Attempts to move the yacht stranded on North Haven beach have again failed
More than three weeks after a dilapidated yacht became stranded on North Haven beach it remains there, after numerous attempts to refloat it have failed. Find out the owner’s next move.
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Latest attempts to move the yacht stranded on the beach at North Haven have failed, leaving owner Claude Evans and his son, Samuel, downhearted.
Port Adelaide Enfield Council staff spent Friday working with two loaders and a grader to carve a channel from the wooden-hulled yacht to the water’s edge.
It was hoped this would allow water to surround the dilapidated vessel at high tide on Friday night, and allow the boat to be refloated.
Samuel said unfortunately this attempt failed, after the tide failed to rise as high as expected.
“The channel that the council helped with, it just filled in with sand around the bottom of the boat,” Samuel said.
“We just thought, ‘it’s never going to move’.
“We were just so downhearted.”
Samuel said he was now working with his dad on the next plan to try to move the boat, that has been on the beach near the North Haven Surf Life Saving Club for more than three weeks.
“We’re thinking of burying a drum and getting a winch to winch it out,” he said.
He said another option was placing poles under the vessel and rolling it back in to the water.
However, Samuel said that since they had been unable to source poles, using a winch was the preferred way forward at the moment, and would hopefully happen Tuesday.
Claude, of Yongala, and Samuel were attempting to sail the 70-year-old yacht from Port Adelaide to Port Wakefield on July 15 when they struck bad weather.
They were planning to use a dinghy tied to the dilapidated vessel – which Mr Evans had been given for free – to tow it into Port Wakefield.
From there, they planned to take it by truck to Port Pirie, where Claude, 55, would restore it.
However while the pair was sleeping on the yacht, the rope snapped and the dinghy vanished.
A police boat towed them back to North Haven, where the yacht was anchored slightly offshore, until it broke its moorings and ended up on the beach.
The plight of the stranded yacht has caught the attention of locals, with several people using social media to rally people to gather at the beach on a few occasions to help Mr Evans.
Mr Evans’ daughter, Victoria, has started a Facebook group – Save the Boat – to keep the community information about the vessel’s retrieval and restoration.
She has also set up a GoFundMe page to raise $5000 to help her dad realise his dream.
Port Adelaide Enfield chief executive Mark Withers said on Friday the council was responsible for the safety of beachgoers between the high and low tide marks, and once the boat was removed would flatten the sand to make it safe.
“The work is being completed out of goodwill for the owners and will be costed as part of our works maintenance,” Mr Wither said.
The cost of the council’s help was approximately $500.
A DPTI spokesperson has previously said it was up to Mr Evans to remove the yacht.