Cruising Helmsman – June 2017

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Cruising Helmsman June 2017

FROM THE HELM

UNFORTUNATELY Australia appears to

be getting good at responding to major

disasters, whether here or overseas.

By all accounts Cyclone Debbie was the most

destructive storm to hit Queensland, clocking over 140

knots during a twenty hour period and sitting on top of

Airlie and Hamilton Island for a day.

Yet, in our in-depth article starting on page 14, author

Rosemary Jilderts found the insurance companies

and effected businesses had the situation pretty much

under control the following day. So much so that, within

a week, Abell Point Marina held a wedding with full

reception on its premises. The only sticking point was

the accommodation had to be shifted.

On top of that, Hamilton Island announced within weeks

of the storm that its iconic Audi Race Week will still run.

Insurance companies say the damage is greater than

the last, worst storm being Cyclone Yasi just six years

ago in 2011. But the number of yachts to be totally

written off is apparently less. So what is the difference?

Jilderts puts forward some interesting pointers

for the future but also highlights how marinas,

governments and insurance companies have worked to

implement management plans to mitigate damage. It

appears to have worked and we can assume this work

is ongoing with lessons learned from each new tempest.

Naturally, it is difficult to argue about high insurance

premiums when you see so many boats totally

unprepared for the onslaught. It is these yachts with

ragged, wind-forced, unfurled sails that either break

loose and cause damage to other boats or they remain

tied to a pontoon and break it free to do further damage.

Let us hope there is a lot of discussion about how

these boat owners deserve to be compensated.

It would have been easy to make a title for this page

that, like so many other publications, made a poor

reference to that age-old adult movie about a certain

cheerleader. I thought it way more appropriate to give

praise where praise is well due.

Read Jilderts story about how quickly and how

empathetically the sailing community got around and

pitched in.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the awesome

work Rosemary did in putting this story together in

such short time, properly researched, referenced and

sourced. In turn she acknowledges certain people who

gave much of their time to assist.

Thank you all. ≈

Hold your head high Queensland

PHIL ROSS – EDITOR

RIGHT: Cyclone Debbie

On March 27, NASA’s

Aqua satellite captured

this natural-colour

image of Cyclone

Debbie approaching the

coast of Queensland.