A catamaran has washed onto rocks at Wollongong Harbour after one of its motors cut out and drove it off course early Wednesday.
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A operation to retrieve the vessel is expected to take several hours.
The boat came into Wollongong Harbour on Tuesday and departed for Jervis Bay about 7.30am Wednesday.
It came into trouble soon after leaving the harbour, when the starboard engine cut out.
With the other engine still functioning, the Seawind 1000 arced towards the rocks and washed up on a flat platform, before the tide retreated.
Water police threw a rope to the helmsman, who remains on board.
Port Kembla Water Police Senior Constable Garry Webster said there was little else for authorities to do.
‘‘There’s no way we’re going to try and float that boat again - if we drag it back it’s possible it will damage the hull,’’ he said.
‘‘The next tide is going to be lower than the one that put him up there.
‘‘[The boat’s insurer] is going to have to crane him off.’’
