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Manly Daily : March 12th 2010
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1: The surf crew make a run for it in front of the Collaroy.2 : Collaroy closes on the crew, with 3m between them. 3: The crew scrambles to safety, just averting disaster. Ferry close call How five joy-riders paddled within three metres of a 1200-tonne ship Jesse Phillips THE master of the Sydney Ferries vessel Collaroy has spoken of a near-catastrophic incident in which a surf club skiff paddled in front of the 1200-tonne ferry as it was coming into Manly Wharf. The crew of one man and four women came within three metres of the Collaroy's bow, sparking fresh calls for smaller vessels to take greater care on the water. Perry King, who has been a master with the ferries organis- ation for nine years, said a lack of understanding from the skiff from the eastern suburbs meant they darted immediately in front of the ferry when it was just a few hundred metres from the wharf late last year. His story comes just two days after Sydney Ferries chief oper- ations officer Dennis Mole said small craft on the harbour, par- ticularly kayaks, were a major cause of concern for ferries be- cause they were hard to see at dawn or dusk, paddled across the paths of ferries and didn't show up on radar. Mr King said the surf club skiff was paddling to Manly Cove from the heads and he first saw the small boat when they were near Quarantine Beach. He said as the ferry was about 700m away from the wharf, slow- ing down and changing to its ''manoeuvre mood'', the skiff pulled up on the ferry's starboard quarter. ''I had a deck hand out on the wing in visual contact with them. When we were about 300--400m from the wharf the deck hand yelled out 'he's going!' ''He was so close I couldn't see them as they went in front of the bow . . . I don't think they were any further than three metres away.'' Mr King said there was nothing the ferry could do at that point, as to stop quickly requires the front propeller to be engaged, poten- tially threatening anyone close to the bow of the vessel. The ferry was also lining up to dock and if the skiff didn't move the ferry might have crashed into the wharf. ToPage2 Manly Daily THE manlydaily.com.au FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 PHONE 9977 3333 80c incl. GST Newspaper of the year 2009 * Police launch blitz on roundabouts Page 7
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