A 40ft Flybridge cruiser with seven people on board, including three children, ran aground on a sandbar during a leisurely cruise on Brisbane Water on Saturday afternoon, April 6.
The incident occurred near the cardinal marker at Lions Park.
Marine Rescue Central Coast was called and sent a rescue crew of three to successfully tow the cruiser free of the sand bar.
The experienced skipper from Davistown was relieved his party was safe and no injuries were reported.
Heavy rains across the Central Coast caused several boats to take on water – a sailboat tethered at Koolewong Marina was one.
The owner from Wangi Wangi discovered the mishap on Sunday morning, April 7, and called Marine Rescue to help pump the water from the vessel as the craft’s bilge pumps weren’t working.
Engine difficulties contributed to several minor incidents over the weekend.
An unlucky man with no means of communication on board was alone in his 4m open runabout when it seemed to lose power and started drifting between Lobster Beach and Box Head.
The man tried to row his boat back to shore but a friend at Ettalong Beach was observing the incident and, concerned the man was in danger, called Marine Rescue.
The skipper – a man who will in future take his mobile phone with him whenever he takes out his tinny – managed to row back to shore just as CC 21 arrived.
A 4m tinny attached to a 50ft Riviera sport yacht caused problems for the owners when the small boat’s pull cord jammed.
Marine Rescue travelled from the Point Clare base to Iron Ladder Broken Bay to tow the craft to Blackwall boat ramp.
Commander Ian Morrow said boat season would continue through the school holidays and the Anzac Day holiday weekend.
“Logging on is really important,” he said.
“Once you’ve logged on, if you make sure you keep your app open we can actually track where you are so if you are running late or overdue we can come and look for you.”
Morrow also reminded boaters to assess conditions and prepare thoroughly before hitting the water during the holiday season.