Gold Coast boaters under fire

5:53 AM Mon 19 Jan 2009 GMT

'Southport Volunteer Marine Rescue'

Boat owners on the Queensland Gold Coast have been accused of being 'poor skippers' in the main by the Southport Volunteer Marine Rescue organisation.

VMR senior skipper Chris Leech claimed inexperience and a general lack of boating knowledge caused many of the alleged 'emergency' calls for assistance.

The senior skipper even went so far as to label many boat owners 'ignorant.'

He said too many boaters lacked understanding of tidal and current conditions, did not know how to anchor properly and simply did not have the hours at a helm to become experienced or efficient at boat handling.

'Things have changed,' he said.

'There was a time when an intending boater bought a tinnie, learnt the basics, graduated, perhaps, to a 25-foot 'clunker' and continued the learning experience.

'These days they're more likely to enter the market with a 30' to 35' foot cruiser capable of 30 knots-plus and with no prior experience they're doing more damage and doing it faster,' he added.

Gold Coast - Griffith University

Over a 24-hour period during the New Year holiday break, the rescue group received 25 callouts, most of them, Skipper Leech said, for what he termed 'trivial situations.'

I recall speaking with a member of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard in Sydney a few years ago.

This will seem hard to believe, but he told me they once received an 'emergency' call from an angler who needed more bait!

And many calls were from owners who had simply run out of fuel.

'Too many boat owners have no understanding of winds, tides, currents and changes in conditions; they drive as though boats have brakes and seem to think that when a boat is parked it will still be there when they return, 'the VMR skipper declared.

'They just don't understand the variables,' he added.

It is perhaps easy to lay some of the blame on marine dealers and brokers, but some I have spoken to say that many prospective buyers, perhaps due simply to ego, will not admit they're lacking experience.

'If you don't believe me, try getting an Aussie male to admit he's not a good car driver,' one prominent broker said.

'It's the same when selling a boat, they'll all tell you they're competent at the helm,' he added.

I must admit that in 40-odd years of boating, I have seen some humorous, even tragic sights.

I recall seeing an outboard-powered runabout hanging perpendicular from a wharf near Manly, on Sydney Harbour.

Obviously its owner had tied up at high tide and did not realise his boat was destined to be left high and dry when the tide went out.

Another incident I recall involved a bowrider left tied to a Double Bay wharf at low tide.

The wind changed, the boat drifted beneath the wharf, the tide came in and you can probably guess the rest - one bowrider, its windscreen and bow rail flattened!

As the marine rescue authorities rightly point out, competent boat handling cannot be learned in a classroom or from books.

Only time at the wheel, to borrow a phrase often used in powerboat racing (and no doubt in auto racing), will produce an efficient helmsman.

The boating industry association estimates the average recreational boat is used for 90 - 100 hours annually.

And therein lies the problem; we're at the wheel of the family car every day, at the wheel of the family boat on occasional weekends and holidays.

The Southport Volunteer Marine Rescue authority may well have Gold Coast boat owners in its sights, but I doubt the situation would be any different on other popular waterways around Australia.

by Bob Wonders

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