Sailing yacht Melanie totally destroyed in the violent cyclonic storm that hit Airlie Beach on 11 - 12 feb 2008 Welcome to LOSTYACHT.org, a website that has been set up to tell the story of the destroyed sailing yacht Melanie.
Melanie was totally wrecked on the night of 11 - 12 Feb 2008 in the violent cyclonic storm that hit the Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia.
Melanie lies partially under this steel boat, she was smashed to pieces.
Her main mast can easily be seen.
Happier Days - Percy Islands.
As the marina at Able Point charges $120 per day for a boat of Melanie’s size (a considerable sum of money for an average working couple), I had left her anchored outside.
She had never dragged anchor at any time since we had owned her, until that awful night of 60 knot (111.12 km) winds and 4-5 m breaking seas.
At the time, I was unfortunately out on a three-day trip with 9 passengers in the Whitsunday islands, on my employers boat. And so, was unable to move Melanie into the safety of the marina, which was what I had always intended to do if the forecast became in any way threatening. Due to the extreme conditions I obviously had to make the safety of my passengers and crew the main priority.
A larger vessel (from which 37 passengers and crew had to be air-lifted to shore by helicopter) was driven ashore not 3 nautical miles from where we were moored.
These are the unfortunate circumstances in which Melanie was left unattended. However, due to the violent and unexpected nature of the storm, it is possible that an attempt to move her may have resulted in the loss of both vessel and life.
Approximately 37 boats were reported damaged and/or washed ashore, Melanie was sadly one of the vessels most completely destroyed. This is due to the fact that 4-5 m waves were breaking on the rugged boulder strewn shoreline.
My wife, Julie, discovered the terrible destruction on the Tuesday morning. Hoping to find Melanie beached or blown into the mangroves, she was in shock after realizing that the fragments and debris she had seen washed up on the shoreline were in fact parts of our boat.
Melanie had been professionally built in 1979, by R Brooks of Sydney. She was of ferro cement construction, had a proven cruising history, having circumnavigated the globe - rounding Cape Horn, and on occasion been featured in the Cruising Helmsman Magazine.
It is regrettable that ferro cement yachts are virtually impossible to insure comprehensively and so, sadly, Melanie only had third party cover.
The destruction of Melanie represents a total loss.
Some people perceive yacht owners to be wealthy, and that boats are a luxury item rather than a commitment. This is of course not always the case. Melanie had been our home. We lived aboard for 3 years in South Australia, this gave us the opportunity to put all of our earnings into the boat. Marina charges in SA being reasonable ($110 per week, all inclusive for a vessel of Melanies size).
Melanie represented our total investment of work, time and earnings for four and a half years. She was in a neglected state when we purchased her, and needed a total refit.
In addition to the loss of our yacht, and the accumulation of debt, we have lost many personal possessions. Approximately 18 months ago, we moved to Airlie Beach for work. Although we had moved into a rental unit, we still considered Melanie a home, and had substantial person belongings still aboard when she was wrecked.
We are continually remembering items that were lost, books, navigation equipment, parallel rules and dividers all of the small things that have been unrecoverable due to the extent of the destruction. Anything of value that may have been washed up was unfortunately long gone by the time I reached the wreck site.
Had Melanie been washed into the mangroves and written off, we would at least have been able to salvage some of these items, many of sentimental value, sadly all has gone.
Having experienced the total destruction of our yacht, we would not wish this to happen to anyone.
Best regards,
Tony and Julie Boss.
Whitsunday reels from wild storm - Mackay Daily Mercury - 2008-02 ...
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How Julie found our boat, she recognized part of the wreckage.
Sail Repairs in the recently re fitted lounge.
Original Lounge area.
Prop visible on the left of the picture.
Undergoing engineering works - SA 2007.
