Port Adelaide Enfield Council sails in to help owner of stranded North Haven yacht
A yacht stranded on North Haven beach is set to return to the water after questions over who would rescue it. Here’s how the story has unfolded.
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The tide has turned for the owner of the boat stranded on the beach at North Haven, with Port Adelaide Enfield Council coming to the rescue.
As a gesture of goodwill, the council has spent Friday helping Claude Evans and his son, Samuel, to move their wooden-hulled yacht back in the water.
Chief executive Mark Withers said council staff had been working with two loaders and a grader to carve a channel to allow water to surround the boat.
“The owners of the stranded boat did not approach council to ask for assistance, however since we found out about the situation, we have been doing all we can to help the,” Mr Wither said.
“We are working to float it on the high tide tonight just after 6pm, and hope our efforts lead to a successful outcome.”
He said 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 excavations created by the community in good faith present a level of risk to public safety, so we are keen to ensure the safety of our community and the owners of the boat,” Mr Withers said.
“The work is being completed out of goodwill for the owners and will be costed as part of our works maintenance.”
The council help follows “overwhelming” support from the community, which has rallied to help Mr Evans, 55, get the dilapidated yacht back in the water.
A disheartened Mr Evans, of Yongala, said on Thursday he had “run out of money so all I can do is wait for a high tide”.
“I just hope that the vandals don’t get it before we get it afloat,” he said.
“I sort of feel like giving up.”
Mr Evans and his son, 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 Mr Evans 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 dinghy, which had a small two-stroke outboard, was found on the beach at Normanville, 80km south of Adelaide.
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.
“I would like to thank the community for everything it has done,” Mr Evans said.
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, who she says has had a “string of bad luck”, realise his dream.
Ms Evans said the community support had been “overwhelming”.
“My dad was in tears talking to Mum about it,” she said.
A DPTI spokesperson said it was up to Mr Evans to remove the yacht.
“The Department for Infrastructure and Transport is, and has been, in communication with the owner and has already provided guidance and assistance with regard to the best method of removing the vessel from the beach,” they said.
“It is the responsibility of the owner of the vessel to remove the vessel from the beach and the department has assisted the owner with recommended options and contractors who may be able to remove the vessel from the beach.”