BIA has spoken to a number of marinas in Southeast Queensland over the past 24 hours regarding the impact of the first tropical cyclone to cross the coast of Brisbane in some 50 years.
Those marina operators spoken to report a generally encouraging outcome considering the cyclone crossed Moreton Bay and landed just north of Brisbane with winds peaking over the weekend at between 50-60 knots and followed by plenty of rain.
Most of those spoken to had put in 2-3 days of preparation in advance using their own versions emergency weather plans which involved securing loose or vulnerable items across the sites, ensuring vessels were prepared and secured, and importantly keeping good communications flowing to members and boat owners.
Mark Robertson of Scarborough Marina said he was “extremely proud of Richard (Marina Manager) and the team for an outstanding effort”.
David Hamilton of Queensland Cruising Yacht Club said there was some damage to pontoons and pontoon infrastructure, and some water ingress into the club.
Andrew Chapman of Gold Coast City Marina said, “lots of prep” put them in good readiness and they were “relatively unscathed”.
Brett James of Southport Yacht Club said they had “faired quite well’ but the power outage had caused issues with gate entry and also some loss of what was refrigerated food.
Karen Baldwin of Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron said members were particularly grateful for the communications with responses that included one from a vessel owner saying: “As a liveaboard here at RQYS, I would like to express my gratitude for the way you and your team handled this cyclone (Alfred) weather event.
“The frequent emails with encouragement and practical advice were really appreciated. The other correspondence specific to all the liveaboards encouraging us to exchange phone numbers and keep a close eye on each other, has resulted in us actually getting to know more of our RQYS family here. The way the liveaboards pulled together was not only reassuring but also very practical with numerous people helping us to prepare our boat.”
The cyclone has gouged millions of cubic metres of sand from about 500 kilometres of coastline between Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. BIA is liaising with Maritime Safety Queensland on this sand movement which is likely to impact on some coastal bar crossings and navigation channels.
