My sister & Brother-in-law have been anchored on the Clarence River here in Grafton since Xmas and have been now caught in the floods so I have had a busy day starting at 5am with a phone call from the SES to say they rescued them from their 40 foot catamaran or better known to them as 'their home'.and could I come and pick them up.
I have been ferrying them around all day buying medicines,(ashma etc), food and clothes to keep them going, also dropping them back to the river where my brother in law, SES guys & a police rescue guy went back out to try to tie the boat to a half submerged tree because if it broke loose it would be swept down river and wipe out power lines that cross the river. They would normally pass under them ok but with the river so high the boat would have hit them.
I now have 2 very worried guests for a few days as we keep vigil on the boat, the current and the abundent debris which, with luck will pass by.
Australia! fires one day, floods the next.
Cheers
Jon
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Home is where we hang our hats - Home now in Yamba NSW
I have lived on boats before, and the storm season is a worry- what do yoou do? Do you find an expensive marina, which sometimes is not so safe anyway. or anchor in an open bay or river which might get flooded or be subject to bad weather. Good anchorages are hard to find, in my experience.As this is normally their home they want to look after it.Very similar to caravan people, I think. See you soon, Bill
And here was I thinking of you , saying to myself "thank heaven Hylda and Jon live on a hill'" ... I'm glad you had a safe refuge for your sis and bil, hope their boat stays safe. Has the rain stopped yet?
Our daughter, son in law, and grandchildren live on a property at Coutts Crossing, just out of Grafton NSW. They are flooded in. They live on the confluence of the Orara River and Kangaroo Creek. In our last conversation she said that it has stopped raining and the water levels have started to fall.
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If there is such a thing as a tourist season.... why cant we shoot them?
My Sister and brother-in-law are now safely back on their boat after the flood waters receded to a safe level. It seems very little damage has been done to the catamaran though, they have yet to check it out fully. Their cat is also happy to be off this strange stable surface and back onto the gentle rocking boat.
Thank you for all your kind thoughts.
Cheers
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Home is where we hang our hats - Home now in Yamba NSW
Untill the debris has stopped coming down the river, Keep your anchor chain or mooring rope above the water line, tie it to a bridge or high up a pole,
So many boats were dragged under in Bundaberg in 2010 by debris and Hyacinth wrapping around the anchor chain and just pulled them under,
Untill the debris has stopped coming down the river, Keep your anchor chain or mooring rope above the water line, tie it to a bridge or high up a pole,
So many boats were dragged under in Bundaberg in 2010 by debris and Hyacinth wrapping around the anchor chain and just pulled them under,
Actually the day after they got rescued they were worried about the anchor coming loose & the catamaran being washed down the river and into the main electricity power lines that cross over the river. The high mast made it under a few weeks ago but with the higher water level it would have hit and dragged the lines into the water.
The SES refused to help them go back to the boat to to tie it to a tree but after a lovely local lady, who has a house on the bank of the river opposite the boat, rang the papers, the radio station, the police rescue and anyone else who was willing to listen. She finally convinced them it was a wise move to tether the boat as it would be an expensive job re-stringing the lines across the river & there would be many unhappy people without power for some time.
When it was being positioned nearer the trees they had to detach the main anchor from the boat due to the current keeping the chain too tight to release from the bottom of the river. Soon they will have to trawl the area with another anchor to find 80 foot of chain with an anchor attached on the bed of the river.
