Keeled over

The skipper of a 38ft cruising yacht having engine trouble at sea headed towards The Entrance Channel last Friday for what he hoped to be safe shelter.

At the mouth of the channel the keel of the yacht became stuck on a sand bank but over time the power of an incoming tide shoved the yacht further into the channel and, by low tide, the yacht was well and truly high and dry.

It wasn’t until a big tide on Sunday that the stranded yacht was again buoyant and guided back into deeper waters by another smaller boat.

The yacht had started its voyage from Karuah, upstream on the Karuah River at Nelson Bay.

Unit Commander of Norah Head Marine Rescue, Bill Hignett, said it’s not the first time in recent years that people have thought they could get into The Entrance through the channel.

“We’ve had a couple of boats in trouble, that thought they could get in there and haven’t,” he said.

“If they’re not familiar with the place and don’t heed the markers they’re not going to get in there – you could almost walk in better than you can sail in – it’s not really a channel at all, it’s just an outflow really, until they dredge it out,” Hignett said.

Sue Murray

2 Comments on "Keeled over"

  1. Wal Towells | August 25, 2021 at 6:51 pm |

    NOW maybe if we had of had a northern breakwall which has been suggested to my knowledge since the 50s and proper and consistent dredging this mariner would probably have had no problems coming in to a safe anchorage.

  2. If a breakwall was constructed on the northern side of the channel it would keep all the sand they dredge on the north entrance beach and not let it wash back in to the channel , also the extra sand would prevent the erosion of the dunes on north entrance win win . I am sure the :experts: will come up with a convoluted reason why not to build it .

Comments are closed.