sydney to hobart yacht washed up on island

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Yacht abandoned during Sydney to Hobart washes up on remote Tasmanian island

Crew of Huntress was rescued after it struck an unidentified object during the race, with 40-foot vessel left to drift at sea

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A yacht abandoned at sea after suffering damage in the Sydney to Hobart race has washed up on a remote Tasmanian island, where authorities will attempt a salvage mission.

Water police rescued the crew of Huntress on 28 December after the 40-foot vessel struck an unidentified object that sheared off part of its rudder.

The yacht was left to drift at sea and has washed up near Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Marine and Safety Tasmania earlier this week issued an alert saying the yacht was 15 nautical miles off the state’s north-east coast and salvage operations were expected to commence on Wednesday.

It confirmed later on Wednesday the yacht had beached on Cape Barren Island and salvage attempts would be made on Saturday.

The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania posted images on social media of the vessel washed ashore.

“We’re hoping salvage is swift, safe and successful as she poses a risk [to] remote and pristine country,” the organisation said.

Huntress was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race after setting off from the New South Wales capital on Boxing Day.

Skipper Victoria Logan and her seven crewmates suffered a mishap 80 nautical miles east of Flinders Island on the morning of 28 December.

She said last week she was downstairs when the yacht’s helmsman, her partner Brent, felt a thud through the steering as the vessel was riding a wave.

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“The wheel got ripped out of his hand and the boat started breaching violently. It took a few minutes to work out, but we realised we lost steerage.

“We realised the rudder had sheared off and we could see it floating next to the boat, off into the distance.”

Logan said Huntress likely hit a sunfish. The yacht attempted the Sydney to Hobart in 2021 but failed to finish because of mainsail damage.

Marine and Safety Tasmania has been contacted for comment.

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Sydney to Hobart yacht washes up on remote island

Cultural and environmental concerns after a yacht washed up on a remote island in Tasmania. (Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania Twitter)

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Other ways to listen, huntress yacht has been washed ashore on a remote tasmanian beach on aboriginal land. there are cultural and environmental concerns the yacht will break up before it can be salvaged, due to the remoteness of its location. sbs news reporter aymen baghdadi speaks to vica bayley from the state's aboriginal land council who says there are concerns about the yacht breaking up and damaging the land., recommended for you.

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Sydney to Hobart yacht race competitor Huntress ashore on Christmas Beach.(Twitter: Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania)

Race to salvage Huntress after Hobart competitor beached on Cape Barren Island

By Monte Bovill and James Dunlevie – ABC News

A yacht abandoned during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has washed ashore on one of Tasmania’s most remote beaches after drifting for a week, with concerns for the area’s culture and environmental significance.

The crew of Huntress, a 12-metre cruiser, enjoyed “36 hours of absolute champagne sailing” during the 77th Sydney to Hobart race before conditions changed dramatically.

“We had 12 hours of very testing conditions on Tuesday night that unfortunately resulted in the loss of our rudder at 0700hrs Wednesday. While surfing a wave at 20 knots (boat speed), we heard a loud thud,” the crew wrote in an Instagram post.

“It became obvious that the rudder had sheared off when we saw it floating away in the distance.”

With some of the eight on board experiencing seasickness and authorities informing them a “tow would be too dangerous”, the “extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision” was made to “leave Huntress floundering 80 nautical miles (148 kilometres) offshore”, the team posted on social media.

The crew were then taken aboard a police vessel and transferred to Flinders Island, where they said a salvage operation was “already being planned for her safe transfer to mainland Tasmania” on December 29.

Since then, Huntress has been drifting off Tasmania’s north-east coast without navigation lights or transmission of an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal after the yacht’s batteries went flat.

It has now washed ashore on Christmas Beach on truwana/Cape Barren Island.

Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) first issued a warning to marine traffic on Tuesday, five days after the yacht was abandoned, alerting that Huntress was drifting 15 nautical miles off the Tasmanian mainland.

According to the MAST alert, an at-sea salvage attempt was due to take place — but before that could happen, the vessel had gone ashore.

In a now-deleted post, the boat’s owner said the team were “angry, devastated and at a complete loss as to how the hell it came to this, given she was floating around for a week now with ample opportunity to be towed to safety”.

Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania manager Rebecca Digney said there were serious concerns about the yacht breaking up.

“At the moment, the yacht appears to be intact, but we are concerned what should happen if that yacht were to break apart. It’s going to be hard to recover the vessel and keep it intact.”

She described Christmas Beach as a “very clean, pristine and remote place”.

“It’s an area frequented by the Aboriginal people that live on truwana/Cape Barren Island,” she said.

“The island is the only parcel of land in the whole of Tasmania to have a permanent, full-time Aboriginal population living on Aboriginal land.”

The area is only accessible by foot or by boat.

Salvage attempts will now be made at the weekend.

It is the second year Huntress has failed to finish the Sydney to Hobart.

In 2021, in its maiden race, Huntress retired from competition due to mainsail damage.

Click on the link below to see full ABC News report

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-06/sydney-to-hobart-huntress-beached-cape-barren-island/101830434

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• Insights And Analysis

Bizarre Indigenous claim over Sydney to Hobart yacht a disturbing insight into those with most to gain from a Voice to Parliament

Reports that an Aboriginal land council are laying claim to a race yacht which washed up on a Tasmanian island gives me cause for concern about where Australia is heading, writes Caroline Di Russo.

I thought Prince Harry regaling the world about how he lost his virginity was the most ridiculous thing to hit the news this week.

I was wrong.

Earlier in the week, the ABC reported that a yacht which broke its rudder during the Sydney to Hobart race last month had washed up on the shores of Tasmania’s Cape Barren Island and was then salvaged on behalf of the owners.

Sounds like standard operating procedure, right?

Apparently, Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania chairman Michael Mansell said the yacht shouldn’t have been salvaged because “any vessels wrecked or washed up on the shores of Aboriginal land belong to Aborigines”.

He added “white man’s salvage laws do not apply because this is sovereign Aboriginal territory”.

To the ABC’s credit, they reported the opinion of maritime lawyer John Kavanagh, who said that he would be “surprised if there was any legal substance” to the claims and that “the common law of salvage doesn’t change the underlying title to the vessel”.

That is, the title to the yacht remains with the original owners and it doesn’t pass to whoever salvaged it.

Nevertheless, the attitude of the land council is concerning.

Imagine thinking you were entitled to ownership of the yacht simply because it accidently landed in your backyard.

Picture the neighbourhood friction if every sourpuss kept tennis balls which settled on their back lawn.

Thankfully, that doesn’t really happen because the great Australian tradition is to throw tennis balls back over the fence.

That’s just who we are.

It’s important to remember that private property rights, and mutual respect for those rights, is part of what makes our society tick; the idea of reward for effort motivates us to improve our lot in life, gives us something to conserve and encourages us to invest in the future.

They are rights which Aristotle spoke fervently about 2,400 years ago when he said that “such kindness and help becomes possible only when property is privately owned’.  

And while the recent use of words like “equality” and “justice” seem warm and fuzzy, they have been readily used to interfere with and denigrate private property rights.

An everyday example is the move by some state governments to deny a property owner the ability to retake possession of a house at the end of a rental agreement in circumstances where they have “no reason” to ask the tenant to leave.

It is justified as a way of protecting vulnerable tenants but in reality it tramples on the property owner’s right to use their private property as they wish to after a contract has expired.

This is unacceptable.

If governments want vulnerable renters protected, then they should provide adequate social housing.

They should not quasi-nationalise private property whereby they essentially commandeer the use of the property and leave the owners to carry the risk. 

I’m not suggesting we don’t help vulnerable people.

Quite the contrary.

We should help them, but it must remain the responsibility of the government to do that without hijacking private interests to do the work for them.

Given the prevailing trend towards this distorted notion of justice, it does make me wonder where we are headed.  

In an interview by David Speers with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Voice, Speers asked Albanese, by way of example, how a government would respond to advice from the Voice that the Northern Territory alcohol ban should remain in place.

“Well, it would be a very brave government that said it shouldn’t,” Albanese replied.

Does it mean the alcohol ban is a good idea and it would be unwise to remove it?

Or does this mean in practice, a government wouldn’t be “brave” enough to defy advice from the Voice?

I have no issue with local Indigenous communities providing advice to government.

However, if there is influence in the consultation and a creeping attitude that “white man’s laws don’t apply”, then there is going to be a broader issue for government in how it manages this advice.

If the Voice advises something which is patently ridiculous or seeks to corrode the basic rights of the broader community, then any government needs to retain the moral authority to defy that advice.

While we all want to see the circumstances of Indigenous Australians improve, it must be in a way which still protects the fundamental rights of other Australians.    

The “white man’s laws” can’t just be disregarded when it’s convenient.

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

A yacht abandoned at sea after suffering damage in the Sydney to Hobart race has washed up on a remote Tasmanian island, where a salvage mission will be attempted.

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Water police rescued the crew of Huntress on December 28 after the 40-foot vessel struck an unidentified object that sheared off part of its rudder.

The yacht was left to drift at sea and has washed up near Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Marine and Safety Tasmania earlier this week issued an alert saying the yacht was 15 nautical miles off the state's northeast coast and salvage operations were expected to start on Wednesday.

It confirmed on Wednesday the yacht had beached on Cape Barren Island and salvage attempts would be made on Saturday.

A spokesman for Marine and Safety Tasmania said the salvage operation was a matter for the yacht's owners and insurers.

The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania posted images on social media of the vessel washed ashore.

"We're hoping salvage is swift, safe and successful as she poses a risk (to) remote and pristine country," the organisation said.

Huntress was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race after setting off from the NSW capital on Boxing Day.

Skipper and owner Victoria Logan and her seven crewmates suffered a mishap 80 nautical miles east of Flinders Island on the morning of December 28.

She told AAP last week she was downstairs when the yacht's driver, her partner Brent, felt a thud through the steering as the vessel was riding a wave.

"The wheel got ripped out of his hand and the boat started breaching violently. It took a few minutes to work out, but we realised we lost steerage," she said.

"We realised the rudder had sheared off and we could see it floating next to the boat, off into the distance."

Logan said Huntress likely hit a sunfish. The yacht attempted the Sydney to Hobart in 2021 but failed to finish because of mainsail damage.

Logan has been contacted for comment.

Australian Associated Press

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

A yacht abandoned at sea after suffering damage in the Sydney to Hobart race has washed up on a remote Tasmanian island, where authorities will attempt a salvage mission.

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Water police rescued the crew of Huntress on December 28 after the 40-foot vessel struck an unidentified object that sheared off part of its rudder.

The yacht was left to drift at sea and has washed up near Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Marine and Safety Tasmania earlier this week issued an alert saying the yacht was 15 nautical miles off the state's northeast coast and salvage operations were expected to commence on Wednesday.

It confirmed later on Wednesday the yacht had beached on Cape Barren Island and salvage attempts would be made on Saturday. 

The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania posted images on social media of the vessel washed ashore.

"We're hoping salvage is swift, safe and successful as she poses a risk (to) remote and pristine country," the organisation said.

Huntress was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race after setting off from the NSW capital on Boxing Day.

Skipper Victoria Logan and her seven crewmates suffered a mishap 80 nautical miles east of Flinders Island on the morning of December 28.

She told AAP last week she was downstairs when the yacht's driver, her partner Brent, felt a thud through the steering as the vessel was riding a wave.

"The wheel got ripped out of his hand and the boat started breaching violently. It took a few minutes to work out, but we realised we lost steerage.

"We realised the rudder had sheared off and we could see it floating next to the boat, off into the distance."

Logan said Huntress likely hit a sunfish. The yacht attempted the Sydney to Hobart in 2021 but failed to finish because of mainsail damage.

Marine and Safety Tasmania has been contacted for comment.

Australian Associated Press

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

A yacht abandoned at sea after suffering damage in the Sydney to Hobart race has washed up on a remote Tasmanian island, where a salvage mission will be attempted.

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Water police rescued the crew of Huntress on December 28 after the 40-foot vessel struck an unidentified object that sheared off part of its rudder.

The yacht was left to drift at sea and has washed up near Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Marine and Safety Tasmania earlier this week issued an alert saying the yacht was 15 nautical miles off the state's northeast coast and salvage operations were expected to start on Wednesday.

It confirmed on Wednesday the yacht had beached on Cape Barren Island and salvage attempts would be made on Saturday.

A spokesman for Marine and Safety Tasmania said the salvage operation was a matter for the yacht's owners and insurers.

The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania posted images on social media of the vessel washed ashore.

"We're hoping salvage is swift, safe and successful as she poses a risk (to) remote and pristine country," the organisation said.

Huntress was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race after setting off from the NSW capital on Boxing Day.

Skipper and owner Victoria Logan and her seven crewmates suffered a mishap 80 nautical miles east of Flinders Island on the morning of December 28.

She told AAP last week she was downstairs when the yacht's driver, her partner Brent, felt a thud through the steering as the vessel was riding a wave.

"The wheel got ripped out of his hand and the boat started breaching violently. It took a few minutes to work out, but we realised we lost steerage," she said.

"We realised the rudder had sheared off and we could see it floating next to the boat, off into the distance."

Logan said Huntress likely hit a sunfish. The yacht attempted the Sydney to Hobart in 2021 but failed to finish because of mainsail damage.

Logan has been contacted for comment.

Australian Associated Press

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

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Sydney-Hobart yacht washes up on island

A yacht abandoned at sea after suffering damage in the Sydney to Hobart race has washed up on a remote Tasmanian island, where a salvage mission will be attempted.

Create a free account to read this article

Login or signup to continue reading

Water police rescued the crew of Huntress on December 28 after the 40-foot vessel struck an unidentified object that sheared off part of its rudder.

The yacht was left to drift at sea and has washed up near Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Marine and Safety Tasmania earlier this week issued an alert saying the yacht was 15 nautical miles off the state's northeast coast and salvage operations were expected to start on Wednesday.

It confirmed on Wednesday the yacht had beached on Cape Barren Island and salvage attempts would be made on Saturday.

A spokesman for Marine and Safety Tasmania said the salvage operation was a matter for the yacht's owners and insurers.

The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania posted images on social media of the vessel washed ashore.

"We're hoping salvage is swift, safe and successful as she poses a risk (to) remote and pristine country," the organisation said.

Huntress was forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart race after setting off from the NSW capital on Boxing Day.

Skipper and owner Victoria Logan and her seven crewmates suffered a mishap 80 nautical miles east of Flinders Island on the morning of December 28.

She told AAP last week she was downstairs when the yacht's driver, her partner Brent, felt a thud through the steering as the vessel was riding a wave.

"The wheel got ripped out of his hand and the boat started breaching violently. It took a few minutes to work out, but we realised we lost steerage," she said.

"We realised the rudder had sheared off and we could see it floating next to the boat, off into the distance."

Logan said Huntress likely hit a sunfish. The yacht attempted the Sydney to Hobart in 2021 but failed to finish because of mainsail damage.

Logan has been contacted for comment.

Australian Associated Press

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Locals in Sydney's east blast council after 10-metre sinkhole opens where landslip happened last year

An eastern Sydney council has been blasted by residents after the end of their clifftop street collapsed into a 10-metre sinkhole.

Chunks of Oceanview Avenue at Dover Heights washed into the ocean on Saturday night when the ground gave way during heavy rain.

NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers worked for several hours to divert water from homes, but not before a waterfall formed on the property of former American footballer Colin Scotts.

"It was like a bomb went off," Mr Scotts told the ABC.

A torrent raged past his house, covering the pool area with mud as it flowed into the sea.

"The house was shaking …the force was absolutely terrifying," he said.

Mr Scotts, a former NFL player and the first Australian to win an American College football scholarship in the US, has had access to his driveway cut-off by the sinkhole.

He said the collapse was waiting to happen, accusing Waverley Council of failing to carry out "real repairs" following a landslip at the end of Oceanview Avenue early last year.

"They came out after we complained, picked up all the rocks and repaired it sort of temporarily," he said.

"It rained again a few months later, rocks came out."

Mr Scotts urged the council to "get off their butt" and do something about the worsening erosion at the end of his street, saying the whole neighbourhood is "really disappointed".

"It's just embarrassing. You know, we pay enough bloody council fees, come and fix a really dangerous situation," he said.

Stephen Alexander, who lives further up, said the council had done little beyond putting up a fence.

"Every now and then they would pick up some rocks and that's about it," he said.

Mr Alexander said he was concerned the sinkhole may affect the stability of Mr Scotts's house.

"I think it's going to have problems with the foundations," he said.

In a statement, Waverley Council said the remediation work to be undertaken by contractors Land & Marine would be fast-tracked, after earlier saying it would be resolved "as quickly as possible".

"These works were due to commence in less than three weeks’ time but will now commence tomorrow morning," a spokesperson said.

"The works will include a permanent cul-de-sac retaining wall and improved stormwater infrastructure. These works were always a priority."

The spokesperson said a "considerable amount of money" had been spent to date to stabilise the area near the corner of Oceanview Avenue and Ray Street after last year's landslip.

In May last year, Waverley Council began upgrading sections of the clifftop coastal walkway Eastern Reserve, Dover Heights and Diamond Bay.

Works are expected to continue well into the year.

Dam spills again 

On the other side of Sydney, Warragamba Dam began spilling at 7.30am on Sunday after reaching capacity.

WaterNSW said 28 millimetres    of rain fell in the Warragamba catchment in one day.

Regulation prevents Warragamba Dam from releasing water ahead of forecast rain for flood mitigation.

SES volunteers attended more than 270 incidents across the state in a single day.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said most jobs were in the south-eastern region for leaking roofs, fallen trees and sandbagging property.

"Weather conditions will ease this evening with the rainfall forecast to move off the coast," Assistant Commissioner Hogan said.

Sunday is the 13th consecutive day of rain in Sydney, as recorded by the Observatory Hill weather station.

The record of 16 wet days in 2022 and 1943 could be broken if rain continues through to Thursday, but that seems unlikely.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a medium to high chance of showers in Sydney tomorrow and the slight chance of a shower on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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