yacht sinking fraser island

Search for man missing after boat sank off Fraser Island enters third day

A woman has been winched to safety as the search for a man who went missing after a couple’s boat sank at sea enters its third day.

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A large-scale water search for a man who went missing after his boat started sinking has entered its third day.

On Sunday night, two people on-board a yacht off the coast of Fraser Island in Queensland’s southeast radioed for help, reporting that their vessel had started to take on water.

An air and water search began off Sandy Cape in the island’s northern tip to locate the couple, and at about 11.30am on Monday, a woman was pulled from the water by the RACQ LifeFlight helicopter.

The woman, aged in her 20s, reportedly saw the vessel sink but had been wearing a lifejacket and was able to stay afloat surrounded by debris.

She was flown to the Bundaberg Hospital to receive treatment for fatigue, but emergency services were unable to locate the man.

The search resumed on Tuesday, with water police, aircraft and Volunteer Marine Rescue teams looking for the man.

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Search continues for man missing in waters north of K'Gari (Fraser Island) since Sunday night

The search continues for a man missing off the north coast of K'Gari (Fraser Island) despite poor weather conditions hampering rescue efforts. 

Key points:

• A 25-year-old woman rescued yesterday has been discharged from hospital 
• Searchers are still looking for a man from the yacht, which sank in waters north of K'Gari (Fraser Island) on Sunday night
• The Fraser Coast mayor says the community is "hoping for another miracle" with many people involved in the search

Queensland Police say the search and rescue operation resumed at first light this morning with multiple vessels including water police, volunteer marine rescue, and aircraft scouring the area.

Following a night of heavy rain, the skies cleared for emergency responders to resume the search this morning. 

But forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology were concerned about off-shore conditions.

"We are seeing north to north-westerly [winds] early in the day, 15–20 knots, so definitely adding to the difficulty of that search," said forecaster Pat Clapp.

"We'll see the winds shift later in the day with a bit of a swell to contend with as well."

The search and rescue operation began on Sunday evening after two people made a distress call when their 30-foot yacht began taking on water. 

A 25-year-old woman was found and winched from the ocean around 11:30am yesterday after she survived the night and morning floating at sea. 

She was airlifted to the Bundaberg Hospital.

The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service said she had been discharged this evening. 

'So many people' searching, says mayor

Meanwhile, Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said the local community remained hopeful the missing man will be found. 

"We've got so many people out there," he said.

"There are police, Volunteer Marine Rescue, private vessels, and people in the air and in the water who are doing everything they can.

"But we're hoping for another miracle and we're still hoping that man can be found."

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Woman survives night floating in ocean, man remains missing off queensland coast.

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Woman rescued after boat sinks off Qld’s Fraser Island

John Crouch | May 15, 2023

A woman has been rescued while the search for a man continues after the pair were reported missing from a sinking vessel in water off Queensland’s Fraser Island.

Two people were on board the vessel of the northern tip of the island, also known as K’gari, when they radioed for help about 8.30pm on Sunday, police said.

Police and volunteer marine services began an air and water search before rescue helicopter crews plucked the woman from the water about 11.30am on Monday. 

She will be airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital for treatment.

The search involving multiple aircraft and vessels continues for a missing male.

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Woman rescued, man missing at sea after boat sends distress message

A woman has been rescued while the search for a man continues after the pair were reported missing from a sinking vessel in water off Queensland’s Fraser Island.

Authorities say a distress call was made near K'gari (Fraser Island) Sunday night.(ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram )

Two people were on board the vessel as it sailed to the northern tip of the island, also known as K’gari, when they radioed for help about 8.30pm on Sunday, police said.

Police and volunteer marine services began an air and water search before rescue helicopter crews plucked the woman from the water about 11.30am on Monday.

She will be airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital for treatment.

The search involving multiple aircraft and vessels continues for a missing male.

Authorities say a distress call was made near Sandy Cape, on the northern end of the island, around 8:30pm.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the search for the missing yacht near Breaksea Spit.

An AMSA spokesperson said there were no further details on the condition of the person rescued.

The search is continuing for the second person, with Volunteer Marine Rescue officers, water police, a marine safety aircraft, and five rescue helicopters scouring the area.

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Woman rescued after boat sinks off Qld's Fraser Island

A woman has been rescued while the search for a man continues after the pair were reported missing from a sinking vessel in water off Queensland's Fraser Island.

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Two people were on board the vessel of the northern tip of the island, also known as K'gari, when they radioed for help about 8.30pm on Sunday, police said.

Police and volunteer marine services began an air and water search before rescue helicopter crews plucked the woman from the water about 11.30am on Monday.

She will be airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital for treatment.

The search involving multiple aircraft and vessels continues for a missing male.

Australian Associated Press

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Man missing after yacht sinks off Fraser Island

Posted: 16 May 2023 | Last updated: 9 February 2024

A search has resumed for a man missing in waters off the southern Queensland coast. His companion was found yesterday floating north of Fraser Island.

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Pleasure craft aground on Fraser Island after sinking drama

Injured man flown to hospital after Fraser Island marine emergency

Don't miss out on the headlines from Gympie. Followed categories will be added to My News.

DESPERATION fueled a dramatic response when the crew of a large pleasure craft ran the vessel aground after it started taking on water and sinking off Fraser Island, salvage experts say.

The Rainbow Beach firm, Rainbow Recovery, Repairs and Services, described the situation on Sunday afternoon, after learning the craft had come ashore overnight in front of Orchid Beach, a resort and residential area towards the island's north.

The vessel is thought to have been damaged, but how badly is not known.

All crew made it to shore safely.

"This lovely 43-foot Riviera has come ashore overnight out the front of Orchid Beach.”

But rough seas are thought to have made the manoeuver much more dangerous.

"They had anchored up for safe harbour,” the company spokesman said.

The boat was thought to have been filling up from waves coming in over the stern.

"They got the motors going and just headed in to the beach before they sank,” he said.

"Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a clean-up, not a salvage,” he said.

It has now been reported that a man in his 60s has been airlifted to Hervey Bay Hospital from the stricken vessel.

Five people were on board when the vessel began to take on water, it has been reported.

The group had tried to pump the water out, but decided to deliberately run the craft aground when they realised it had taken on too much water.

An RACQ LifeFlight helicopter rescue service representative said all five on board had managed to get to shore safely before the chopper arrived.

The helicopter landed nearby and a Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic on board processed the group.

Most had minor injuries that did not require further treatment, but one man suffered a rib injury after falling onto a guard rail as the boat ran ashore.

A man from New South Wales was flown to hospital for fruther treatment and was reported to be in a stable condition.

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Man dead, woman and teens rescued after yacht sinks off Vancouver Island

One man is dead after a 12-metre yacht sank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Victoria on Friday.

The British Columbia Coroners Service confirmed Wednesday it is investigating one death that resulted from the incident.

The United States Coast Guard rescued one woman and two teenage girls from a dinghy that was associated with the sinking vessel around 7 p.m.

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Port Angeles, Wash., was dispatched to the scene, approximately three kilometres south of Victoria.

The air crew found and hoisted the woman and teenagers into the aircraft and took them to Victoria General Hospital after they showed signs of hypothermia.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Clark says the sunken vessel was found nearby and identified as a 12-metre yacht named A Little Serenity.

The vessel is registered in Kenmore, Wash., northeast of Seattle, and all four people aboard were U.S. citizens, Clark said.

It is not known what caused the yacht to take on water and sink, nor what caused the death of the man on board.

The vessel had no prior contacts with the U.S. Coast Guard and was most recently certified by the agency on April 19, according to U.S. Coast Guard records.

"I can confirm that the B.C. Coroners Service was notified and is investigating one death resulting from this incident," Ryan Panton, spokesperson for the B.C. Coroners Service, said in a statement to CTV News.

"As we're very early in the process of trying to determine all of the facts, I have no additional information available at this time," the statement concluded.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it was first alerted to the vessel in distress by the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria. The agency said the Canadian Coast Guard found the deceased male among the wreckage of the sunken boat and took him away on a Canadian rescue boat.

The Canadian Coast Guard declined to provide any details about the incident, instead referring questions to B.C. Emergency Health Services, which in turn referred questions to the B.C. Coroners Service.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the vessel went down in one-and-a-half-metre seas with winds reaching 37 km/h.

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A Sweet Escape: K'gari (Fraser Island) Bareboat Yacht Charter Holidays

Self drive yacht holidays from $83 per person per night.

Sweet Escape Yacht Charters offers luxury, affordable boating holiday experiences, cruising the spectacular world heritage renowned K’gari (Fraser Island) waters, Queensland, Australia.

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With over 10 years experience in yacht and catamaran sailing charter operations in the Fraser Coast region, we have extensive local knowledge and can offer assistance and advice on all aspects of your boating or sailing holiday to the Fraser Island Coast and Hervey Bay in Queensland’s most beautiful waters. We offer a personalised, professional service and our aim is to ensure that your Sweet Escape charter is memorable and enjoyable.

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A bareboat is a boat hired without a skipper or crew. You are the captain, with no licence required. A little knowledge and common sense is all you need. The Fraser Coast is home to some of the finest cruising grounds in the world and the sheltered waters on the western side of Fraser Island are calm making it perfect for first timers and seasoned sailors alike.

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If you are new to bareboating and want a little more confidence before embarking on your self-drive experience, or whether you want to learn sailing, or gain that extra bit of local knowledge, then having an experienced Guide is a great option.  If you are interested in our extended cruising zone to the Southern Great Barrier Reef, having a Guide is mandatory.

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Whether you are looking for day, or overnight private charters to celebrate a birthday, a honeymoon or a way to host a unique corporate function, Sweet Escape Charter can help you create a skippered charter that will be fun, safe and memorable cruising in Queensland’s best kept secret paradise (Fraser Island waters).

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• Great Sandy Straits Marina, Urangan, Hervey Bay, QLD 4655 Australia

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© sweet escape yacht charters 2024. all rights reserved., acknowledgement of country: by visiting the fraser coast, you are staying on land traditionally owned and inhabited by the butchulla people. “we acknowledge the butchulla people, the traditional custodians of this land on which we work and live, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. we extend that respect to all aboriginal and torres strait islander people. “.

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Fishermen drowned off Fraser Island should not have been there – inquest

Trawler should not have been fishing in treacherous water with such heavy nets, inquiry told

Two Queensland men lost in rough seas when their prawn trawler sank should never have been fishing in the treacherous stretch of ocean with such heavy nets, an inquest has heard.

Skipper Matt Roberts, 61, and crewman David Chivers, 36, disappeared when their boat, the FV Cassandra, overturned and sank off the north-eastern tip of Fraser Island in the early hours of 4 April 2016.

The men’s bodies have never been found after huge swells prevented rescuers reaching the stricken vessel, which is believed to have rolled when one of its nets snagged on the sea floor.

Expert witness Barry Ehrke told the Gladstone inquest into the trawler’s sinking the vessel should not have been in the notoriously rough stretch of ocean 10km off Waddy Point.

“In that area there’s a lot of current and there’s numerous hook-ups on obstacles on the bottom,” said Ehrke, who was commissioned by Maritime Safety Queensland to prepare a report into the sinking of the Cassandra.

South-east winds smash into southerly tides and make the water’s surface “disturbed”, the retired fishing boat owner and industry advocate said. In those conditions, he said, the Cassandra’s “quad” net set-up, which hung from the end of its seven-metre boom arms, was too unstable.

Earlier, the inquest heard safety wasn’t a high priority aboard the Cassandra.

An emergency exit had been welded shut for years and an unqualified boatbuilder had been used for a recent refit to get the Cassandra ready for its new life as a prawn trawler.

The boat’s owner had no knowledge about the safety requirements on board and didn’t provide its crew with safety training, the court heard. The vessel’s safety management system also lacked key information for dealing with net “hook-ups” on the sea floor.

A video captured by a remotely operated vehicle used to explore the wreck, which lies upright in waters too deep for divers, showed the boat’s safety gear had failed, the counsel assisting the coroner, John Aberdeen, said.

Automatically deploying life rafts remained attached to the boat, most likely because the Cassandra’s huge nets fell across them as the boat rolled, he said.

The vessel’s two emergency radio beacons also weren’t activated and life jackets were seen on the video floating inside the hull.

The inquest continues on Wednesday.

• Fishing industry
• K'gari (Fraser Island)

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CHARTER YOUR OWN PATH TO PARADISE

Bareboat + skippered yacht charters | k'gari [fraser island].

Welcome to Fraser Island Boat Charters, your ultimate destination for bareboat charters and yacht hire in Queensland. Explore the wonders of the Great Sandy Strait and K'gari (formerly Fraser Island) with a unique water based adventure.

Experience the freedom of a bareboat [self drive] yacht charter as you set sail on your own private adventure. With our wide range of yacht hire options, you can navigate the pristine waters of the Fraser Coast (Queensland) at your own pace, immersing yourself in the natural beauty that surrounds you.

Once you depart from Hervey Bay, you'll be exploring the Great Sandy Strait. This UNESCO biosphere is a marine paradise teeming with life, and you'll be right in the heart of it all. Prepare to be captivated by an incredible array of marine creatures that call these waters home.

From majestic humpback whales and playful dolphins to an array of fish species, the underwater world here is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And let's not forget about the world's first Whale Heritage Site in Hervey Bay! This pristine sanctuary is where majestic humpback whales gather to rest and play during their annual migration, providing an unforgettable spectacle for lucky onlookers.

Whether you're a seasoned sailor or a leisurely traveller seeking a tranquil escape, our fleet of sailing and power catamarans awaits you. From intimate couples retreats to spacious vessels for family and friends, we have the ideal yacht to meet your needs.

Opt for a bareboat charter and take the helm yourself, feeling the exhilaration of controlling your own destiny on the waves. Or perhaps you prefer a more relaxed approach? Our private skippered charters allow you to sit back, unwind, and let our experienced crew take care of everything while you soak up the beauty that surrounds you.

Contact our team or make a booking today and you could be sailing away in no time!

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

self paced travel

Get ready for a holiday that lets you travel at your own pace and charter your own unique path with bareboat self-skippered yacht hire.

NO LICENSE REQUIRED

Don't worry if you have no boating license, our experience skippers will teach you everything you need to know and are always available.

TAILORED TO SUIT YOU

Whether you would prefer to do it alone, need an extra sail guide lesson or would like a skipper to take care of it all, we have you covered.

a sailor's paradise

The Fraser Coast rivals the best as a sailing destination with sub-tropical weather year round, untouched locations and an array of marine life.

PLAN YOUR FRASER COAST SAILING GETAWAY

The team at Fraser Island Boat Charters would like to acknowledge the land and oceans which we are so fortunate to operate in, Butchulla country. We also extend our respects to Butchulla elders: past, present and emerging.

what our guests had to say

Amazing way to explore a spectacular destination. The team here is experienced and friendly with a varied selection of vessels to choose from. Awesome memories!

Derek - Google

Wow....how amazing was that experience? We sailed out of Hervey Bay Mariner Saturday 23 September and just had the best 3 days out on the boat. The scenery was amazing and the ever-changing conditions just meant there was something new on each turn of the wheel. Oh and the whales ...how spectacular! We hired Aquila Sunrise - a very luxurious vessel and just so simple to operate - within the first half hour all my fears of having to drive a big boat were allayed. Scott and Mal made everything so simple and easy. Will definitely be coming back!

Robert - Google

My husband and I chartered “Alida” for 5 nights. From my initial enquiry through to the finalisation of our charter Steph, Scott and Michael were professional, courteous and helpful throughout. The catamaran was well maintained, prepared and so clean and tidy which we appreciated. If we could give more stars we would. We had a blast - the weather was perfect, we had wind every day and the sunsets were sublime. We loved it so much we are looking to return in the Christmas holidays and will stay longer (yes, it was THAT good!).

Carol - Google

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