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Using a combination of brains, graft and number eight wire ingenuity, Boyd Gunn and a team of local boaties succeeded on Saturday in freeing his 76 foot yacht, Chieftain, from the sandbank off Omaha boat ramp, where it had been stranded since late October.
With an Auckland Transport harbourmaster vessel alongside and a crowd of around 200 onlookers on shore, a tractor at the boat ramp hauled on a heavy rope tied to Chieftain’s bow at high tide.
The tow rope snapped on the first attempt, but after some nifty knot-tying, it held on the second try and the 32 tonne edged forward and floated free at last.
“Chieftain was successfully refloated on Saturday with thanks to the vessel owner and the local community,” AT Deputy Harbourmaster Christiaan Moss said on Monday.
The aluminium yacht became stuck after breaking free of a swing mooring at Ti Point during a storm in late October. High winds and a surging tide drove it down the harbour and left it lodged on the sandbank (see MM, November 20).
Gunn praised the Omaha community for its support.
“The real story is the incredible selfless generosity Omaha residents have given,” he said on Saturday. “It’s humbling.”
Earlier, the harbourmaster’s office signalled that it may have to intervene after multiple fruitless efforts by Gunn to dislodge the boat. Were it to do so, the office said, the costs would be recovered from the vessel owner, in line with the provisions of the Maritime Transport Act.
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