The quick thinking of a group of locals saved a skipper from having his yacht broken up against the rocks at Bellambi boat ramp yesterday evening, January 28.
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Wind gusts of up to 46 kilometres an hour and consistent waves caused the skipper to lose control of a yacht that was in danger of crashing against the seawall.
Locals had already been attempting to release the yacht from where it had lodged itself in the sand at low tide, to no avail.
Local resident Johnny Lane saw the stricken vessel and went down to help.
"It was washed up on the rocks it was impossible to get out," said Mr Lane.
With the tide again rising, a crowd of between 20 to 30 people formed with some attempting to assist the skipper, who was still in the vessel, to move the yacht to the boat ramp.
Extracting the yacht was not possible with manual assistance and two onlookers with 4x4 vehicles came to assist.
"We tied the rope to the front of the yacht and then wrapped it around the post at the jetty, then tied it up to the back of the car so that it wouldn't wash up on the rocks," said Mr Lane.
Using the strength of the vehicles the yacht was able to be dislodged from the sand and brought next to the boat ramp.
According to Mr Lane, the skipper was lucky, with only minor damage to the outboard motor at the back of the yacht.
Both the yacht and the owner are now safe.
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