I sometimes get the willies driving the boat in near pitch black conditions, told a mate i was going to put headlights on the tinny and he reckons im getting soft lol.
lifted from the GCB web site
21Aug07
A CATAMARAN crashed at near full speed into a sandbar in the Broadwater last night, sending passengers 'flying' through the air and down stairs.
The grounding occurred about 7.30pm as more than 160 people sipped pre-dinner drinks on board the 32m MV 2000 catamaran.
The group, members of a printing association, had been en route to an awards night at Tipplers Resort on South Stradbroke Island.
Passenger Mike Rickens said the ship was travelling about 25 knots (46km/h) when it 'came to a sudden and violent stop' near Ephraim Island.
"Mate, we were all just enjoying the moment and the boat was going full speed," he said.
"We all had drinks in our hands and we went from going very, very fast to a halt in just seconds."
Mr Rickens said the impact was so violent people were airborne before smashing into the bar and poles and falling down the stairs between decks.
"It was a mess mate, an absolute mess," he said.
"There was broken glass everywhere and the passengers were screaming.
"It was very frightening and you just don't expect that sort of thing to happen.
"I had three people land on top of me so there were a lot of people with sore bones."
Four people were seriously injured in the accident, with ambulance crews hitching a ride on Volunteer Marine Rescue boats to reach the stricken vessel.
After being transferred to another boat, Mr Rickens saw the catamaran was 'well and truly high and dry'.
"It is sticking right up there," he said.
"The wavebreakers at the front were pointing skywards."
The multimillion-dollar catamaran is owned by Tall Ships which runs the 1300 Whales whale watching tours daily off the Coast.
At night the catamaran is used to take passengers to Tipplers Resort for drinks.
Those who were not injured in the accident were given the option of continuing to their party or returning to their rooms at the Sea World Resort where they had been staying during a three-day Australian Flexographic Technical Association conference.
About 30 people, who were too shaken and shocked to continue, were transported by ferry back to the resort.
One passenger, who was visiting from Melbourne, said: "I saw one woman fall down stairs and a few blokes popped their shoulders out.
"After the accident everyone, including the crew, were a little slow in reacting."
Volunteer Marine Rescue skipper Greg Turner said poor visibility and winds might have contributed to the crash.
"Certainly that would have played a role but there may be other factors as well," he said.
"As far as the rescue operation went it was very smooth and we just transferred passengers to water taxis and ferries for the rest of the trip.
"I am not sure about the salvage operation at this stage. It might be possible to refloat the ship on a higher tide."
mmmmm make you wonder why
I sometimes get the willies driving the boat in near pitch black conditions, told a mate i was going to put headlights on the tinny and he reckons im getting soft lol.
SHIT !! it makes you wonder how an experienced skipper could let that happen .
I hope all the injured patrons and crew members have a speedy recovery its terrible to hear about these incidents.
My best wishes to everybody involved.
Peter
may as well have had stevie wonder in the crows nest
hope everybody is ok though
......oops
.......Ash
charter boat...................... what charter boat.....
Really does make you wonder why? Especially if this trip is done daily as by the sounds of the article.
Cheers Chris
During the last few weeks I have seen a big cat travelling nowhere within the channel markers, I said to the bloke with me, that if they don't watch it they'll run aground !!
While I do feel sorry for those that were injured, I don't feel sad for the crew at all.!!!
How many times have those of us have been almost swamped by these large charter boats tear assing around leaving massive wakes behind them.
Hope they get a big repair bill and a few law suits.
Mick
Stevie Wonder could have probably done a much better job.
Hey PinHead,
thats getting a bit severe isnt it? Not everyone in large planing boats are thoughtless, irresponsible wankers....although there are certainly heaps of them who have little regard for anyone except themselves and their bottle blonde birds....
On a more serious note,
best wishes to all who were injured as previously stated ...
It beggars belief in a large commercial vessel with everything that opens and shuts for survey and all the nav aids how this can ever happen....