE BAY BAR NAVIGATION UPDATE In the latter half of 2014, Coast Guard Tin Can Bayreceived numerous reports of shallow water aroundWaypoint 2. As a result of these reports, MSQ have issuedan updated temporary Notice to Mariners (NtM #699) forthe Wide Bay Bar. This NtM supersedes all previous NtMand is available to download from the MSQ website at:http://www.msq.qld.gov.au//n/2014/december/ntm699t2014.pdf

Mariners are advised to note the following: NtM 699 (temp) now includes waypoints for

navigating the Wide Bay Bar.

Waypoint A and Waypoint B as per NtM 699 havebeen established in approximate positions by MSQ.

Coast Guard Tin Can Bay is only authorised to issuethe two sets of coordinates issued by MSQ as per NtM699. The coordinates are available by contacting theDuty Base Radio Operator at Coast Guard Tin Can Bay.No other coordinates (waypoints) may be issued.

NtM 699 is now accompanied by chartlet S11-262 (prepared 3 December 2014), which also includes additionalinformation including inbound and outbound bearings for the Hook Point sector light and the Inskip Point leads.

The GSS (South) boating safety paper chart (issued September 2009) DOES NOTcontain current updatedinformation as per NtM #699 and SHOULD NOTbe used to navigate the Wide Bay Bar. Using the Beacon toBeaconpublication to navigate the Wide Bay Bar is not advised.

Electronic charts may not reect the current updated information as per NtM #699. Mariners should check withtheir chart provider for updates.It should be noted that the Wide Bay Bar was last surveyed in 2013 and the new MSQ waypoints were derived

from that survey. However, following continued reports of shallow water around the new Waypoint B, MSQ ofcersvisited QF17 in early December 2014 and were taken out onto the bar on the otillas rescue vessel.

Following this reconnaissance, and despite shallow depths being observed (3 metres!), MSQ advised that thewaypoints issued in NtM #699 remain current. If mariners experience shallow depths and/or white water in the vicinityof WPT B, MSQ advise to give the coordinate a wide berth! QF17 skippers have identied clear water (i.e. no whitestuff!) approximately 100m to the north of Waypoint B and depths of around 8-11m.Hook Point Light Upgrade:Mariners are also advised that the Hook Point sector light has recently undergone anupgrade that saw the installation of new bulbs and an increased battery capacity to make the light brighter. Duringthis process, an issue with the lights wiring was also identied and repaired. The white day light was also changedfrom an isophase light to a continuous illuminating xed light.

MSQ advise that the light should be visible for up to 5 nautical miles offshore in daylight (conditionsdependent). It is hoped this upgrade will greatly improve navigation of the bar, where mariners have been reportingissues with the lights visibility (often not seen at all) for some time.

At the time of publication, the new waypoints andupgraded Hook Point light have been in operation foralmost two months. However, Coast Guard Tin Can Bayrescue vessels continue to observe vessels crossing thebar using the old waypoints. Mariners are urged to checkthe Notice to Mariners (NtM #699) and contact CoastGuard Tin Can Bay to obtain the latest information beforecommencing a bar crossing.

For more information: Duty Base Radio Operator

phone (54864290), radio (VHF Ch 80 or 82), email([email protected]) or visit in personbetween the hours of 0600 and 1800 daily.

Julie Hartwig, QF17

Squadron News

Above:This photo of the Hook Point light was taken fromWaypoint A (approximately) 3nm offshore) at 4.53pm on 28December. The light was reported as being clearly visible.(Photo by QF17 Leading Coxswain Jon Jones)

Approx. 3nm
http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/%E2%80%A6/n%E2%80%A6/2014/december/ntm699t2014.pdfhttp://www.msq.qld.gov.au/%E2%80%A6/n%E2%80%A6/2014/december/ntm699t2014.pdfmailto:operations.qf17%40coastguard.com.au?subject=Wide%20Bay%20Bar%20Informationmailto:operations.qf17%40coastguard.com.au?subject=Wide%20Bay%20Bar%20Informationhttp://www.msq.qld.gov.au/%E2%80%A6/n%E2%80%A6/2014/december/ntm699t2014.pdfhttp://www.msq.qld.gov.au/%E2%80%A6/n%E2%80%A6/2014/december/ntm699t2014.pdf


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own airline - Norfolk Air - was administered by the islandsgovernment and began operating in 2006 (it subsequentlyceased operations in December 2010). A mobile phonenetwork was established in 2007 and the island becamea stopping off point for cruise ships. In 2010, the islandshistorical settlement at Kingston was inscribed on the WorldHeritage List. Currently, the island is reported to be in aprecarious nancial position and a campaign is underwayto return the administration of the island to the Federal

government.SUPPLY LINESDuring the 225 years of European settlement, the islandhas seen many changes, but one thing that has remainedvirtually unchanged is the method used to supply the islandwith many of its requirements.

When HMS Supplyanchored in Sydney Bay off Kingston in 1788, stores and equipment for the new settlementwere loaded into the ships boats and rowed ashore via a harrowing passage over the treacherous reef whichfringes the bay, and unloaded on the shore at the foot of Flagstaff Hill. The danger associated with this process washighlighted when HMS Sirius, Captain Arthur Phillips First Fleet agship and a vital link in the edgling colonyscommunications with England, was wrecked on the reef in 1790, while en route to China to procure supplies for theSydney Cove settlement.

Thankfully, arriving on the island is a lot easier these days. Air New Zealand now provides the only regularpassenger airline services to the island with ights arriving and departing ve days per week. While some cargo isbrought in by air, cargo ships remain the islands principal supply and trade lifeline with the outside world.

Two ships - Southern Tiareand Norfolk Guardian- currently service the island, running weekly cargo servicesbetween the island and Auckland, Sydney and Brisbane.CARGO HANDLINGAll cargo - including cars and large vehicles, equipment, building materials, furniture and electrical goods, all retailgoods, medical supplies, food and wine - arrives by ship and is delivered to the island by unpowered 8m lighters,modelled on the whaleboat chasers used by the whaling industry early last century. Crewed by up to six lightermen,when under tow, the lighters are steered by a single steering oar from the stern.

The motor launches which tow the lighters usually have a crew of three: a helmsman, a crew operating thethrottle and a deck hand. The reason for separate crew on the helm and throttle is because the launches are tiller-steered and the throttle control is located mid-ships on the starboard side of the cabin. When not in use, the lighters

and motor launches are stored on trailers and garaged in sheds near Kingston Pier.Due to the size of the lighters, standard 20-foot and 40-foot shipping containers cannot be handled, so all

cargo is packed on pallets or in crates and lifted into the lighters using the ships derricks. Single lighters are used forofoading general cargo and items such as cars and livestock crates. For larger cargo like buses and similar heavyequipment, two lighters are lashed together with timber cross-beams, and a large platform is secured to the cross-beams. Once loaded, the lighters are towed to the pier by motor launch, where cranes unload the cargo onto trucksfor dispersal.

Its worth noting that cargo has been handled in this manner since the island was rst settled. The only thingthat has changed is the mechanization of the ships, launches and cranes: cargo ships and motor launches are nowpowered by diesel engines instead of sails and oars, and derricks and cranes are used instead of blocks, ropes, tacklesand pully-hauly manpower.MARITIME INFRASTRUCTURE

The island has no designated harbours, no marina facilities and no safe anchorages for small craft. Boat launchingfacilities extend to a concrete ramp at Kingston and a beach launching site at Emily Bay. The only commercial maritimefacilities are two piers - one on the south coast at Kingston, and another smaller pier on the north coast at CascadeBay. Both are equipped with cranes and both are generally inadequate for the islands shipping needs.

The Kingston Pier has accessibility issues at lowtide, while the Cascade Pier is too short for vessels to layalongside. Ships - both cargo and passenger cruise liners- must anchor up to half a mile offshore, and cargo andpassengers are transferred to shore by lighters (cargo)and Zodiacs (passengers). This operation can only beconducted when sea, swell and tide conditions permit.When they dont, cargo ships anchor offshore in theislands lee awaiting calmer weather. (The longest wait

Left:Transporting a car from the ship to shore. Most of thevehicles on the island are small 4-cylinder cars, imported fromNew Zealand.

Above:Unloading cargo at Cascade Pier.


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currently stands at eighteen days!) The tight schedulesof cruise liners dont permit this luxury. Currently, aroundseven cruise ships visit Norfolk each year and of these, atleast two ships are usually unable to transfer passengers toshore because of rough seas or excessive swell. Its a majorloss of revenue for the island and there are calls to improvethe maritime infrastructure to minimise these losses.UNLOADING A BUSThe arrival of supply ships is broadcast on local radio and

if unusual items are to be ofoaded, its a highlight for theislanders.

During my visit to the island last November,Southern Tiarearrived with a mixed bag of general cargoand a few unusual items, including two breeding bulls inlivestock crates, two new cars, and a 16-seat bus.

Sea conditions were unfavourable for ofoading,so the ship spent three days anchored in the lee ofPuppies Point on the west coast. After two days, thelivestock became aggravated by the proximity of land andthe decision was made to ofoad them, despite strongwinds, rough seas and two to three metre swells making

conditions at Kingston far from ideal. I never witnessed theofoading, but by all accounts, it was a real seat-of-the-pants experience and the livestock crates were very nearlylost several times.

The arrival of a 16-seat bus is not an everydayoccurrence, so islanders and tourists alike were waiting inanticipation for the radio notication of when unloadingwould commence. On the morning of the fourth day (mylast day on Norfolk), conditions had abated sufcientlyfor the unloading to proceed. Tiareanchored half a mileoff Kingston Pier, and motor launches and lighters werelaunched. By eight oclock in the morning, a large crowdarmed with picnic blankets and deck chairs, thermoses and

picnic baskets, binoculars, cameras and camcorders, hadtaken up vantage points around the pier to witness theunloading of the bus. It was quite a social occasion.

With two lighters lashed together and the platformsecured, the motor launch towed the lighters out to theship and secured them alongside. Stevedores on boardthe ship prepared the bus by securing lifting straps aroundthe buss wheels and securing these to a lifting bridle.After a couple of false starts (even though conditions werecomparatively calmer, there was still a two-metre swellrunning), the bus was nally lifted off the ships deck andlowered onto the platform straddling the two lighters,

where it was secured for the half-mile tow to the pier.The geography of Sydney Bay features a fringing

reef running the length of the mouth of the bay. To easeaccess to the pier, an opening was blown through thereef to the right of the pier, granting safer access to thecomparatively sheltered bay where HMS Supplysboats rstlanded 1788. I say comparatively because even days withmoderate conditions see large waves breaking over thepier, and in very rough conditions, the reef inside the bayis a mass of huge breakers and white water. To say it is adangerous place is an understatement and it is not difcultto see how HMS Siriuswas wrecked on the reef here.

With the swell running, the motor launch waitedfor several minutes outside the reef for a break in theincoming swells. There were a few anxious moments whenthe lighters were caught beam on by swells, but the menon the steering oars quickly got the lighters pointing in the

Top:Transferring passengers from a visiting cruise ship atCascade Pier.

Above:Passengers embarking on a Zodiac at Kingston Pier toreturn to a cruise ship anchored in Sydney Bay.

Above:Preparing the bus to be hoisted from the ship to thelighter. Note the attitude of the ships bow, giving an indicationof the swell conditions, and the waves breaking on the reef.(Photo by Julie Hartwig)

Above:Lifting the bus into the lighter. Note the lines on thebuss wheels, used by the lightermen to guide the bus intothe correct position on the platform, and the motor launchstanding by ready to take up the tow. (Photo by Julie Hartwig)


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right direction. When a suitable interval in the swell arrived, the launch accelerated quickly and the lighters and theirunwieldy cargo were towed through the surf break to the jetty.

Once tied up alongside, stevedores prepared to unload the bus. This involved reattaching the lifting bridle tothe shore crane, and hoisting the bus from the lighter platform onto the pier. Needless to say, a rousing cheer and around of applause rang out when the buss wheels touched down.

With the bus unloaded, the platform was lif ted off by crane and the cross-beams were unlashed and removed,then craned off. The lighters were then towed one behind the other back out to the ship to continue unloading the

rest of the cargo.Only an hour elapsed from the time the lighters arrived alongside the ship to load the bus to when they cast off

from the pier after completing the unloading ashore. It was an impressive performance, and demonstrated that thelightermen and launch crews are vastly experienced seamen possessed of skills, knowledge and experience handeddown from one generation of islanders to the next for hundreds of years.WH&S ... NOT!This form of cargo handling is clearly a high-risk operation. However, its worth noting that workplace health andsafety is virtually non-existent. Boat crews wear nothing but work boots and shorts. Some wear hi-vis shirts. No safetyequipment and harnesses are used and boat crews dont wear life jackets. One stevedore even rode on top of the busfrom the ship to the pier, and the lighter crews were often in perilous situations beneath the bus.

There is a push from some quarters lobbying for improved maritime infrastructure for lightermen and launchcrews to have formal stevedoring and commercial maritime qualications, and for a WH&S regime to be implemented.

This lobby is also advocating the wearing of protective safety equipment including hard hats, hi-vis shirts and vests,protective boots, gloves, hearing protection and safety glasses, and life jackets on board the boats. It should be notedthat the islanders are not part of this lobby, which formulated a report after visiting all of Australias external islandterritories to investigate maritime infrastructure and freight handling practices.THE FUTUREConsidering the islands history of stevedoring and boat handling, and the fact that the unloading of cargo ships hasbeen conducted in this manner for hundreds of years, it will be interesting to see whether the proponents of suchmeasures succeed in changing the islanders maritime practices.

Watching the stevedores, lightermen and launch crews unloading the ship, I observed that they worked happily,efciently and in a safe manner without the impost of risk management and occupational safety measures that appearto have been taken to almost ridiculous extremes in this country. (One wonders how long it would have taken them tounload the bus if the procedure had been subject to our WH&S practices! I suspect considerably longer!)

While I only spent eight days on the island (I do plan to return!), it quickly became apparent that the islanderspossess a resourcefulness inherited from their mutineer ancestors (the islands phone book is littered with the namesof HMS Bountysmutineers). Whether they possess the same rebellious streak remains to be seen, but I suspect thatthe proponents of change to current maritime practices may be pushing a heavy barrow up a steep hill and there areplenty of those on this little piece of Pacic paradise!

Above:Mission almost accomplished. The motor launch Guppy(one of two launches currently in service) tows the two lighters andtheir load into shelter behind the Kingston Pier. Note the stevedore riding on top of the bus, the crew working hard at the steering oar,and the positions of the rest of the lighters crew. Note also the damage done to the roof of the bus by the lifting bridle.(Photo by Julie Hartwig)


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ugh! Both the sail drives were shot ducks. Well leave ourreaders to guess the cost of this lesson in terms of new saildrives and so on, but be assured it inicted real nancialpain and it gave us a erce determination that it mustnever happen again!WHAT IS ELECTROLYSIS?So where to begin? Lets start by narrowing the focus ofour discussion. We will dene electrolysisas the rapiddestruction of metals in water that occurs through

the introduction of an external electrical current. Thecurrent seeks out underwater metal in its search for earth and as it leaves the metal on its way to ground, it carriesbits of the metal with it. This process occurs rapidly andwith little regard for the quality of metals being attacked.

The most notable underwater issue that is oftenconfused with electrolysis is galvanic corrosion. Corrosionis the result of the natural interaction betweendissimilar metals in contact with each other. Thecorrosive process is hardly noticeable when the two metalsare dry, but when seawater is introduced the seawater actsas an electrolyte or conductor accelerating the corrosive

activity; that accelerated process is galvanic corrosion.Galvanic corrosion is a serious issue and there are plenty of opportunities for it to occur on vessels, e.g. bronzepropellers on steel shafts or stainless fastenings on aluminum ttings, but it is a complex issue that is beyond thespace available here. So well just note galvanic corrosion here as a discussion for another day and move back to theproblems encountered on CatNirvanaINVESTIGATING THE CAUSEWith CatNirvana, the speed and extent of the damage to the sail drives made a diagnosis of electrolysis, as incorrosion due to the introduction of stray current(s), fairly obvious. From the damage we saw on her sail drives, weknew that somewhere, among all CatNirvanaselectronic array or among the array of potential currents that mightcirculate around her home on our jetty, there was a serious stray current using the sail drives as the path to earth andrapidly eating away at all that metal in the water.

So there were two challenges: rstly, nd and eliminate the stray current, and secondly, ensure that whateverdefenses were available were in place to protect us against the same threat(s) in the future.

The rst challenge, to nd the offending stray current, turned out to be incapable of a certain answer. A fullin-water electrolysis survey was conducted immediately on CatNirvanasreturn to the water in Coomera. While thatsurvey was an interesting and learning experience, no obvious faults were uncovered. In hindsight, however, thesurvey may have missed an important step, viz. running the generator might have revealed a faulty element in ourwater heater that soon needed replacement and might also have been the source of our electrolysis attack.

Anyway, the survey left us focused on the potential issues around the home jetty, and the more we learnedabout that situation, the more concerned we became that this could be a search with no answer!

In any situation where a vessel is on shore power, the vessel is automatically earthed to the entire electricalgrid around it. For many vessels this will include other nearby vessels (e.g. in a marina), with the result that a straycurrent leaking off one vessel may nd its earth on another vessel, attacking the other vessel, but leaving no trace of aproblem on the source vessel.

For CatNirvana, there were few other nearby vessels, but rather than improving the situation, the absence of

other vessels nearby made our picture even more complex. In the event of a long dry spell, when the water tableslowered, those big hunks of underwater metal on CatNirvanabecame an attractive earth to any stray current from theentire neighborhood of homes around us! Argh!! Considering the inherent unknown and virtually limitless possiblesources of stray currents around the home jetty, we were advised to consider only connecting CatNirvanato shorepower when there was a specic need such as cleaning or de-humidifying, or prior to embarkation to top-up thebatteries and chill the refrigeration systems. We now follow that advice and leave our solar panels to look after thebatteries.

So, after all our efforts to identify the problem stray current, we came away very uncertain of the outcome.Other than the faulty element in CatNirvanaswater boiler that revealed itself a bit later, there was no clear culprit.PREVENTATIVE MEASURESOur focus thus became very much one of ensuring that every possible defensive mechanism was in place. BeforeCatNirvanawas returned to the water, we added two very important defenses a galvanic isolator and underwateranodes specically dedicated to the sail drives.

The galvanic isolator is a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-install device that, in simple terms, breaks the earthcoming onto the vessel from shore power. The galvanic isolator thus protects the vessel from stray currents fromother nearby vessels or homes. This protection is not absolute, but it is signicant and it can be relied upon as a majorthreshold to deter nearby stray currents. Our experience strongly suggests that a galvanic isolator should be installed

Above:One of CatNirvanasnew sail drives.


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on every cruising vessel.Underwater anodes would be well-known to

all vessel owners, but what may not be appreciatedis that the range of effectiveness of such anodes islimited. A typical zinc anode in salt water provides aprotection radius of 1-2 metres. On CatNirvana, forexample, in spite of the advanced degradation ofthe sail drives, her hull anode midships was virtuallyunaffected. As well, some anodes included with

underwater hardware are relatively small for thetask, especially if there is a constant stray currentpresent or possible. That was certainly the casefor CatNirvanasanodes on each sail drive. So forCatNirvana, we added to her previous anode arrayby installing two large anodes on the inboard hullsclose to each sail drive, and then earthed those newanodes back to the sail drives inside the hull.

Before we leave the subject of anodes, severalfurther comments are important. Firstly and mostimportantly, anodes are NOT set-and-forget installations! Anodes should be inspected regularly. A bright, shinyanode suggests active electrolysis; this situation calls for an immediate electrolysis check. An anode with building up

oxidation cover is normal Zinc is self-protecting but it may mean that you should scrape off the oxide to ensurethe underlying metal is still functioning as anode; this situation suggests you do not have a stray current problem.Degrading anodes suggest problems and further checking and they certainly need to be replaced! Unless they arevirtually in as-new condition, anodes should be replaced at every haul-out as they are an inexpensive insurance policyagainst a potentially very expensive problem!

Happily, our regular checks now suggest no further electrolysis on CatNirvana. That said, it was such a painful(and potentially very dangerous) problem, we will continue to be vigilant and to that end we also now embrace a fewfurther preventive steps that we should also suggest for our readers consideration:

Switch all batteries off when leaving the vessel for any extended period; Only connect to shore power when you need it; Regularly check the battery terminals and casings to ensure they are clean and dry; Regularly check the earthing connections (also known as bonding straps) inside the vessel to ensure theconnections are clean and secure; and Regularly check (and, if appropriate, clean) your anodes!

Above:CatNirvanasnew anodes.

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The morning dawned bright and clear for a Blue Sunday crew day. Following the crew brieng, our primary rescuevessel, Rhondda Rescue, was made ready for operations.

Given the reasonable conditions, it provided the perfect opportunity to carry out a Navigation Exercise(NAVEX) to complete the practical phase of the navigation course for one of the crew. Once the chart work hadbeen completed, with the three target positions charted and waypoints entered into the GPS (not for the use of thecandidate navigator, by the way), off we set from QF6.

The rst leg of the NAVEX required us to arrive at a waypoint approximately 2 nautical miles north east of OldWoman Island, with the position being conrmed by the navigator after consulting the chart and conrming bearingsto landmarks using the hand-held compass.

Once the navigator was happy that we had arrived at the rst target, the position was veried by uncoveringthe GPS screen. Great work! We were within 200 metres of the position, well within the 500-metre requirement. With achange of helmsman we set off on the 7 nautical mile leg, to a position not far from the East Cardinal Mark, aka TheBlinker, off Mooloolaba.

All was well for the rst section of the journey, with bearings taken and course alterations made. Sitting in the

starboard seat and observing the surroundings, I noticed an unusual object on the horizon, which looked like a yachtsmast at an angle of about 60 degrees to the horizon. However, we observed that no sails were visible and started towonder how a yacht could be at an angle of 60 degrees with no sails up. Fearing that it could be perhaps a catamaranwith one hull sinking, even though no calls for assistance had been made, we increased our speed towards the mast.

As we got closer to the object, our trainee navigator advised that the mast seemed to be in the exact positionof our second target. Great work again! We had found a possible vessel in distress without even trying.

However, as we got closer, our thoughts of a heroic rescue became somewhat subdued, as it seemed what wewere looking at was a crane mast. Whats a crane doing out here? Still closer and we could see that the crane was on abarge being towed by a tugboat, which seemed to be having some issue with the towline.

We ceased our NAVEX for the time being and stood off the tug and barge, just in case our assistance wasneeded. Then it started to get busy out there, rst with the Pilot Boat turning up, followed soon after by Whale One,obviously interested in the unusual sight as well.

After observing the Pilot Boat obviously in discussion with the tugs crew for some time, the Pilot Boat started

slowly heading south towards Brisbane, with the tug and barge following closely behind. The tug had apparently beingwaiting for an escort into Brisbane, coincidentally right at our second target position. Once they had moved off, WhaleOnealso departed in search of more whales and we were left on our own to ponder what might have been.

Thoughts quickly returned to the NAVEX, with the navigator positioning us right at the required waypoint,which was a terric result given the half an hour of moving around the tug and barge we had just done. So, on to thethird waypoint successfully, which completed a most unusual NAVEX, with an unexpected target that we are unlikely toever see again?

UnexpectedTarget

by Ian HuntBlue Sunday Skipper, QF6
http://www.caloundrapowerboat.com.au/


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Trailer Maintenance

by Ian CranneyMaintenance Team, QF6

After three months of wet and windy weekends, the weather gods have nally given us a great weekend for anoffshore trip. The big Spaniards are on the chew no matter what you throw at them. The boat has full tanks, thecrew is organised, the gear is all checked and serviced, and most important, she who must be obeyed has given

a leave pass (probably sick of the bad weather complaints and cant wait to get us out from underfoot!) Well checkthe trailer tyre pressures at the servo on the way and we know the lights are OK because they worked last time.

As we pull out of the driveway and start to accelerate, a nasty rumbling and scraping sound makes itselfevident. Yes, you guessed it, collapsed wheel bearing. Small thing but enough to ruin the start of the trip if not thewhole weekend.

While youve managed to get back home with a minimum of fuss, and it is an easy x to change the oldbearing, you may as well get the rest of the crew to check the tyresand lights while you do the job.

The tyres are OK ... apart from the big bulge on the inside. Noproblem; just t the spare. What spare? As if thats not enough, acheck of the signal lights reveals that the brake lights ash with theleft blinker and the right blinker doesnt work at all. End of trip.

All these are common problems and can be avoided with alittle bit of after-trip maintenance.

Wash your trailer: We all hose our boat down after each trip andmost of us do the trailer as well. The salt build-up is best removedwith a mild soap solution and rinsed off with fresh water. Make sureyou get inside the channels and behind the wheels (starting to soundlike my mother!) Soap can be corrosive, so make sure the rinse isthorough. I use an old weed spray bottle that clips to the gardenhose that allows me to turn the soap solution on and off as required.Lubrication:Spray the springs and wheel nuts with WD40 or similar.However, take care not to get WD40 on your brake pads or discs or it could beembarrassing next time you have to stop in a hurry.Wheel bearings:Use of positive pressure bearing caps is a good idea but youwill still need to service the wheel bearings periodically by removing, repacking

with good quality grease and re-tensioning on reassembly. The best of sealingsystems will still let water in when hot bearing and axle assemblies come incontact with cold water.Lights: As far as trailer lights go, the removable light board systems are good asthey generally dont go for a swim. These days, most trailer lights that are hard-


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wired to the trailer are designed for immersion and so apart from bulbfailure (not much of a problem with led lights), are fairly reliable.Wiring: The same cant be said for the wiring. Most trailer wiring comesin a ready-made commercial harness that is not designed for salt waterimmersion so corrosion and eventually open circuiting of the systemoccurs. This usually shows up when, as earlier in this yarn, the lightsdont behave. If you are lucky, and the ne screws that hold the wires intheir relevant ttings havent corroded as well, its just a simple matter ofcutting and stripping back the wire to where you get clean copper.

Electrical connections:Dont forget the trailer plug as well. It might notgo into the water (unless you are really unlucky) butit does suffer the same issues. In the ideal world, wewould use tinned wire, but the trailer people think itstoo expensive.Tyres: These are pretty easy to look after. Just makesure the pressures are checked regularly and the sidewalls show no signs of swelling and cracking.Trailer winch:Dont forget to service your trailerwinch occasionally. Check the cable for broken strands,kinking and corrosion. Its very embarrassingwhen the cable breaks and your pride and

joy shoots off the trailer, down the recentlyserviced rollers and ends up in the middleof the boat ramp. Everyone else thinks itsfunny until they realise the ramp cant be usedbecause some poor unfortunate boatie has theramp well and truly blocked. Apart from theinconvenience caused to the other ramp users,it plays hell with the gelcoat on your brightand shiny hull.

All this might sound like a lot ofmucking about, but most of this is what we inthe trade call preventative maintenance. Itusually takes a minimum of time when you return home to clean your boat and service your shing tackle.

Anyway, enough of this. See you on the boat ramp and tight lines to you all.


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In the last issue, Pete Wilmot picked up his new yacht Parmelia, and on Christmas Day, 2013, began sailing southfrom Townsville. Here is Part 2 of Petes diary ...

Day 3:Oh what a day! I simply cannot move. My sunburn is worse than I thought. OK lift yourself up off the bedas you cannot just roll over on it. Lets have a day off and let it heal. I justify this to myself by saying I need to read theinstruction manuals for the GPS and Depth Sounder.

More Vaseline all over. Its a beautiful anchorage here, but hell I am sore. Now my shing lure is out and all isgood. Bugger the impeller; I cant bend down anyway.

Lets have a beer and enjoy the fact I am living the dream I always wanted. I cant believe this boat was valuedat $200,000 and I got it for less than $40,000. What did I do right to deserve this? There seems to be no point to workanymore. Whoops, there we go: the good old brain going again, or maybe thats the beer. Anyway, beer time again andtime to take in the scenery.Day 4:Oh my, this sunburn is bad. Another day off with no justication needed. I just cant move enough to pull up themain sail. I may as well catch up on some reading. Kym gave me Fifty Shades of Greyand wants to test me on it. Im upto chapter 9 now and cannot believe girls like this. What other books do I have here? Theyre all too thick to start right

now so lets go for Sailing For Dummies.Note to Self:I need to learn to tune these sails so I can set the wheel and direction then trim the sails to match thedirection so there is no pressure on the wheel. Parmeliais a perfectly balanced boat, which is probably why she has doneseven Sydney to Hobarts. My main problem is the runners for the genoa are not correct and wont stay put, so I will haveto tie them off.

I may as well do some system checks. Oh boy, the batteries are super low. I think I left the winch switched on aswell as the fridge/freezer. This is not good - low batteries and no motor to charge them back up. Ill have to rely on thewind generator and solar panels to trickle charge them. Time to put Day 4 behind us with more Vaseline and some sleep.Day 5:OK, now is decision time: do I go back to Townsville or keep going? Townsville is two days back, Im sore andcannot move freely, I have no motor and low batteries. Or, do I just go over to Bowen and recover the situation? I may bethere for a week though. According to the charts I cannot go through the Whitsundays as they show a two-knot currentnear Whitsunday Island, which is the main track through. With no motor as a back up that may be asking for trouble. I

could just go around the islands altogether. Lets have a look at that option. Looks simple and safe, I may as well give ita go. Once I head into deep water I should have enough wind not to need the motor. Im feeling better and I can moveagain(ish) now that the sunburn has blistered, so things can only get better.

Whoops, spoke too soon. It turns out I have no winch. After 45 minutes winching the anchor in by hooking a ropeto the chain and pulling Ive got lung failure, sore muscles in my arms, belly and my neck and for some reason a cramp

Note to Self: ...

by Pete WilmotSkipper, SV Parmelia

Part 2 of the Diary of ParmeliasCruise Down the Queensland Coast


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in my little toe.Now for the mainsail and the genoa. It did not look this hard on the brochures. I can see why Gary does three

hundred push-ups every day.Alright on our way, straight across the top of the Whitsundays for three hours and turn to 140 degrees for the long

run down. I will have to sail all night at six knots and then still be one hundred nautical miles from the next mark point.In a way, this is good as the next section is just a truckload of islands to get through, so I will take time in the morning tostudy the charts closely as it looks like a mine eld.

Its late afternoon. I am still getting mobile service off the Whitsunday Islands which is awesome. Now its just ondark and a position check says I am good to turn south. Should I go for it or should I tuck in behind an island as I have

very little battery power for navigation lights, fridge, accessories and the GPS. Stuff it, no one will see me anyway in thedark and I will see them. Hopefully, no one else is stupid enough to do this in the dark. The wind is starting to pick upwhich is great. Lets go, Parmelia. You look after me and I will look after you.

We seem to be cruising pretty fast. I might turn on the GPS and see just how fast. Holy dooley! We are doing nineknots! That denitely classies as ying. Its pitch black and I dont have the battery power to run the GPS constantly. Ishould align my course by the stars. Guess what? The Southern Cross is right on 140 degrees. I did not know that.

The waves are up beside me now, almost reaching the topside of the deck. I hope we dont go too fast as I need tobe 100 NM off the next section by morning so I have some time to check the chart.

Oh boy! I think I have an alien in front of me. What the hell is that? GPS on quick-quick-quick. Im sure there areno islands around here but it wouldnt be the rst time Im wrong. OK, now I am really scared. This was denitely notin any brochures. What to do? I am going so fast I cannot stop and there is no way in the world Ill navigate close to anisland with no motor or lights. This thing is looking at me. What can be that big that is not an island? Is that a green

light coming into view? Crap. Its a super tanker.What is it doing here and what direction is it travelling? Am I going straight toward it? OK, now I am freaking out.Stop the bus - I want to get off! Be cool. It looks like a monster, actually it is. Right, I can see its green nav light so I haveright of way yeah that makes me feel loads better. I am so paranoid of super tankers as it is in the day. They look soscary in the night. Come on Parmelia; speed up a bit honey.

OK, that is ten minutes and I can see more green light so I think we are passing it safely. Phheww! Alright, now thelong slog all night. What is that ahead now? It looks like dual aliens. Two super tankers together. I am so paranoid aboutthese puppies and their direction, I think Ill cut a big left and go deep away from these monsters. Im not one to takechances (apart from the fact I set off with no motor and no lights).

I better do a quick GPS check. Jump downstairs, power on and oh dear, it indicates rocks on the left! No way! Whatis going on here? I never saw that on the charts. Wipe down the glasses for a better look. The left tanker has a red lightand the right tanker has a green light, Maybe they arent tankers but markers no way I cant be here! I am supposed tohave 100 NM in the morning to plan this. It is 0230 and I am heading at top speed into reef and island territory. I cant

believe this is happening. Once the GPS check says Im through the markers, itll be time to pull this wild horse up.Right, Im through the markers time to slow down. I will clear this by 5 NM and turn up into the wind and take

stock. I cant go on through here in the dark.Note to self:turning a fast and smoothly-sailing boat that is going with the wind at top speed around into the wind it isenlightening. The reason we were going so fast is the wind had picked up to 35 knots behind us, bordering on gale forcewind warning territory. From quiet KAOS to cyclonic condition KAOS with waves crashing over your bow is not cool. Bestway to describe it. This is not good, I must reef the mainsail down as I have way too much sail with 60 feet of kite.


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Next problem is that with that massive wind strength, you cant actually pull the sail down. There is too muchpressure, not to mention the boom crashing from side to side at three-hundred miles an hour.Note to self:stay well clear of the boom. OK, in amongst these islands, you cannot imagine I think Ill have to turn andkeep running as I cant get the sails down. Low and behold, at this wind strength, a sailing boat will not turn either wayonce it is head into such force.

I know I am being blown backwards as I can sort of see the lights of the markers disappearing into the background,so I quickly turn on the GPS and it says I have rocks close behind me so I do what any self-respecting person does in anout-of-control situation: I turn off the bad indication machine (GPS), sit down, put my head in my hands and have a littlecry.

OK, I say to myself. I cant go forward, I am being blown onto rocks. Poo is hitting the fan. I cant stop the boomcrashing from side to side without a ten-ton crane. Maybe it was a bad decision to sail through the night. With no motor,I am at the mercy of the wind. Mercy can be interpreted many ways. So, I spit the dummy as these are forces way out ofmy control.

I crawl to the front of the boat under the now killing-machine sails and release the anchor praying it will holdbefore I am on the rocks and trashed.

Praise every donkey in the world! The anchor grips and holds us. I simply go down stairs in the boat close all thewater tight hatches and go to bed to an unbelievable noise level and cuddle my life jacket.Day 6:Wakey, wakey. 0500 and the noise is gone (Yay!) I get up and look outside and what a beautiful day it is with verylittle wind. Im anchored in the middle of nowhere. I power up the GPS and realise that when I quickly checked the GPSin all the KAOS last night, it powered up on a range of 30 NM, so when I quickly looked at it and thought I was close torocks, I was actually around 10 NM away. HEART FAILURE OVER NOTHING. Right then, Pete, you hero-crying-in-the-

corner, lets have a coffee and get going.Three hours sleep and ready to party again. I tap Parmeliaon the bonnet, say thank you for saving my backside,you tough old gal, and get on with things.

The sails are still up so off we go. Within an hour, we are back to 25-knot winds from the north right up my stern.There is crazy swell, higher than the boat but as usual I cannot stop. Palmeliais just like Tarna, a huge racehorse we hadas kids that was comfortable to ride, powerful, smooth and fast. We sail all day at max speed as the northerlies do notback off.

Mackay and Rockhampton are certainly a long way apart, so I continue into the night.Day 7:I sail into day 7. I thought I was really gettingsomewhere when all of a sudden there is a reef, fullyexposed, around 40km long and nowhere to be found on themap. I am looking at the top of the reef, some areas nearlysticking out of the water but the GPS says it is 14m deep

in front of me. If it were nighttime I would have ploughedstraight into it.

So, sideways I go running along it, in big swell withPalmeliapowering through it. This is fun and Im sure its ina brochure somewhere. After Im halfway towards Vanuatu(or at least what felt like halfway) there is a 1km sectionthats been blasted down to 51m deep to get through. Yay!I feel I am almost home and can almost taste a cold beer (Ihave no fridge now and just enough power to run the GPSwhen needed).

At this point I can either struggle through all theislands or go far east and come down the coast. The thing

is, the GPS says it is 300 NM - still too far - and if there is nowind, I would be at the mercy of the tides on the way out.Being the cautious person I am, I decide not to and we sailtowards the Keppel Islands ...

Petes journey will continue in the next edition of CoastGuard Rescue Sunshine Coast.


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My son and his mate recently sold their 4.5m runabout that we rst read about in the fourth issue of this

magazine, and purchased a used 7m half-cabin so they could go offshore shing in style and comfort (or atleast more comfort than the previous rig). She came complete with a motor and trailer and appeared to be in

excellent condition.Having learned a thing or two from their previous boat-buying experience, they decided that a good test drive

was in order, and so a local river near the owners property provided the perfect place to take it for a spin. After asuccessful test drive the boat was declared to be the best thing since sliced bread, and so home they went with itfollowing along behind.

The weather forecast for the following day was excellent with only light winds and a small swell and so the rstoffshore shing quest was planned for the very next day. To beat the boat ramp rush they set off at 4am with the boatlled with ice (to keep the soon-to-be-caught sh fresh), as well as some bait and a full tank of fuel.

After a few minutes, they left the suburbs and began heading north on the freeway at around 90 clicks. Severalminutes later, my son got a bad feeling.

This doesnt feel right, he said.What do you mean? his mate asked.I dont know it just doesnt feel right, he replied.As this was just the second time they had towed this boat, he wasnt sure what it was exactly that felt wrong.

Stopping on the freeway during the day is dangerous enough, let alone stopping at night. But nevertheless theypulled over to check that everything was all right.

A quick roadside check revealed nothing out of the ordinary, in fact it didnt reveal anything at all, so theygot back in and headed off once again. But as soon as they were back on the road, my son again got the feelingsomething was wrong, but couldnt explain what exactly was up.

There were no obvious noises, swaying or pulling from the trailer, but he couldnt shake the feeling thatsomething just wasnt right.

Weve got to check it again, but well wait until we nd an emergency bay so we can have a good look, hesaid.

After about 300m, they came across a nice roomy emergency area, and so they once again pulled over.Grabbing a torch they ran their eyes over the most likely causes: the tow hitch, the trailer rollers, the axles andsuspension and then the wheels. At this point they discovered they had just dodged a very big bullet and thatsomeone up there must have been smiling down on them.

Their inspection of the wheels revealed thatone of the rims seemed to be at a funny angle and oncloser inspection, it was discovered that four of theve wheel nuts had sheared off (studs and all) andthat the fth one seemed to be hanging on by just athread. But what could cause such a major failure?

The answer lay with the last remaining stud,which showed that the wheel nuts had been put on

back to front. From what they could tell, the nuts hadstarted to undo themselves, which caused the loosewheel to vibrate then shear off the protruding stud.Its safe to say that a complete failure was probablyonly moments away, the results of which dont bearthinking about.

After the boat and trailer where picked up bya tow truck and taken to a mechanic, my son and hismate headed off on the drive home still thanking theirlucky stars.

The lesson learned from this experience was ofcourse to check and then check again, because even

though they looked over the trailer when they boughtit, neither of them spotted that the wheel nuts wereon back to front during that rst inspection.

I still dont know if they won anything with theirLotto ticket!

Worth a Lottery Ticketby Alan HallDeputy Commander, QF5

Above:The offending wheel nuts ... or at least whats left of the wheelstuds where they should have been.


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by Ian HuntSkipper, QF6

Most of us use the roads and we should be awareof the road rules. Keeping out of the way of othertrafc is helped by adhering to the myriad of lines

painted on the road and trafc signs. Unfortunately, thisis not the case when on the water and all boaties needto know and adhere to the rules of the sea, known as theInternational Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea(COLREGS).

There is an often used phrase that Might is Right, but fortunately for most of us who get out on the water insmaller vessels, this rule does not apply.

One of the hazards for those operating out of Mooloolaba is shipping. Being aware of the rules whenoperating near ships and the designated areas where you should not anchor, are extremely important aspects that all

skippers should be well aware of. The diagram (below right) shows where vessels should not anchor off Mooloolaba, soas not to interfere with shipping operations.Of course, as Murphys Law would have it, some vessels seem to know when to stop working for whatever

reason right in the shipping channels. I have been on several assists over the years to vessels in this situation, withthe worst being at night, especially if failed batteries mean that no navigation or other lights can be used. Skippersshould ensure that some form of portable lighting is carried to be able to warn of their vessels position if they ndthemselves in this dangerous situation.

As you can understand, big ships need plenty of room to turn or stop and so it is vital that they know youare there well before they get near to your position. If responding to a vessels call for assistance and we determinethat they are either in or near the shipping channels, we advise Brisbane Vessel Trafc Services (VTS) on either VHFChannels 16 and 12 or by phone on 07 3305 1700, so they are aware of the situation and can advise nearby ships.

Recently, we were proceeding to a vessel which had called for assistance. The vessel was anchored offCurrimundi. Sure enough, Murphys Law struck, with the vessel right in the middle of the shipping channel and two

ships rounding the Fairway Mark off Caloundra and heading North.The Automatic Identication System (AIS) that

we have is a great navigation aid and we were able toidentify the two ships and advise the Pilots on boardthat the small vessel in front of them could not move. Itis quite an experience to have one ship pass to seawardof both Rhondda Rescueand the broken down vessel,and the other pass inshore. I can only imagine the assistvessel skippers relief as he saw the ships changingcourse around his position.

So the bottom line is for small vessels to keepout of the way of ships, do not anchor in the designated

no anchoring area, pass behind ships underway and letCoast Guard know as soon as possible if you are in asituation where you cannot move quickly from the noanchoring area/shipping channel.

Might is Right


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Alternately, notify Brisbane VTS by radio oneither Channel 16 or 12 or by phone on 07 3305 1700.Contacting nearby ships that you are concerned abouton either Channel 16 or 12 is another option, but tryto call the ship by name, if possible, or at least by shiptype, colour and position.

I heard a call recently where a vessel called,the ship on my starboard side - what would you likeme to do? The reply from someone unknown was:

vessel calling - there are a number of ships out here.Which one do you mean? We can all see the possibleconfusion caused by such a call.

Brisbane Marine Pilots (BMP) operate the pilotboats out of Mooloolaba, as well as providing pilotsfor those ships requiring their services to enter andexit the Port of Brisbane. Thanks to BMP for providingtheir article and photos, which are in this edition.

CASE STUDY:When theAtalanta ofChestermet the Hanne Knutsen...

The series of photos at right shows what happenswhen a small boat contests sea room with a largeship. As can be seen, small boats never win suchconfrontations and often, the damage is at bestcatastrophic and at worst fatal.

In this instance, the 40ft yacht,Atalanta ofChester, was competing in the rst race of the UKsprestigious Cowes Week regatta in 2011. Ownedand skippered by a Royal Navy lieutenant, theyachts crew consisted of several RN ofcers andnon-commissioned ofcers, all of whom were vastlyexperienced seamen and regular competitors in

international sailing events, including the Fastnet Raceand the Sydney to Hobart.

Even though the yachts crew had sighted the860ft tanker, Hanne Knutsen, 15 minutes earlier, theskipper claimed in court that he had misinterpretedthe ships intended movements. When it becameapparent that collision was imminent, it was too lateto take avoiding action. The yacht was dismasted inthe collision, and while one crew member jumpedoverboard and another suffered head injuries,fortunately, there were no fatalities.

The skipper was found to be solely responsible

for the collision and found guilty of failing to obeyseveral maritime rules, including not keeping clear therequired distance in a shipping channel. The judgefound in favour of the shipping company, citing thatthe skipper had sufcient time and opportunity totake appropriate avoiding action to avoid the HanneKnutsenbut had failed to do so. The skipper wasordered to pay the shipping companys court costs,which amounted to 100,000, plus his own legal fees.

As a further consequence of the collision, theskipper, who is the father of one child, lost his jobin the Royal Navy and remains unemployed. He nolonger sails the yacht as he was unable to afford to

repair it.(I wonder if his insurance company refused to pay outon a claim after he lost the court case? Ed.)


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The Boatys View:It could be any day, on one of the many beautiful waterways we are blessed with in Australia.You are out with your family happily minding your own business, watching the kids stare at their rod tips willing anunsuspecting bream to bite. A distant grumbling breaks the peace and as you begin to look up from your magazine

the peace is shattered by ve blasts from the whistle on the ship that is bearing down on you.OK no problem, the ship is still some distance away. You wind in the kids lines and re up the trusty outboard, just

in case, although it looks like there is plenty of room?

You scramble across the bunk to make your way forward to start hauling in the anchor. As you do, you takeanother look at the ship. This time you need to look up. Strangely, it is now much closer than you expected and stillheading right at you and your family.

You are now about as comfortable as a yabby in a bait bucket and quickly pull in the pick. The kids are now veryhelpfully saying, Daddy look at the big ship!

As you push the throttle to the stops to get out of the way, the boat is tossed like a cork from the bow wave of theship. Now that you and your loved ones are safe - just! - you slow the boat down and watch the container ship pass by.

Looking into the cockpit, you see a cocktail of squealing kids awash with vengeful yabbys attached to various partsof their bodies, assorted shing tackle, a bream trying to make a break for it down the scupper, but most frighteningly,

you see the ice-cold stare from your wife. As you begin the clean-up, you curse the arrogance of those on the ship.The Marine Pilots View:The container ship has arrived to any port after a week at sea. TheCaptain and Third Mate are on the bridge as the ship makes landfall and begins its approach

to the pilot boarding ground.A brightly painted launch emblazoned with the word PILOT comes alongside the shipand a lemming of a man scrambles from the launch up a rope ladder onto the ship.

After climbing several stories of stairs to the bridge, the pilot, then somewhat out ofbreath, introduces himself to the bridge team and an exchange of information occurs. The pilot then takes charge of theship, working as an additional member of the bridge team under the Masters ultimate authority.

The ship begins its passage into the port, cruising at a comfortable 20 knots. During the passage, the team sighta small boat anchored in the channel, apparently enjoying a day of shing with the family. After wondering if they arecatching anything, the pilot expects that the boat will soon see the ship and move out of the way. After all, that is whathappens in 99 out of 100 occasions.

About 2 miles away, the pilot sees the shing activities are continuing, so calls go out on the VHF in an attempt toclarify the situation. No answer is received, as is also the case in 99 out of 100 occasions.

The pilot considers the situation. Fortunately, he can see there is room for the ship to pass if required but it will be

close. He can begin to slow down, but not signicantly as it will lessen his control.Five short blasts are sounded; tension is mounting on the bridge as all can see it will be close. The ships whistle

gets a response from those on the small boat. The ship is now a mile away (3 minutes). At half a mile, the pilot iscompelled to take action and the helm is put to starboard to move the ship as close to the starboard side of the channelas possible.

Close Encounters

by Doug WilliamsMarine Pilot, Brisbane


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The pilot loses sight of the boat behind the container stack, but not before seeing the small boat is just about tostart making way. He moves to the port bridge wing in an attempt to keep the boat in sight. As the small boat takesoff,the ship overcomes its inertia and begins to swing to starboard.

Unfortunately, this is also the direction chosen by the small boats skipper as the quickest escape route. In a Davidand Goliath Minties Moment, the combination of the pilot steadying the ship and the small boats speed leads to alucky escape for all concerned.

The pilot, now having crossed to the starboard bridge wing, looks down into the somewhat rearranged boat withrelief that all are well. He also catches the frosty look from the lady not so elegantly lying on the deck and thinks withhorror and sympathy at how much trouble he would be in if it was his wife.

As our waterways get busier with ever increasing numbers of both commercial and recreational vessels, such closeencounters are now more common. So what are the answers to avoiding such close quarters situations? Withoutgetting bogged down in Collision Avoidance Rule debates, there are some simple, common sense things that can bedone to save everyone a lot of grief and potentially save lives.

Small boat skippers who operate their craft near large vessels should have a basic knowledge of some of thecharacteristics of large ships. The Port of Brisbane is visited by many different ship types. Two of the more commonclasses are bulk carriers and container vessels. Such vessels may be entering the port with draughts up to 14m. Evenin what may appear to be the open coastal waters and open parts of the bay, such vessels are strictly conned to thedesignated and regularly surveyed channels and approaches.

To crash stop a bulk carrier plodding along at 12 knots, displacing 100,000t, by going full astern would take 15minutes and in that time, it will travel a further 4 kilometres. To take such a radical action in pilotage waters could welllead to loss of control and grounding.

A container ship can travel at speeds around 20 knots and has containers stacked on deck. These containersaffect visibility; its not uncommon for a standard 260m vessel to have a 500m blind spot forward.

Some points to consider include: The speed of large ships can be deceptive as they can travel at speeds of 20 knots or more. If the crew on a large ship can see you in a small boat it is likely that they are already past a point where stopping

the vessel is an option. Ships suffer a signicant loss of control if their speed is reduced too rapidly. Dont count on the ships crews being able to see you. At times, seeing small vessels even at close range is very

difcult. Check your navigation lights. Are they bright enough and not obscured? Modern ships can have a blind spot ahead up to 500m, but this may be greater on some older vessels, even up to

1 kilometre.

Radar is not a reliable means of detecting small vessels. Ships may be operating with very minimal under keel clearances, measured in centimetres. Despite a ship appearing to be in open water, it may still be unable to deviate from its course due to its draught. Pilots and ships crews do not want to come close to small vessels and we avoid such situations whenever possible.

Small boat skippers should: Be mindful that being in the path of a ship is a life threatening situation and a ship having to take evasive action

leading to grounding, could have devastating effects on many lives and the environment. Keep clear of the pilot boarding ground and surrounds. If you have VHF use it. In Brisbane, Port Operations and ship-to-ship trafc is conducted on VHF channel 12 and

ships will also call and listen on VHF channel 16. Monitor the appropriate channels for your area. The pilot will callyou if he is concerned about your actions or position.

Keep a good lookout. Even astern of you. Do not anchor in shipping channels or tie up to navigational marks. Understand that whether you are on a power boat or sail boat, in most cases in port areas, the large vessel has

right of way as they may be operating in a narrow channel, restricted in their ability to maneuver or constrained bytheir draught.

Know your position relative to major navigational marks as this is likely to be how the ship identies you whencalling.

If you hear ve short blasts it means the ship is unsure of your intentions. If the ship has reached the stage ofsounding the whistle it is likely that it has genuine safety concerns. It is also likely the pilot has been trying tocontact you on the VHF.

Sailing vessels in particular should keep well clear of large vessels as they can create a large hole in the wind. Keep well clear of ships berthing and their assisting tug boats. The prop wash from the ship or tugs can endanger

small craft. When taking action to avoid shipping do so very early. You may well know you can get out of the way in time, but

if the pilot is not sure of your intentions, they will need to take action as much as a mile away.As Pilots, we are charged with ensuring the safe navigation of these large vessels within the beautiful waterwaysof the Moreton Bay Marine Park. We work with the utmost care to protect all fellow seafarers, infrastructure and theenvironment. Thanks to the Coast Guard and the local boating community for the co-operation provided, whichgreatly assists us in achieving these important goals. Take care out on the water.


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Safe boating in ship navigation areasInteractions between ships and small boats

Boats operating and fishing in shipping channels are at high risk, particularly if you do not have or use a VHF radio

to communicate with large ships and monitor local shipping movements.

Ships can approach quickly and silently and do not have brakes. Large ships often travel at speeds over 20 knots

and can have a stopping distance equal to 28 football fields (2.5 nautical miles).

It only takes about 15 minutes from when a ship is spotted on the horizon by a small boat until the potential time

of impact. If the engine fails on a small boat this interval can be fatally short.

When travelling in narrower channels, such as entering

a port, a large ship may have only 60mm under-keel

clearance and cannot turn or slow down. Large ships

can only move within the designated shipping channels

and need to be avoided and given right of way.

When in a swing basin or alongside a berth, ships are accompanied by tugs and other vessels with limited

manoeuvrability and so other boats need to stay well clear.

A small boat rarely appears on ship radar and can be

unseen from the helm of a ship. Large ships have a blind

spot that can extend several nautical miles with the bow

of the ship and cargo obscuring the view.

At nominated locations, unauthorised boats are prohibited from mooring, anchoring or manoeuvring within a

restricted operational area. Notices to Mariners (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Notices-to-Mariners.aspx) will provide

up-to-date information regarding navigation in shipping channels.

What precautions should recreational boaties take to increase safety?

Maintain a constant and proper lookout at all times using all means available.

Avoid travelling in a designated shipping channel. Keep to the outer edge if you must do so.

Monitor the appropriate VHF channel for the area when near a shipping channel to keep up-to-date with

local traffic movement information.

Relying on a mobile phone for communications can be disastrous the ships captain or pilot wont know

y

summer 2014-15 qf4 - colour web - final

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