Smoke alarm saves family as yacht destroyed by fire

10:01 PM Tue 9 Jun 2009 GMT

'Channel 9 image of the fire' .

A Gold Coast family was saved by their smoke alarm when their luxury cruiser caught fire and sank in the Broadwater at Biggera Waters early yesterday.

The 17.8m yacht Magic Moments caught fire while at anchor near the northern end of Wavebreak Island at Biggera Waters.

The 43-year-old boat owner told police he was alerted after the vessel's smoke alarm sounded about 1am and he discovered a fire in the galley.

He attempted to extinguish the blaze but was forced to abandon the boat with his family.

He evacuated his wife, 10-month-old baby girl and dog on to the boat's tender before collecting his jet-ski and taking the family safely to shore.

Wavebreak Island - .. .

The family contacted emergency services once they reached Wavebreak Island and Water Police, Volunteers Marine Rescue and Maritime Safety Queensland officers attended the scene. But by the time the crews arrived the luxury cruiser was already engulfed in flames and could not be saved.

'Attempts to extinguish the fire were being made and during the process the anchor parted from the vessel, I understand as a result of the fire,' said Acting Senior Sergeant Tony Nelson from Gold Coast Water Police.

'The outgoing tide dragged the vessel further out (towards the Seaway) but the vessel was engulfed by the fire.'

Local maritime officers attempted to bring the remainder of the boat back to shore but it sank under tow.

An MSQ spokesman said the boat was left in 11m of water on the edge of the channel.

He said MSQ was satisfied the wreck did not pose any threat to boat users and was not pollution hazard.

Paramedics took the woman and baby to Gold Coast Hospital with possible smoke inhalation as a precaution, but they were released soon after.

The family was too distraught to speak to the media yesterday and did not want to be named.

Authorities yesterday praised the family for ensuring their boat was fitted with working smoke alarms, as there are no mandatory requirements for vessels to be fitted with them.

'If there's any message, it is due to the fact the vessel was fitted with smoke detectors the family were able to get off the boat and avoid a tragedy,' said Sen-Sgt Nelson.

by Hayley Sultanie & Stephanie Bedo, goldcoast.com.au

Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:

Newsfeed supplied by

#News #Cruising

Cruising

The Bar Crossing: Wait for Slack Water

Cross on slack or the first of the flood.

Cruising

Night Watch: Stay Useful After Dark

Watch stints, handovers and sleep that holds up

Nearby
North Head, NSW	10 kn WSW
Little Bay, NSW	12 kn S
Cronulla, NSW	14 kn S
Windiest in Australia
Wilsons Promontory, VIC	34 kn WSW	13°
Most Windless in Australia
Sweers Island, QLD	Calm	32°
Hottest in Australia
Port Hedland, WA	19 kn E	37°
Coldest in Australia
Mount Buller, VIC	11 kn S	1°
Wettest in Australia
Halls Creek, WA	9.6 mm

Foiling
	Foilstyle set up recommendations
	IQFoil halo effect
	Does anybody still Windfoil once they have become proficient at Winging?
Wave sailing
	Foot strap width
	Goya Gen 8 quad vs Gen 9
Gps and Speed talk
	ka72 account linking with Garmin Connect
	Another DIY GPS logger approach
	Garmin GPSTC Datafield - to complement the Motion Simple Logger
Gear Reviews
	North 3Di
	Severne MONSTER

Smoke alarm saves family as yacht destroyed by fire

The Bar Crossing: Wait for Slack Water

Night Watch: Stay Useful After Dark

Live Weather

Nearby

Windiest in Australia

Most Windless in Australia

Hottest in Australia

Coldest in Australia

Wettest in Australia

(Other) Articles

Windsurfing Forum Topics

Buy & Sell

2023 Core Xr Pro

2021 Ben Buckler - Toes Nose - Yellow

2026 Bayliner C21

2026 Duotone Sky Style Sls

2023 Neil Pryde Atlas (5.8 And 6.5), Fin, Ext

2022 Os

2022 Armstrong Wing Sup 50L

Know before you go

Download the Seabreeze app for iOS or Android.

Weather

Activities

About

Other

Support