Police have had to cross sand dunes to reach the isolated area where the bodies were found.
ABC NEWS: SOPHIE BROWN
Police and emergency service officials are using four-wheel drives to cross sand dunes and access a stretch of beach where two bodies have washed up north of Newcastle.
The bodies were found at a place known as Tin City on Birubi Beach at Port Stephens this afternoon.
Hunter Branch of Surf Life Saving president Henry Scuton said there were fears the men were from a 26-foot yacht that set off from Broken Bay, north of Sydney, and was later reported missing.
"Apparently, a small sailing vessel left Sydney en route to Port Stephens [and] they hadn't been heard from for some time," he said.
Glen Ramplin from the Hunter rescue helicopter said a search for the men began at lunchtime.
"At this stage, the yacht is still unaccounted for," he said.
"We believe the Pol Air helicopter is searching as well as Sydney's Westpac helicopter.
"They had originated near Broken Bay, and so the search was begun and unfortunately two bodies have been located."
The area of the beach being searched is isolated and only accessible by 4WD.
Newcastle Herald: Bodies of two men in 70s sailing from Brooklyn to Port Stevens in 8m yacht. Dinghy found nearby. Left Thursday, were in contact with family but lost contact 10 am Friday.
i feel pretty sad. i was going to do the port jackson - broken bay leg with him on the friday, when i was supposed to deliver my bluebird to lake mac. This got cancelled when the buyer decided to buy a yacht in lake mac instead. I did entertain the idea of going on his boat to pittwater/brooklyn for the ride, but decided not to. i turned on the vhf and tried to contact him on friday at 7am as i live in the harbour and thought id catch him on channel 68 as we discussed. He seemed to be really organised with his charts and passage plan etc all done. Personally i would have been dubious to leave from pittwater on the thursday when they did. It was gusting to 35 kn in the harbour. i went for a sail that day to test out my reef points. Im still not sure if its him, but his yacht was called Galini - and the man who died was spanish. I dont think this is a coincidence. RIP mate. All you wanted to do was get your yacht to port stephens...
Yara that doesnt say anything about during the voyage or news of after the voyage but that info and the smh latest news points to one of the sailors being knight from here...
This is sad news. R.I.P guys. It does point clearly to Knight , I re-read some of his posts. Very polite posts and does suggest he was not completely experienced But how do you determine who is experienced Or not?
The only thing that has got me thinking it's possibly not him as he regarded his name as Angleno but I guess it's all pritty much evident it was him being Spanish and leaving on that weekend with the same passage plan.
From the top hat forum, it appears there were engine and water ingress issues prior to the final voyage. This information should probably be passed onto to police as it may help determine what happened and what repairs were done in Brooklyn.
He posted on Sep 1 that the boat wasn't going anywhere for a few weeks and it did seem there were quite a few problems with it.
Even some of the posts/photos on seebreeze may be of help.
Sectorsteve said.. Yara that doesnt say anything about during the voyage or news of after the voyage but that info and the smh latest news points to one of the sailors being knight from here...
Steve, I think you were the one who said the boat was named Galini, and that is the link.
pierce Bateman was one of the crew (family friend) .he was with his brother in law who I have not met but I believe his name was Antonio. We're all very sad in my camp regerds dave
Hi all, sorry I was out camping this weekend and had no mobile signal.
No it wasn't me, we only planned to get to Brooklyn that weekend, and stopped there.
Thanks for the concern all, it's touching to know there are people looking out for us.
I did see the story and it definitely made me think, that boat was about the same size as mine, circumstances very similar, I had a safety plan, but something like that definitely made me think about weather it coveted all bases. I didn't think the conditions were particularly bad out there and I never felt in danger, but goes to show that disaster can strike in relatively simple situations. My safety plan will definitely be reviewed prior to going back to sea.
Thank you knight, i became very worried this morning when someone on cruisers forum mentioned it was a top hat. Still extremely sad loss for the family and sailing community Cheers
Glad to hear youre ok. Your boat sounded Spanish. Same size, going brooklyn to port stephens.. crazy coincidence. I just hate the thought of sailors being woken up in the dark taking on water and no time to help themselves in anyway.
Good news I feel better now but still condolences to the guys that lost there lives.
One lesson to be learnt is conditions can be far different out of the heads than in the harbour, I try to check hourly observations on remote offshore coasts such as Low Islands in Port Douglass or Neptune islands in South Australia.....etc.
Obviously we won't know the full story until they find the hull of this vessel.
That's good to read made me have a bad day,but it still makes you cautious ,me an way .Id like to motor my walker around to western port but wont till I have a mast and sail ready to use instead.
A tragedy. My prayers go out to the Wife/Sister and their families. I am certain Antonio is the same warm and friendly character I have met through artist friends from Duns Creek, Paterson.
Stockton Bight is not a user friendly place in a southerly or even strong easterly conditions. The shallows can quickly throw up steep breaking seas (as evident when you pass the Sygna wreak). If you have been sticking in close, in a relative short distance it is something like 20 nm to clear the Bight from Newcastle (The last safe Port) passing Birubi Point.
Given the topography, it is a viable senario that, whilst on a hard reach trying to escape the place, the sailors might have shipped a few waves during a knockdown? This would explain the sudden loss of contact?
In the circumstances it would be near impossible to point the yacht back to sea. With the prospect of being driven ashore without hope of rescue, the yachtsman may have taken the next best option of making a run for Tin City - a small settlement of fishing huts in the Bight - in their inflatable?
I am not passing judgement. I have sailed the same waters solo, observing similar weather, considering what I would do in the given scenario.
It is also worth noting, once you pass Birubi, you need to still head east enough to clear the shallows between there and Boat Harbour. Again, I have learnt the hard way by shipping a few waves over the stern.
