Coast’s mast and furious

CITY waterways are officially chaotic with incidents almost doubling in a year and skippers revealing regular “frightening, lunatic” behaviour.

The 12 months of 2016 were the worst in 10 years on the Gold Coast with 103 incidents, almost double the 54 in 2015.

Most common incidents statewide involved two vessels colliding, accounting for one in four, while others included groundings, capsizings, hitting people or an object.

Of 103 Gold Coast incidents, 43 people were injured including two who died and eight who were hospitalised.

Department of Transport and Main Roads officials are baffled about what is behind the spike but veteran local skippers are not surprised.

All Coast Charters and Boats owner Tony Morris, who does freelance shifts captaining tourist cruises up the Nerang River, said boatie behaviour was the worse he’d seen in three decades.

Mr Morris said on Sundays he regularly avoided boaties cruising on the wrong side.

“Seamanship has gone out the door. I pray for bad weather on the weekends to keep people off the water — if it’s a beautiful day and a long weekend, it’s frightening out there.”

Mr Morris said it was incredible how many boaties failed to observe basic rules to stick to the right-hand side of the channel, keep a lookout and travel at a safe speed.

“People just don’t know what they are doing. I’m giving way three to four times on a Sunday. You can’t go any closer to the bank. Then they give you a lame wave and it’s like ‘Mate you just almost killed your entire family’,” Mr Morris said.

“The owners of the bigger boats, the arrogant ones with all the money, think everybody has to get out of their way no matter how much carnage they create with their wash.”

Fellow skipper Barrie New, who finished in January after 13 years with Wyndham Cruises, said more people were on the water and behaving worse.

“It’s just society — on the roads it is ridiculous the way some people drive and it’s reflected on the water.

“People drive on their jetskis like absolute lunatics,” Mr New said, adding it was too easy to get a licence.

A Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesman said it worked with water cops to ensure vessel masters were aware of a responsibility to report incidents which “may be a reason for the recent spite”.

“In previous years there has been an issue with under-reporting of marine incidents.”