A sailing yacht washed ashore on one of Tasmania's most remote beaches on 4 January. It was the twelve-metre-long "Huntress", which the Sydney Hobart Race was contested. The crew, who had started for the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, had abandoned the yacht due to a broken rudder during the race.
The Sydney 39CR The "Huntress" was salvaged and the feared environmental damage did not materialise. However, the natives of the unspoilt area are now claiming the yacht - or at least part of it - for themselves.
How did the accident happen?
Conditions were ideal for the start of the traditional regatta on Boxing Day with winds between 10 and 15 knots from the north to north-east and bright sunshine. The sailors enjoyed the best sailing conditions before the situation changed dramatically.
"We had twelve hours of very challenging conditions on Tuesday evening, which unfortunately led to the loss of our rudder at 7am on Wednesday," the team wrote in an Instagram post. A loud bang was heard at a boat speed of 20 knots. The "Huntress" was only travelling under mainsail at this point, which the crew then recovered as quickly as possible. The race organisers were informed and no member of the Australian sailing team was injured.
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Ghost ship drifts at sea for a week - rescue attempt too late
Due to the conditions, however, it was not possible to tow the yacht, the report continues. The "Huntress" therefore had to be left 80 nautical miles off the coast. The crew was taken to Flinders Island on a police vessel. The yacht, however, drifted in the open sea for another week before washing up on Christmas Beach on Cape Barren Island on 4 January.
Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) first issued a warning to mariners five days after the sailboat was abandoned, stating that the "Huntress" was drifting 15 nautical miles off the Tasmanian coast. The failure of the power supply on board also meant the loss of the AIS signal and made the salvage operation more difficult. Among other things, the stricken yacht was spotted by a cruise ship, but the planned salvage operation never materialised - the yacht ran aground beforehand.
According to Australian news service ABC News, the yacht owner had said in a now-deleted post that they were "angry, distraught and completely at a loss as to how this could have happened as they (the yacht,Editor's note.Ed.) has been drifting for a week now and there has been more than enough opportunity to "bring them to safety".
Stranded yacht threatened to break up
Last weekend, the time had finally come: Total Dive Solutions, a specialised company commissioned by the insurer Pantaenius Australia, took up the salvage work and brought the yacht safely to the Tasmanian mainland.
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The manager of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania, Rebecca Digney, had previously expressed serious concerns to ABC News about the sailboat breaking apart. Christmas Beach is "very clean, unspoilt and remote". The area is only accessible on foot or by boat and is inhabited only by indigenous people. "The island is the only piece of land in the whole of Tasmania where Aboriginal people live permanently," says Digney.
Salvage could have repercussions
According to the news service, there could therefore be further problems despite the successful rescue of the stranded and unmasted yacht. "All vessels wrecked or washed up on the coast of Aboriginal land belong to Aboriginal people," said Michael Mansell, Chair of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania to ABC News. The yacht should not have been removed unless a third of the value was paid to the Aboriginal people. This is according to Aboriginal law and has always been the case. Mansell explains: "The white man's salvage laws don't apply because it's sovereign Aboriginal territory and our laws take precedence over the white man's."
According to the salvage company, even local residents probably helped with the salvage work. Nevertheless, the demand for compensation could be justified.
