A 15-meter handmade yacht that ran aground on Queensland’s Rainbow Beach has been removed and removed before the bad weather forecast for the weekend.
Key points:
- The boat ran aground in the signposted Rainbow Beach area last week
- MSQ says the owner did not respond to requests to remove it within three days
- A contractor took six hours to remove the intact fiberglass container on Thursday
The Thalassa ran aground around 10pm on June 22 in front of the Rainbow Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.
Queensland Maritime Security secured the ship and ordered the owner to move it within three days.
When that didn’t happen, he hired Clayton’s towing services to remove the wreckage ahead of the bad weather forecast for the weekend.
Mike Clayton said the ship had no insurance and that his recovery was one of the most difficult and high-pressure recoveries he had ever made.
“It could have been a major disaster if it had exploded there on the beach,” Clayton said.
About 15 tons of sand had accumulated on the yacht during the week. (Provided by: Clayton’s Towing Services)
“We had to use truck units to suck up all the sand. There was probably 15 tons of sand inside.”
To the pressure was added the incoming tide and the soft, swampy sand to a beach where there would normally be no vehicles.
“We got on and off our trucks, but we got stuck and then the tide changed,” he said.
“At one point there we had a huge boat in the back of the truck and our truck sank and the winches couldn’t pull it.”
He said some residents arrived with a front loader that moved them back, a couple of miles up the beach.
“Driving a semi-trailer to the beach with a seven-meter-wide boat with the mast still raised was something different for us,” he said.
Mr Clayton says it was one of the most difficult recoveries he has been involved with. (Source: Clayton Towing Services)
He said the recovery from the beach took about six hours in a row to bring the boat down from the site.
Clayton said it was a “success” that the fiberglass container could be removed intact.
“Just a little bit of the back was already broken,” he said.
“Everything is fiberglass and fibers aren’t the kind of things you want left on the beach.”
Mr. Clayton says “the beach has returned to normal” despite the heavy machinery involved. (Provided: Clayton Towing Services)
Local businessman Rob ‘The Iceman’ Gough, who filmed the recovery, asked if the structure was suitable for the sea or not.
“Imagine the environmental damage this thing would have done if it had broken on the beach,” he said.
Who owns the boat?
The ABC was unable to confirm the identity of the owner.
Mr Clayton said the owner was on the beach and took photos while the boat was being removed.
“I didn’t even have time to think about talking to him to be honest, I’m sorry for the gentleman involved,” Clayton said.
“Obviously he put his heart and effort into it for many years to build this thing, but it would never be a game to go to the ocean with that.”
Mr. Clayton said the handmade boat “was not of the strongest structure”. (Supplied by: Cru Scanlon)
Rainbow Beach photographer Cru Scanlon said the owner was retrieving items after washing them last week.
“He said just before he left that he was taking out all his things to auction off on the beach,” Scanlon said.
Grateful neighbors
Rainbow Beach is a popular tourist destination and in the midst of the school holidays, locals were worried about having the wreckage on the main beach.
“The community was really concerned that their beach was about to be destroyed by a boat, especially during a holiday season at the time,” Clayton said.
“If you started putting fiberglass debris all over the beach, it’s not what they want to attract people there.”
He said the community was relieved to see him leave the area.
“After taking it out, a lot of people came up to us and said‘ amazing effort ’,‘ best job ’,‘ thank you ’,” he said.
Rainbow Beach is a popular destination for tourists. (Supplied by: Cru Scanlon)
Queensland Maritime Safety is investigating the cause of the incident and CEO Kell Dillon said the costs could be recovered through the court if necessary.
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Posted 1 hour, 1 hour ago, Friday, July 1, 2022 at 10:29 PM, updated 1 hour, 1 hour ago, Friday, July 1, 2022 at 10:42 PM