Cruising Helmsman – June 2017

RIGHT: The BIA

crew were quick

to get stuck

into the work

of repairing the

damage.

BELOW: Debbie

didn’t do as

much damage as

might have been

expected.

20

Cruising Helmsman June 2017

In response to my question whether boat

owners/operators could have prepared better, he

responded, unfortunately there are always those

boat owners who are not as attentive as others, but

what I can say is that 98% of owners were great

and, furthermore, boat owners were of a huge

assistance in securing some vessels. Most were

great and had their vessels well secured, We do not

have the power to forcibly evacuate people from

their boats. The Water Police had also advised

people to leave their boats, however there were a

couple of owners who chose to ignore the direction.

On the matter of boats anchors being deployed:

depends on the situation i.e. severity of the

coming storm. I don’t have an issue with people

who drop their anchor, as long as it does not

impede on the channel.

There were some people who left their sails and

covers on, most were well lashed although there

were some sails and covers lost.

I asked if he had any advice to give other

marinas for them to be better prepared:

having up to date contact information is

important, using SMS to mobile is a great way of

communicating with the boat owners, ... majority

of people have their phones on them so it is instant.

Early preparation is also essential and not

becoming complacent.

I think the most important thing is good mooring

lines. Nylon is by far the best, it is strong and has

good stretch and is relatively cheap.

Mackay basically has no cyclone holes, there are

a few small creeks around the northern beaches

and Seaforth area but they are not well suited for

larger vessels.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A CYCLONE?

Preparation is the key to surviving these storms.

Any mariner visiting or living in the state should

be aware what preparations are necessary when

cyclone season arrives.

There have been a few complaints about lack

of preparedness by yacht owners and the need

for cyclone contingency plans by marinas, but

these plans already exist.

Queensland's Department of Transport and

Main Roads has comprehensive 'Extreme weather

event contingency plans' (EWECP) available

for every port that can be downloaded from

the website (www.msq.qld.gov.au). As plans

may differ from port to port, mariners should

acquaint themselves with the plan for the port

where they will be staying during cyclone season.

Even experienced mariners should re-acquaint

themselves with the requirements regularly.

Marinas also have contingency plans: non-

cyclone rated marinas will evacuate; cyclone-

rated marinas have different cyclone contingency

plans which dictate what actions boat owners/

operators must take to prepare for the coming

severe weather event while sheltering in the

marina. As requirements may change from

marina to marina boat owners should discuss

such issues with marina management prior to a

weather event.

FEATURE

DEBBIE

IMAGES COURTESY OF ABELL POINT MARINA