devonport yacht club tasmania

Mersey Yacht Club still recovering from loss of 17 vessels in 2016 Tasmanian flood

By Rick Eaves

ABC Northern Tasmania

Topic: Disasters, Accidents and Emergency Incidents

Lance Harvey and Jacques Sapir standing at the point where the bridge and outer pontoon broke away. ( ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves )

A year after a record flood trashed its marina and destroyed numerous boats, the Mersey Yacht Club in Devonport, Tasmania is concerned about its ongoing viability.

A rebuild looks to be a while off yet, and members still grieve and even search for lost boats.

Yachties tried to make sense of the chaos and save their boats as the Mersey River flooded to record levels last June. ( Supplied: Lance Harvey )

In all, 17 vessels were lost to the club. Some sank in the river, some were smashed to pieces on offshore reefs, and two have completely disappeared with no wreckage found.

For most of June 6, 2016, members of the Mersey Yacht Club fended away logs and other heavy debris charging down the Mersey River.

And all the while, members battling the elements were in more danger than they could have known at the time.

Late in the day, a sound of creaking and snapping metal preceded the shocking sight of half the club's marina being dragged rapidly away with the current.

It was followed by another shocking sound of crunching wood and fibreglass.

People were lucky not to lose their lives

Club member Jacques Sapir described the sound of the heavy steel pontoon breaking away as sickening.

It was sickening because in that instant, the club's future was threatened and it was the death knell for the yachts still attached.

"We were very lucky not to lose three people," Mr Sapir said.

"A couple of blokes ended up on their boat, hanging onto the mast for grim death while they were being rolled out there.

"The police came down and rolled up to the boat. It was getting dark by then. They ran up to the pontoon and got the people off.

The Mersey River flooded to record levels one year ago. ( ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves )

"It got too dark after that and they abandoned the whole lot. It was dreadful conditions.

"The river was running at about 11 knots at that point. It was very touch and go."

Loss of marina reduces club's income

Committee member Lance Harvey said the loss of berthing capacity and subsequently, rent, had left the club teetering precariously for the past year.

On the upside, insurance is sorted and a new marina is planned, although engineering reports and the coming winter might delay any rebuild for several months.

Mr Sapir and Mr Harvey lost much-loved classic wooden boats that day.

Jacques Sapir in 2013 with the classic wooden boats Noss and Prospector N, both lost in last year's major flood. ( ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves )

Prospector N had been Mr Sapir's, who sold the classic 1969 yacht to Mr Harvey.

Noss was Mr Sapir's latest love, a little 32-footer around the same age.

At least three replacement vessels have been found by those who lost boats, and Mr Harvey and Mr Sapir are among those back at the "restoration stage" of boat ownership.

Boats and pontoon washed away

Walking along the surviving pontoon, the men stop to stare, as they no doubt have many times before, at the point where the main pontoon structure sheared away.

"At least this part survived because there were people standing here as the whole lot went," Mr Harvey said.

A small yacht hard aground on a breakwall on the east side of the Mersey River during the June 2016 flood emergency. ( Supplied: Peter Lord )

"It looked very nasty, A bridge went straight out and then it was a solid pontoon walkway, the main part of our marina.

"That whole thing slewed around and slid along and slammed along the side of the remaining pontoon and took boats off with it.

"There were eight boats on the pontoon and four went out the river with it.

"Fortunately the largest boat, Miss Eve, was bravely rescued when the pontoon came alongside the Spirit of Tasmania. She is a special boat."

TasPorts cameras showed that boats had gone underneath the Bass Strait ferry, but subsequent sonar scans found nothing remained there.

Several yachts had also broken moorings over the day; some ran up onto breakwalls inside the river or were wrecked on the coastline outside, some went well out to sea propelled by the raging current.

Mersey Yacht Club members tried in vain to save their boats. The club lost 17 member vessels through the 2016 flood, many irretrievably wrecked. ( ABC Northern Tasmania: Rick Eaves )

There was a real concern that vessels could be sitting on the bottom of the river in the navigation channel.

Tasports, understandably, played it safe and delayed the departure of the ferries.

The vessels would eventually stay in port on either side of Bass Strait a further three days before sailing.

"The four boats that were still on the pontoon ended up smashed into small pieces on the reefs offshore from the airport [just east of Devonport]," Mr Sapir said.

"Some ended up along the beach … a couple just went out to sea and have never been seen again."

Members search for lost vessels

Mr Harvey said the club had come together to deal with the problems created by the flood.

Lance Harvey's yacht classic wooden boat Prospector N, built in 1969 and eventually lost later on June 6, 2016. ( Supplied: Lance Harvey )

"There was a lot of kindness showed at the time towards the people who lost boats — because boats get you emotional."

Most club members have spent their share of time combing the beaches east of Devonport, hoping to find anything significant that might remain of their lost vessels.

Mr Sapir found one seat and a few small pieces of the hull.

Somebody else found Mr Harvey's radio operator's licence, intact, and dropped it off at the club.

"One of our members walked from Devonport around to Hawley, looking for his boat," Mr Harvey said.

"It's a very long walk. I wouldn't like to do it but he did do it, and unfortunately he found no sign of his boat, and still hasn't.

"It was a 100-year-old boat that he'd done a lot of work on and it was just gone. It went from a mooring."

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About The Mersey Yatch Club

Situated in a picturesque location on the banks of the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania, The Mersey Yacht Club has a history dating back to 1923.

Our club attracts a diverse membership base; sailors, power boaters, dragon boat paddlers, divers, junior sailors, and people who just love relaxing beside the water enjoying the appealing view across boats moored on the river. Even if you just like taking in the view, the Mersey Yacht Club welcomes you as a member.

In fact, the definition of yacht is far more that just a sailing boat; “ a vessel used for private cruising, racing, or other noncommercial purposes” (www.dictionary.com).

If it floats it likely fits the definition – so all are welcome.

The Mersey Yacht Club recently hosted a very successful Australian and Oceania Laser Titles, with competitors, including a world champion, coming to Devonport from many countries around the world. Our testing courses set off the Mersey Bluff in Bass Strait offered a variety of weather conditions including big seas and wind, testing the competitors. Such offshore conditions are not usually experienced at regattas and feedback indicated they loved the challenge Bass Strait offered.

Each year between Christmas and New Year the Mersey Yacht Club hosts the finish of the ORCV Melbourne to Devonport Ocean Race. The final race of the Rudder Cup series for competing yachts is the Top of the Island Race, conducted by the Club off the Mersey Bluff on a triangular course.

Recognising that not everyone races, the Club encourages everyone to bring their boat out for each event to have a “boating experience” - those who want to race can race, and those who don't can enjoy being on the water.

Major Mersey Yacht Club facelift hinges on federal funding injection

The Mersey Yacht Club (MYC) has applied for half the $7.5 million it needs from federal coffers to redevelop the 50-year-old site.

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The club said it lodged the funding request hoping for a windfall in the May federal budget.

The proposed yacht club facelift includes a rooftop viewing platform overlooking the Mersey River, cafe with alfresco dining, a boardwalk, and cycleway on the river.

"We submitted our revised development plan with letters of support from the Devonport Mayor and the whole range of user groups," MYC commodore Terry Travers said.

"We put it together to submit to the federal government's prioritisation process for the next budget. We're seeking half from the federal government."

Mr Travers said the club also needs state government and council funding to make up the balance.

It complements a separate plan for a $15 m community fishing boat pier with a floating pontoon and room for the revamped hydrogen-powered Torquay ferry.

The historic trans-Mersey passenger vessel's new owner Adam Brancher from Kedge Marine, said he supports a ferry berth at the wharf to provide a triangular service across the river.

Mr Travers said the club's plans should happen alongside TasPorts' $240 m QuayLink project to accommodate the arrival of the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries.

Commercial fishing operators Stuart Richey and Tim Hess said this week that the fishing boat wharf should be built simultaneously to link all the projects cohesively and significantly boost East Devonport.

Read more: Commercial fishers "pushed out" of Devonport battle to get wharf funds

East Devonport Marine Precinct features fisherman's wharf, new yacht club

The MYC facelift and fishing boat wharf had support from the Devonport City Council and Devonport Chamber of Commerce and Industry and had, in principle, support from TasPorts.

Mr Travers said the new marine precinct would make it safer and more accessible to frequent the area.

"It will be a real community asset for everyone," Mr Travers said.

"The money is not just for a building; it's for the whole site to get redeveloped for safe use by the public.

"Our contribution is opening it up to share with the community that has demonstrated it wants this to happen because people already travel across our land and recreate there.

"We recognise it could be done much better and provide a real boost for East Devonport. There's a lot of enthusiasm for it in the community."

In the meantime, DCCI senior vice president James Foster said the chamber supported the MYC and fishing boat wharf projects that would provide East Devonport with a boost.

"Along with the new ferry terminal coming along for the Spirits, I think it would complement that well for interstate visitors, and the small business it's going to encourage on this side of the river is a benefit for all," he said.

Mr Foster said the chamber supports calls for government funding for the projects.

What do you think? Have your say by sending a Letter to the Editor.

Libby Bingham

The Advocate reporter in Devonport. Contact Libby at 0447176804 or [email protected]

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