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Squadron Member Howard Elliott writes, ‘On Saturday 21st October, Viva La Vita was sailing in the Sydney-Lion Island Two Handed Race conducted by CYCA. My crew was Richard Allen.

We started at 1000 hrs in about 7 knots of building NE wind. We had a good exit of the harbour and were well placed for the beat north. We made a decision to stay towards the coast to avoid any adverse current. Our SOGs were around 6-7 knots as the breeze built to 10-12 knots and the boat was very comfortable.

About an hour after we left the Harbour we were on starboard tack heading towards North Curl Curl Beach. We were gradually being knocked and were setting up for a tack back out.

We saw the large hiviz sharknet markers. One was 100+m inshore from our port aft quarter and one was about 300+m off our port bow. We estimated the transit between them to be 100m+ from where we were but getting less. We set up to tack about 80m or so to seaward of them (or so we thought). When we tacked and headed back out to sea, it was only a few boat lengths when we saw a submerged smaller brown marker disappear under the boat. Seconds later we were entangled in the nets. Being a sail boat, it was not easy to simply reverse away. We became well and truly tangled as we tried to back sails and sail backwards.

When it was clear to us that we were caught in the nets we brought the sails down. We tried to free ourselves by using boat hooks and pulling at the nets but failed as they were under a lot of strain.

We made the decision to jump over and take a look. However, the complications for this were that we were in a 2-3m sea with a lot of net flowing around us. We made up a safety line and I entered the water (actually launch off the stern to go over the top of the net).




While I was inspecting the extent of the entanglement, we were joined by a jet ski from South Curl Curl SLSC (probably less than 30 mins after we first became entangled). This was clearly a command person as he had all the kit including phones and radios.

He helped me identify where the nets were and identified bits that I could try and cut clear. Throughout all this, Viva was going up and down over 1m+ sharp seas. Crashing down a lot making it very dangerous to be immediately underneath.

The South Curl Curl SLSC commander was very helpful as he went round the boat and identified the nets for us. But it was too big a job for one. The South Curl Curl SLSC commander then called for assistance and we were joined by 4 lads from South Curl Curl SLSC. They were great and clearly relished the challenge. They eventually released us from the net and we were able to drop the anchor and stabilise the situation. We were in 13-14m of water at this point.

After another inspection, we decided that although we couldn’t start the engine, we could probably sail ok (albeit with drag). Probably enough to get back to Sydney Harbour safely.

Because we were a bit close to the rocks (about 150m) the South Curl Curl SLSC guys attempted to help by trying to tow us out. However, the 4.7 ton Viva was a bit too much for 2 small ribs each with 25Hp engines. We abandoned that idea.

The South Curl Curl SLSC commander had previously alerted the SLSC control group who had then alerted Marine Rescue. MH-30 (Middle Harbour MR) came to our assistance. In a very professional manner they provided us a tow line which was secured and we were then towed back to Sydney Harbour.

During this time, we were in constant comms with Marine Rescue via mobile phone and VHF16.

The South Curl Curl SLSC people stood by the entire time to make sure we were always ok and assisted in securing the Marine Rescue vessel. They were very professional. Obviously didn’t have a lot of experience rescuing distressed yachts from shark nets but their commander was great and they worked well as a team.

CYCA contacted us when it was clear from the AIS that we had stopped. They had been monitoring the fleet. Riley Evans (CYCA) called us. We also spoke with Tara Blancramos (CYCA).

We called RSYS on approach to the harbour and discussed a transfer from MH-30 to Ida. On advice from MH-30 the decision was made to tow us all the way to Neutral Bay. They were perhaps correct in their assessment as to the degree of difficulty for a transfer, but they clearly enjoyed alerting all (flashing lights and sirens) to the “Viva tow of shame”. The upside of this was it gave many members sufficient time to come up with some great jibes (pun intended). Paul Thackray was the winner with “Shark Fin Soup for dinner?”

We were towed to our mooring and once secured, we thanked MH-30 and proceeded to dive under the boat in much calmer conditions and cut the offending net free.

Apart from wounded pride, all on board were uninjured.

We were very appreciative of the assistance of the South Curl Curl SLSC people, Marine Rescue, CYCA and RSYS Waterfront team, all of whom acted very professionally. Their training clearly shows. The communications and on water assistance made sure that there was never any panic. We knew that we were being assisted by good people.

Lessons Learned:

1. The sharknets must drift with current and tide, so they do not always run in a straight line between the hivis marks.
2. AIS is a must. As well as CYCA, our partners were both watching us on Marine Traffic. It’s good to know people are watching. Good communications equipment is essential. As well as VHF and phone, we also had Satcom (although we didn’t need to use it this time).
3. Our anchor is slightly oversize and the warp/chain allows us to anchor in 25m of water. This was more than we needed for the harbour, but very glad we erred on the larger size. Being able to drop this quickly and stabilise things was a winner.
4. We have only recently upgraded to Cat 4, so most of our gear was in new/good working order. We had masks, snorkels and fins on board. Spare harness (non-PFD type to allow us to swim on a tether) and a really sharp knife with a lanyard. We will add another similar knife (with a lanyard).’

Returning to Neutral Bay. Photo by Michael Fletcher.