An early morning Palm Cat Sealink passenger ferry run from Magnetic Island to Townsville turned into a rescue mission when a passenger spotted what looked like a body in the choppy water . It was found to be an elderly man clinging to his upturned boat which had been swamped by what he said had been a freak wave , on a trip from the mainland to the island .
Crewmembers threw a line with an attached buoy to the man , John Clug, who had a similar experience when crayfishing in Victorian waters about 14 years ago . He was hauled aboard , shivering . The boat was left bobbing to be retrieved .
AMAZING FOLLOW UP STORY
After this exciting event, the Shipping Reporter, the only one north of Flinders Island, went to the casino for a bit of gourmandising , then prowled the waterfront looking for stories , picking up at least four , maybe more.
Riding the packed ferry back to Magnetic Island , he immediately espied a large vessel high and dry in the so called safe harbour . Another story . Armed with his camera , he sailed down to the leaning vessel , Trinity Castle , and approached a man inspecting the hull.
"Are you doing a Captain Cook ? " our maritime reporter asked , in a lighthearted way , referring to the daring British captain who had compass trouble off Magnetic Island in 1770, then crashed into the Great Barrier Reef . The response was unexpectedly jovial under the circumstances, as the man said he was doing a bit of careening .
But then there was an astonishing revelation : the vessel had run aground while delivering Mr Clug to his swamped boat on the island , apparently causing two glasses of wine to spill when it came to rest .
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Dry Mr Clug and cobber .
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The skipper, Ken , an old buddy of Mr Clug's , who went glug, glug earlier in the day , said he thought the beach area was soft sand ; instead it was conglomerate. It was hoped to escape at high tide, about 10pm . Trinity Castle , he said , is a sturdy vessel of North Sea trawler design built for a rich Seattle family for their own use . He had sailed it out from Seattle himself .
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The above photo shows the small outboard swamped earlier in the day high up on the beach. The skipper agreed the chain of events that day made an unusual story, but said the book would be even better, delayed from publication because of content and possible legal action .
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