Questions asked about marina weather closure on Friday
Port Douglas
Boat owners on Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina were ropable on Friday when the Cairns Regional Harbourmaster issued an orange alert, requiring them to move their vessels out of the marina.
Many of them had been reading the weather forecasts carefully and saw no danger for Port Douglas vessels in the marina.
They said that all the tracking showed the high winds were heading well south, which is where they went.
Port Douglas was only just inside the area delimited by the Bureau of Meteorology as the tracking for the tropical low.
Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Kell Dillon said: “On 9 January, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a cyclone warning for the Queensland coast from Port Douglas to Tully.
“This triggered Maritime Safety Queensland’s Extreme Weather Event Contingency Plan, which required the Regional Harbour Master to issue an Orange Alert for affected areas, including Port Douglas.
“Maritime Safety Queensland’s Extreme Weather Event Contingency Plan follows the national Australian Warning System to ensure consistency with emergency agencies.
“Regional Harbour Masters are highly experienced mariners. In potential cyclone conditions, they may issue directions on vessel movements to protect life, property, and the marine environment.
“As tropical cyclones are unpredictable in both intensity and path, these decisions are based on forecast data and risk assessments.
“Masters and owners must comply with these directions, have a safety plan for their vessel, and monitor official updates to stay informed.”
But many vessel owners disagreed with the call saying things like: “This is ridiculous. This is bulls**t.”
None would go on record, but they said that any sensible reading of the weather forecasts would indicate that the cost and risk of taking vessels up the inlet outweighed the virtually negligible risk of staying.
No vessels from Closehaven Marina at Port Douglas were moved by their owners and no vessels on mooring poles in the inlet were moved further up the inlet.
Some owners took vessels out of the marina but did not go up into the mangroves, preferring to anchor them nearby.
About 20 vessels at Crystalbrook marina did not move.
One of those owners said he would be writing to state and federal MPs to see if a better balancing of risks could be applied in the future.
He thought that Friday’s call would undermine trust in the system.
Another said Friday’s call was like crying “wolf”. It was just bum-covering.
As it turned out, the highest wind gust at Low Isles through the event was 32 knots.
