Stephen Aldred sentenced after boat grounding, safety breaches in the Whitsundays

Passengers on a dreamy sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands ended up “screaming and crying” before being evacuated from a yacht in the middle of “torrential rain”. See why the ship’s master faces charges.

A 21st birthday sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands turned into a nightmare after a yacht got grounded off Hook Island leaving passengers “terrified” and having to be evacuated. Picture: Sailing Whitsundays

A 21st birthday sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands turned into a nightmare after a yacht got grounded off Hook Island leaving passengers “terrified” and having to be evacuated.

13 passengers boarded the Waltzing Matilda at the Airlie Beach marina for a three-day experience of a lifetime sailing the beautiful Whitsundays from November 29 to December 1 in 2022.

But the trip turned sour, with no life jackets available for the terrfied passengers.

Commonwealth prosecutor Sam Lanskey said Master of the boat Stephen Aldred was operating the boat on his own because his deckhand was sick.

Mr Lanskey told the court Aldred had left the boat unattended as he went out to Hill Inlet, leaving passengers to steer the vessel unsupervised.

Reading the facts, Magistrate Michelle Howard told the court the tender had not been secured properly and drifted away, with Aldred “yelling out instructions to passengers” on how to get it back.

The boat then turned towards Hook Island after Whitehaven beach, arriving around 7:30pm.
But Aldred went too close to shore, grounding the boat on a rock.

Aldred then asked the passengers for help with adjusting the anchor, and appeared ‘panicked’ himself in front of his customers.

Ms Howard said the boat which was sitting on the rocks, gradually started to tilt and was “essentially sideways”, leaving passengers “screaming and crying”.

Stephen Aldred took a team of 13 out on his own for three days of sailing on the Waltzing Matilda. Picture: Sailing Whitsundays

She said Aldred had initially declined to call the Marine Rescue when a passenger suggested it to him, but eventually gave in.

Ms Howard said the passengers decided to evacuate the boat, and a tender from a nearby vessel came to assist.

Mr Lanskey said passengers had not been wearing life jackets when they evacuated the main vessel, and that conditions were dangerous as the visibility was poor due to torrential rain.

Mr Lanskey said Aldred put passengers at “significant risks”, as he had “total authority at sea”.

He told the court Aldred had been breaking the law by being alone operating the boat as the Marine Safety Act required at least two people on board.

For him to be able to operate the boat on his own he would have needed a specific Master 5 in coastal navigation, that the court heard he did not hold.

Mr Lanskey said the vessel was not equipped with life jackets, that Aldredd had not given any safety briefing to the passengers and that the tender had not been secured properly.

He told the court though Aldred did not have the qualification required, he would have “known the requirements for safety” as he was the director of the boat company Waltzing Matilda Charters and would have drafted the company’s safety rules.

Mr Lanskey said Aldred had issued an incident report on December 16 2022 and announced he was selling both his yachts Waltzing Matilda and Gypsy Dancer shortly after.

Prosecution did not have the necessary information to ascertain whether Aldred was in bankruptcy, but only that he had sent an email back to the department in May 2023 after being issued two fines, stating that he was unable to pay.

Aldred was charged with breaching the certificate of operation, of operating without having the relevant certificate of competency and recklessly contravening his duty to ensure safety of vessels, marine safety equipment and operations.

Magistrate Michelle Howard accepted the submission from the prosecutor to finalise the matter ex-parte after Aldred failed to appear in court twice, meaning that the court agreed to finalise the matter without hearing from the defendant or his legal team.

“Thankfully, no one was injured as a result of this incident,” Ms Howard said.

“It would no doubt have been terrifying for the passengers.

“Deterrents are important in this matter.”

Aldred was fined a total of $15,389.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Stephen Aldred sentenced after boat grounding, safety breaches in the Whitsundays