Darren John Blundell: Boozed up Baulkham Hills’ boatie runs around on beaches after 10 beers

After drinking 10 beers, a boozed up boatie in a 12m motor cruiser nearly collided with three other vessels in the dark before running the vessel aground. See what happened in Manly court.

Cowan Creek where an over the limit skipper ran his 12m motor cruiser aground and nearly crashed into three other boats. File picture: John Grainger

A boozed up Baulkham Hills’ boatie had 10 beers on his 12m powerboat before nearly colliding with three other vessels and running his boat aground in the dark, Manly Local Court has heard.

Darren John Blundell, 47, ended up nearly five times over the legal alcohol limit while he was piloting the Riviera motor cruiser through the waterways of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park on December 28 last year.

Blundell’s day out on the water, with another person on-board, came to a crashing end after the building construction worker ran the boat onto a sandbank in Little Jerusalem Bay at about 9.40pm.

Earlier in the evening witnesses saw the 12m boat narrowly miss colliding with three other vessels in the bay on Cowan Creek, the court was told on Wednesday.

Blundell pleaded guilty to one count of operate vessel with high range prescribed content of alcohol.

The location where Darren John Blundell, 47, of Baulkham Hills, ran a 12m motor cruiser aground on Cowan Creek in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park while he was nearly five times over the legal alcohol limit. Picture: Google Maps

He told the court that he had held a boating licence since he was 12 years old.

In facts sheet tendered to court, police state that at 9.40pm on Wednesday, December 28, the Broken Bay Water Police were advised that a “large motor cruiser” had narrowly missed three boats in Little Jerusalem Bay before it was seen to run aground.

A water police vessel found Blundell’s boat on a sandbank in the southwest corner of the bay.

Blundell said he was the skipper before he was taken to the marina at Cottage Point and breath tested.

Darren John Blundell (right), 47, of Baulkham Hills, after leaving Manly Local Court where he was convicted of being drunk – blowing 0.241 – while operating a 12m motor cruiser and running it aground in Cowan Creek in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Picture: Manly Daily

He was then taken to Mona Vale police station where he blew 0.241.

The boatie told police had consumed eight to 10 cans of XXXX Gold mid-strength beer between 11am and 9.40pm that day — and had nothing to eat.

When Magistrate Robyn Denes asked Blundell why he drove the boat while affected by alcohol, he replied: “It was a bad error of judgment”.

“I shouldn’t have driven it,” he said.

Ms Denes disqualified him from holding a boat licence for 12 months and fined him $1000.