Vessel in tow in Waterfall Bay by Central Coast 11

The local waterways were popular on Saturday February 25  with fine sunny conditions and light winds. The volunteers at Marine Rescue Central Coast were called for help to boats with a plethora of mechanical / fuel problems. A disturbing feature of the Saturday calls was that they were all made by phone rather than by marine radio, and none of the vessels were logged-on.

At about 10am on Saturday, two people on board a 5.0m vessel at Booker Bay with a failed outboard motor phoned for assistance. Skipper Ted Leeson and his crew on Central Coast 11 located the boat and towed it to Davistown.

At about 12:15pm another phone call was received from a 6.0m ski boat in Horsfield Bay, again with its motor no longer functioning. The boat, with six adults and three children was towed to Lions Park at Woy Woy by Central Coast 11 with Skipper Peter Alderton in command.

Just before 1:00pm, the base had a phone call from a 6.0m runabout in Waterfall Bay with three men on board. They advised their motor had failed and sought help. Skipper Peter Alderton and his crew on Central Coast 11 towed the vessel to Davistown.

At about 2:00pm the boat crew was again responding to a phone request for help from a 5.5m outboard runabout with a fuel problem in Paddy’s Channel. The boat and the three people on board were towed to Lions Park by Central Coast 11.

At the same time an 8.0m motor cruiser with a transmission problem (the vessel could not go forward or backwards) called Marine Rescue for help. The vessel was east of Lion Island in Broken Bay and had two people on board. The rescue was tasked to Central Coast 20 and Skipper Peter Ashworth and crew Norm Smith towed the vessel to its berth in Hardy’s Bay.

The number of vessels with mechanical/fuel problems raises concern that some older marine engines may be using E10 ULP. Older engines and some fuel tanks are affected by the alcohol content of E10. The impact can be engine failure. E10 also absorbs water if stored for longer than three weeks and this is not unusual for boats. A water filter should be fitted to improve reliability.

Sunday February 26 was overcast a fewer boats were on the waterways. Around noon the base received a call from an a lone sailor aboard his 8.4m motor cruiser in need of help due to a starter-motor failure. Central Coast 20 was sent to Lintern Channel to assist. The boat had drifted closed to an oyster lease. It was extracted and placed on its nearby mooring poles.

Sunday February 19 began with an overcast sky but turned out to be a bright sunny day on Brisbane Water. The first phone call for help was received by the volunteers at the Point Clare Base of Central Coast unit around 09:00. A resident reported a ‘stray’ dinghy drifting at Noonans Point. Brisbane Water Lifeboat was despatched and found the 8ft dinghy near a private wharf. It was taken to the Point Clare base and police were notified of the find.

Around 10:15, the lone man aboard an 8.4m Cabin Cruiser off Avoca reported his boat had mechanical failure and sought help to get back to Pittwater. Rescue Vessel Terrigal 30 was tasked to begin the assist, and Marine Rescue Broken Bay agreed to send Broken Bay 30 to meet the tow at Third Point to take the vessel to Pittwater. The Broken Bay crew dropped the cruiser off at Careel Bay Marina.

The next call came at 12:00, a 6.0m ½ Cabin vessel at Saratoga with 5 people on board radioed for help. The vessel’s engine had failed and those on board asked for a tow.  Brisbane Water Lifeboat soon had the vessel back to Lions Park at Woy Woy.

A mobile phone request for help was received at the base at 12:30 from a 4.5m runabout at Murphy’s Bay with three people on board. This vessel also had a mechanical failure. Brisbane Water Lifeboat towed the vessel to Lions Park Ramp.

At 2:00pm, a 4.8m runabout off Noonans Point with three people on board called for help. Their vessel had run out of fuel. Brisbane Water Lifeboat towed this boat to the Gosford Boat Ramp.

At 5:10pm, the boat crew was again despatched on Brisbane Water Lifeboat in response to a mobile phone call from a 4.5m runabout with five people on board in Waterfall Bay with a failed outboard engine. The powerless vessel was towed to the Phegans Bay Ramp.

The volunteers were glad to see the sun set on a busy Sunday and head for home before the threatening thunderstorms.

Marine Rescue Central Coast boat crews were busy on Wednesday afternoon and again on Wednesday night.

A mobile phone call was received around 5:00pm from a man alone aboard his new 5.0m centre-console runabout on its first time use. The boat was off Green Point and he could not restart the boat’s engine. A crew was called in and Skipper Norm Smith with Peter Ashworth as crew took Brisbane Water Lifeboat to the location. The man and his boat were towed to the ramp at Saratoga.

A boat crew were again required when, at 9:30pm, Water Police tasked Marine Rescue Central Coast to assist a 5.0m runabout that had phoned for help as the boat was out of fuel. The vessel, with three men on board, was adjacent to the starboard navigation mark at Lobster Beach.

Skipper Phil Page and his crew, Mark Sheahan and Ian Leafe, on Brisbane Water Lifeboat located the men and the vessel. It was towed to the boat ramp at Lions Park at Woy Woy.

Peter Ashworth trying out the new fire pump

The NRMA Community Grants Program provides funding to support community organisations that are making our communities safer and more sustainable, particularly in the four categories where support is provided:

• Crime prevention
• Road safety
• Emergency readiness and response
• Environment

Marine Rescue Central Coast applied in the Emergency Readiness category for funds to purchase a pump suitable for both fire-fighting and salvage.

On receiving news from the NRMA that the application was successful, Unit Commander Ian Gallard said “Our sincere thanks to the NRMA. The new pump will be available for use on our rescue boats and greatly improve our ability to assist fire-fighting on the water and as importantly to enable flexibility for pump out for vessels sinking or damaged.”

The pump selected is a Davey Firefighter Honda 5155H 5.5 HP Pump. It is a single impeller design providing versatility flow rates with strong pressure. It manufactured from corrosion resistant marine grade aluminium for long life and is self priming.

Specifications are:

Flows to 500 lpm

Maximum total head 72m

Maximum suction Lift 7m

Maximum casing pressure 1000kPa

Minimum suction pipe size 1½”.

Inlet size 1½” BSP(M)

Outlet sizes 2 x 1½” BSP (M

Yacht aground at Half Tide Rocks on 3 January 2012

On Tuesday January 3 around 2:30pm, the volunteers on duty at Marine Rescue Central Coast received a phone call from a local resident at Ettalong. A yacht was firmly stuck on a sandbank near Half Tide Rocks. The 45’ yacht with four people on board was reported as just to the south of the port channel marker on the northern side of Half Tide Rocks.

Duty skipper Hunter Leeder and his crewman Andrew Mackellar immediately took Brisbane Water Lifeboat (Centaco 011) to the location. The rescue boat was able to move the yacht to navigable water and so allow its crew to enjoy the rest of their holiday.

At 3:20pm Centaco 011 was sent to Lobster Beach to assist a 24’ ½ cabin launch with six people on board. The boat had reported an electrical failure. The rescue boat towed the vessel to its berth at Blackwall.

Another call was received at 5:00pm from the owner aboard a 4.3m runabout at Orangegrove that had a mechanical failure. The four people on board asked for assistance to get the vessel back to Lions Park at Woy Woy. This task was not quite completed when the volunteer crew and Centaco 011 were assigned another task to be undertaken once the tow was complete.

A 4.3m runabout with two people on board had a mechanical problem and was aground near an oyster lease in Paddy’s Channel. This tow was picked up at about 5:35pm and taken to Lintern Channel at Davistown.

The weary crew were glad to get back to the base by 6:10pm to commence the paperwork necessary to get their ‘jobs’ completed. The base closed finally at 8:30pm and the duty crew signed off. Marine Rescue Central Coast volunteers operate the radio base 7 days a week.