Boaters set adrift

By Glen Atwell
MOORING boats in Warneet is becoming a case of sink or slip.
Boaters are outraged at the increasing number of vessels drifting out to the main channel, forcing local launchers to navigate a dangerous gauntlet to get past them.
The most recent incident involved a 42-foot catamaran, called the Pacificer, which remains stranded in the main channel two weeks after her moorings gave way.
A mooring is a buoy which is attached by a rope or chain to a seabed weight, such as a second-hand train or tram wheel. Boats are tied to the buoy to keep them in place.
Granger Barnett from Warneet Bait ‘n’ Tackle said he was tired of answering questions about the problem.
“I’ve had 20-30 people come in and ask about the issue in the past few weeks – it’s out of control,” he said.
Mr Barnett said he has witnessed eight boats drift off in recent weeks, a situation that caused chaos for regular boaters.
“For some reason, the moorings being installed are not holding and boats end up in the middle of the main access channel. At night this becomes very dangerous for boats coming back in,” he said.
“It’s an issue for Parks Victoria and they must take action.”
Parks Victoria is responsible for the approval and inspection of installed moorings.
But many Warneet boaters say that inadequate installation and inspections are causing the problems.
They think that the buoy rope is either breaking or that the seabed weights, which are sometimes made of concrete set in car tyres, are not being made heavy enough to hold boats in place.
Angry Narre Warren resident Richard Greven is convinced it will take a serious accident before Parks Victoria takes action.
“I’ve had near misses, so has everyone else. Some of the contractors installing the moorings are not using enough weight to keep them in place,” he said.
Hampton Park fisherman Pat Rossi said the boat that is blocking the main channel, the Pacificer, needed to be re-moored urgently.
“It is an inconvenience to have a large vessel stranded in the main channel and everyone trying to squeeze between the channel markers and the boat,” he said. “Parks Victoria needs to have a good look at what is going on at Warneet.”
Parks Victoria Bays Ranger Lee Hart said he wasn’t aware of any major troubles at Warneet.
“There is always going to be some problems with moorings, but I wouldn’t say the situation is out of control,” he said.
“On occasions, it’s actually the boat owners using the wrong type of rope and it slips off the mooring.”
“Every mooring is inspected annually by Parks Victoria and when a mooring is installed, boat owners can choose which contractor they want to use.”