Watch: Lucky escape at the Tweed Bar
Tuesday 25th, May: Kyle Webb, American skipper of the Begonia, a 12m catamaran, times his exit of the Tweed River to coincide with the morning high tide.
Though he chose the right tide, Captain Kyle underestimated the size of the easterly swell hitting the bar. Despite the oversight, the Begonia almost made it to clear water.
Unfortunately, a wave capped and hit the cat's starboard side dragging it back into the impact zone, the following nine minutes a mix of terror for the people aboard, and good fortune too, as the Begonia, despite losing power and steering, somehow managed to avoid the Tweed breakwalls and get washed safely back down the river.
Vision from Swellnet's Tweed Bar surf camera. And yes, if you saw the story on Channel 7 Gold Coast, this is the same footage.
Comments
Should have checked that Tweed Bar Webcam before going out for a sail....
However after watching that many minutes of terror, I hope all are ok.
What shit's me is people's selfish appetite for risk, like the tool, Captain Kyle.
Yes, right tide, but, surely, he can read a map, listen to a forecast or - if he is in waters unknown to him, make an investigative call to ascertain conditions.
Damn lucky. If luck wasn't on his side someone would have been called in to act, to assist, against their own value's of risk because someone didn't have the foresight to think ahead. Goose.
It's better the first responders have something to do than sleep and jerk off
What an idiot captain that bloke was. Just wanted more chances to die.
Personally, I think it was worth the risk to life and craft so Stu could write 'Look at the cat get dragged in.' which gets my vote for best thing ever farken written.
hahaha yes agree but also what a fukn idiot, sorry kyle
It's like a lotto win purchase by someone with no fucking idea what swell is, amazing.
Ahhhhh You Kidding. Captain?
Dosent look like he lost power maybe some steering ...but what were they thinking ......derr ...done many a bar crossing out of ballina in small tinnies and come close a few times .One time in particular the fish were on and fishing at black head you can see the bar knowing the tides turned and the swell has jumped and you can see its now 6ft with the runout tide and the 25 hp isnt really going to cut it with a boat full of jew and mackeral.........almost going backwards ....another time at yamba watching this fishing boat going out and the swell was 8ft ,he knew the swell was up didnt make it and someone drowned.......seriously stupid cause as in that footage its a long run when the swells up and you have to have good skills ....im sure the coast guard would have warned the skipper of the dangers .........hope he learn't a lesson cause some one could possibly have died through his stupidity......so lucky
First came the SUPs, then the foils and now Catamarans?! Just ride shortboards FFS.
Geez you blokes are harsh.... I thought his bottom turn, top turn combo was pretty bloody good... then to finish with a tail slide to flats had me locking in maximum points...
Couldn't see his claim though.....too far away.
Hahaha someone needs to dub Turpell "Off the top, off the bottom...".
haha. Agreed!! A 9.58 for that first wave, possibly the greatest ride ever at the Tweed Bar, followed by a 7.97. He had a great heat!
Hope all are ok though. How well does that Cat handle though. That was impressive that it didn't flip.
Starting with a backwards takeoff was a statement
Yea I reckon the captain wanted to charge it again but the crew were screaming no, and that’s why they were driving around in circles. Was probably a pirate in a past life.
watching that footage again and i wonder at what point when he was approaching the bar while still in the river did he think it was makeable in a slow moving cat...straight lines of 6 to 8ft plus white water...........should jail him .
That screen shot up the top just looks like the most fucked up place to be in a boat.
Dumb cnt
I eagerly await the next update in the Captain's Log.
Here's Captain Kyle's log from the day before:
"Another early start to make the right tide state for the bars involved. We again had to bring down the spinnaker for fear of arriving too early at Tweed Heads, and still arrived too early anyway. We held off for a while, and entered without issue but before conditions were ideal to be sure."
2nd entry in the Captains log...
0500 hrs - All quiet and no swell in the marina....
0505 hrs. - Getting away early to avoid paying marina fees
no swell at the marina.....its the Ivory Tavern...no swell .....absolute nutter, at least 2km for the bar....
Good find, there's a red flag in the first three words of that blog - never heard it called a mooring ball before :)
And maybe a bit of a tell in the "about" section - "we don't care too much about ... labels."
Captain's Log - "Was informed prior to departure that there were 8ft walls of whitewater breaking across the bar but this was quickly dismissed because it was just, like, his opinion man."
Postmodernism bites.
Give the bloke a break. He's an American and obviously doesn't understand Austrian conditions.
Very droll Gary, I like it. :-)
nice work Gary
Yep the yanks. Know it all!!!! I can handle anything - Captain America. Maybe he is related to Trump.
they should do a movie........i know ....gilligans island
No worries., that Cats got 8 more lives.
classic!
Lucky the boat wasn't single hull, would have flipped for sure.
Maybe another victim of wave height measurement inconsistencies... He probably watched the Narrabeen Pro, seen the 6ft claims on the WSL page and thought yep, I’ll handle this Aussie 6ft stuff, no worries, mate.
Wow. I remember seeing that cat down in Flinders island in March. Very lucky, glad everyone is ok
That boat is a reef waiting to happen with that guy at the helm. Hopefully that knocks some sense into Captain Kyle. The odds of copping one in that thing were well above average. And the bulky rudders on some of those cats snap so easily in surf conditions.
I'm sure the Dad's Army at the Volunteer Marine Rescue are ready to spring into action any day now. ;}
What's the issue here I've got no brakes on my pushy, still rockin.
Where will he be over the weekend? Hopefully not at sea!
Tuesday was just the lemon next to the pie.
Tweed slipway is my guess.
Thinking the same dazzler, hoping he is well tucked up in a marina for the next few days.
The use of the title "Captain" is a bit of an overreach IMO
Galley boy Kyle has a better ring to it
Who knows what pressure was coming from passengers/other crew. Helmsman clearly didn't know the bar and how deadly the north coast entrances can be. What really is puzzling is why at first he was puttering ahead into solid swell at 3kn instead of going for it when cutting north. He needs to check the thousands of youtube clips of confident skippers busting out of bars in foul weather and, equally, the noobs with a thousand horses of outboards who bury their bows in Florida slop and get swamped, while an audience of hundreds catcalls from the break walls.
You used to be able to cut north. Its more unpredictable now.
yep...now it hope the best...but to cut over the left...the shallow side.....scary stuff.
did you read the comment," left early to avoid the mooring fees...from Ivory Tavern...and there was no swell...at then marina hahaha....god I hope he travelling alone.
Some serious clean up on the 'poop deck' required after that
Ha ha ha, that goes to the top of the pile jshe, who said surfers weren’t funny?
We’re all surfers, we know sets, periods, rips, currents etc, and we are programmed to work around them and use them to our advantage. We assume everyone else can too but they don’t. Its a scary reality that a lot of experienced yachties and boat operators are completely oblivious to it. Some think they know, but their reflex reaction is still just to head straight into the waves. I first experienced this while going scuba diving on a large cruiser and the crew were hell bent on just charging at the large waves across the bar. It was seriously crazy. They had no idea. Similarly I’ve encountered the same issue with someone who has sailed successfully in several major offshore yacht races. I’ve tried to explain it and they even said they understand but when faced with approaching sets, rather than backing off and waiting, they just went for it.
"I'm not an ambiturner... I can't turn left."
This just reminds me of so many paddle out attempts when it has been bigger than it looked from the car park. From the 'That was easy, almost out the back already' to the final defeat sitting just inside the impact zone contemplating a quick paddle back out versus going in and doing 'the run around'.
Some of those cats have inboards in one hull and steer like a underpowered brick
I think that’s why he couldn’t turn it
I thought the Tweed River sand bypassing program was designed to make the bar safe?... oh that's right its designed to protect beachfront investments further north... 600+ wannabe skippers lining the super(?!) bank is just a happy accident...
It's designed to "maintain a safe, navigable entrance to the Tweed River and restore and maintain the coastal sand drift to the beaches on the southern Gold Coast of Queensland."
Old mate could have easily steered left at the rivermouth and then gone around the Bar (was early high tide and there was a good channel to the north). But, for some reason he decided to punch through.
I think left is called 'port' Ben
;)
Not to ye olde landlubbers.
you see people this way going out fishing and its like 7 mtrs on the live bouys. people be cray, but hey they say the same thing about surfers.
Read: Great Comments on lucky escape from Tweed Bar. Some serious wit at the end of the week. thanks!
If only the swell was a bit bigger and Parko was on the boat
My boat is 6'4 and 45 litres (no outriggers yet)...no passengers, and it doesn't go out when its pushing 6 to 8 ft anymore. Cap'n Fatso has at least one functioning braincell
How embarrassing.
Mind you, attempting a fins-first take off on a 38-footer deserves some praise.
This could be the Knob
https://www.noonsite.com/news/portrait-of-a-cruiser-maryanne-and-kyle-w…
if so he could probably update 'Things you would do Different' or 'Scariest day on the Water'
Yep, that's him udo
How's this quote from his spiel.....
"I felt somewhat that I was simply riding the conveyor-belt of life and not actively steering in any particular direction. "
He uses the same philosophy for crossing bars...
Well, as a sailor girl the captain, got a death wish....and the vessel is then steer over the shallow section of the bar...pays to talk to a few locals before heading out...even the local fishing boat didn't go out...let alone a cat, heading the bar looking that nasty....madness.
https://followingsea.net/blog/Begonia
Is he going to update attempting to leave Tweed Heads ?
can someone speed this up with some comical music please..? Captain pugwash theme would do the trick
Checked the specs on the tub , flashy bit of gear but only has 2 X 20 hp diesels for a displacement of nearly 6 tons. Not something I would cross that bar on big swell in. And I've crossed it way worse than that.
Makes you wonder if your'e just cruising around why would you risk it? It's bad enough having to make these calls when your'e livelihood depends on it , but that decision to cross , under powered and especially straight up the guts was flat out stupidity.
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.
source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/gilligansislandlyrics.html
Sing a long...Waterboys Album "This is the Sea"
Note: I slightly changed the lyrics for Captain Kyle
These things you keep
You'd better throw them away
You wanna turn your back
On the local fishermen's ways
Once you were moored
And now you are free
Once you were tethered
Well now you are free
That was the river
This is the sea!
Now if you're feelin' weary
If you've been a dickhead for too long
Maybe you've been suffering from
A few too many
Bar crossings that have gone wrong
And you're trying to remember
How fine your life used to be
Safely back in the Marina
Like it's 1973
Well that was the river
This is the sea!
Idiot!
Now you say you've got trouble
You say you've got no steering
You say' youve got nothing left to believe in
Nothing to hold on to
Nothing to trust
Nothing but Anchor chains
You're scouring your conscience
Raking through your memories
Scouring your conscience
Raking through your memories
But that was the river
This is the sea yeah!
Now I can see you wavering
As you try to decide
You've got a seppo brain in your head
And it's tearing you up inside
You're trying to make sense
Of the sets that you just can't see
Trying to make sense now
And you know you once held the key
But that was the river
And this is the sea!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!...Idiot
Now I hear there's a train
It's coming on down the line
It's yours if you hurry
You've got still enough time
And you don't need no ticket
And you don't pay no Marina fee
No you don't need no ticket
You don't pay no mooring fee
Because that was the river
And this is the sea!
Behold the sea!....Idiot
That's gone into the excellent range.
Actually, I feel bad wasting a good tune like that on Cap'n K
Yes Megzee, one of my favourite tunes ever!
I don't imagine the vessel has gone too far . Perhaps Swellnet could break out the company tinny and send one of their investigative reporters around the river to track Kyle down and do a bit of a one on one with the man .
Probably showing my age but this immediate;y came mind .............
Gilligan's Island theme song
By the living harrys Ginger was hot, ooops can I say that?
Yeah, but is was Marry-Anne who made all the coconut cream pies.....
Now there is a good lookin country lass......Well, I thought that when I was 13
Captains log updated today. https://followingsea.net/blog/Begonia
Tied up at another free mooring in Terranora creek. Doesn't mention the incident but states the engine/s and steering needed repair.
Haha, wasn’t memorable enough to log for Kooktain Kyle.
Brilliant. I'd say nearly capsizing/destroying the boat would justify some sort of note in the log? Could downplay it if needed... "Unsuccessful attempt to exit the Tweed River mouth, some repairs now required"
I wonder if Kyle has been to Hawaii ??
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The phrase "It didn't look that big from the carpark..." springs to mind ;-)
Looks like Captain Kyle is a serial harbour exit blooper. This from "Portrait of a Cruiser" interview with Kyle's wife Maryanne. This is her answer about their worst sailing experience...
"...As for the most scary day, we differ for that answer. ... For Kyle it was exiting the Strangford Lough a little later than we should have (missing the slack water) in Northern Ireland."
Hope Kaptain Kook has YouTube so he can get a few tips from Senōr Sloan
that was a ten.......lucky bastard
They snuck out of Tweed river on the 2nd
https://followingsea.net/blog/Begonia
At least he's learning how these rivermouth thingys work...
Plus, he reckons he has some major repairs.......I am sure he does....
Pull both rudders out.......Straighten rudder shafts and replace quadrant gear
Numerous hull delamination's......especially around chain plates
Standing rigging damage
This will hurt his "the wind is Free" budget....
Exactly megzee.
"Despite the damage we've been assured by two separate businesses that the boat is safe to haul {whew} and once that is done the major work can be begin" ...Captain Clueless Kyle
Says a lot about it's current condition.
Haul out and hardstand costs aren't cheap in that neck of the woods either.
Yep, I think in this case Tubeshooter, the old acronym for BOAT......Bring Out Another Thousand, will ring true.......
Imagine if the things folds in half on the travel lift......
lets hope so...save others a lot of grief in the future
Down to Tassie- Back up East coast to Darwin- Across to Cocos- Then to Africa
https://followingsea.net/blog/Begonia