ROCKS WRECK $180,000 YACHT AT THE SEAWAY
MARITIME Safety Queensland will conduct an investigation into how a 10m yacht ran aground on the Seaway’s rockwall at the Spit.
Estimated to cost up to $180,000 by those in the marine industry, the yacht sustained heavy damage and began to take in water around 1pm yesterday afternoon.
Three men were on board at the time according to witnesses, but were able to disembark the boat safely.
Witness Alex Murray said he was on the beach across from the rockwall when he saw the sails above the walkway.
“I thought, that doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere,” he said.
“They had a tinnie trailing behind them and one guy got into it and got the other two off and went down (towards Bums Bay).”
He said the three men appeared to be unharmed and were met by water police after getting out.
Boatie John Gerbstadt said it looked like the yacht was heading out to sea when it ran into trouble.
“It’s got a 60 horse power motor and it either wasn’t strong enough or it stopped working and it all went pear shaped,” he said.
Maritime Safety Queensland and Gold Coast Waterways Authority were on scene to determine if the yacht could be salvaged.
An MSQ spokesman said the yacht had suffered “major structural damage and is breaking up”.
A small smount of petrol had also been detected along the southern breakwater.