MFS saves stranded yacht from beach at North Haven
A father and son’s month-long battle to save their stranded yacht is finally over, with the marooned boat being towed to a boat ramp by the MFS.
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A month-long battle by a father and son to save their marooned yacht finally has ended with the MFS coming to the rescue.
The fire boat, Gallantry, was dispatched late on Friday to North Haven to tow the dilapidated vessel to the nearest boat ramp.
The 75-year-old two-masted wooden yacht — given away for free on Gumtree — will be lifted on to a cradle, put on a truck and driven to Port Pirie.
The intervention by the MFS was welcomed by novice sailors Claude and Samuel Evans, who attracted a state-wide following as they struggled to save the stranded boat.
The pair were sleeping on the yacht off Port Parham on their maiden voyage during a storm last month when a rope towing their dinghy snapped .
The loss of the dinghy left them with no means to tow the yacht into Port Wakefield, where they were planning to put it on a truck and drive to Port Pirie.
A police water operations boat was sent to find them, towing the yacht to North Haven where it was moored near the breakwater.
The rotting anchor rope subsequently snapped, sending the yacht onto sand above the high tide mark while Claude, 55, and Samuel, 27, were retrieving their dinghy from the beach at Normanville, 80km south of Adelaide.
The pair then suffered mishap after mishap as they tried to dig a channel to refloat the yacht, from unpredictable tides, rough weather to broken equipment.
On Wednesday, as Claude and Samuel tried to pump water out of the boat their bilge pump broke down while on Thursday, its rudder snapped off as an excavator tried to push the yacht into the water.
The duo became violently sea sick on Thursday night as they stood in waves and aboard the boat, using buckets as waves crashed over them, filling the boat with water.
They returned to North Haven with a borrowed inflatable dinghy and pump on Friday to make a last-ditch attempt to drain the yacht of the water with a petrol-powered portable pump.
Their efforts were successful, prompting Mr Evans’ daughter, Victoria Evans, to ring emergency services to request a tow, resulting in the Gallantry being sent.
Ms Evans, who set up a Facebook page dedicated to the amateur salvage operation, said her father and brother were ecstatic when they heard help was coming.
“My dad was just so excited, he was screaming with excitement,” she said.
Ms Evans said the response from the public to help save the yacht had been overwhelming.
“Thanks so much to everyone who has helped us,” she said.
“We would not be where we are without that help.”
Among those who offered assistance was Largs North resident Steve Reynolds, 68, who went to North Haven every day for two weeks to support Claude and Samuel.
“It has been a big adventure,” he said. “I have bought them coffee and biscuits, towels and done whatever I can to help out. On Thursday I lent them my kayak so they could get out to the yacht.”
Mr Reynolds said the indefatigable spirt of Claude and Samuel as they suffered setback after setback had been inspirational.
“I am so happy to see all their hard work has paid off.”