Daniel Frost Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Just heard from my father that one of the old Forster Pro fisho drowned today on the Forster Bar . He was an experienced fisho and to hear that he had been going out in a 4.3m tinnie to catch a couple bonito and lost his life really makes you think about risk . Plenty of times I have been fishing off the breakwall and have seen many come close to losing their boat and life due to bad conditions and\or the inexperience of the drivers . So next time your going out especially a bar crossing make sure your wearing your jackets , aware of the risk and confident you and your vessel are up to the conditions . Before we cross the bar we know what the tide is going to be doing and if the swell is up we sit on the breakwall and just check it out before we put the boat in the water , that way you can pick out the safest path and check were the waves are really jacking up and make the decision if it's safe for us to cross or not . It's not worth the risk if your not sure don't do it. . Bubba P.S Would be great to hear any advice or tips for those who are going to attempt their first bar crossing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
out n about Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I Just read that on the net. May he Rest In Peace and my sympathy to the family... I lately have been considering the possibility of venturing out the heads from Syd, but hearing the above story gets me thinking otherwise... i have never ventured out the heads on my boat and its a 1998 4.2m Quintrex with a 35hp on the back. i know with 3 people max it would be ok to head out but still nervious about it!!! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framedtrash Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I Just read that on the net. May he Rest In Peace and my sympathy to the family... I lately have been considering the possibility of venturing out the heads from Syd, but hearing the above story gets me thinking otherwise... i have never ventured out the heads on my boat and its a 1998 4.2m Quintrex with a 35hp on the back. i know with 3 people max it would be ok to head out but still nervious about it!!! Dave you would really have to watch yourself with only a 35 on the back would be fine on perfect days but you really need the power of a larger motor for if and when the weather changes and you need to get back in a hurry i venture outside when ever i get the chance but with a 75 on the back i feel alot safer but we have no bar crosses around me so ive never done one and im not in a big hurry to give one a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Yes bars are very nasty things. I have been to the Tweed bar on my mates 6.4mtr barcrusher & we have turned around & come back. It just goes to show that even an experienced fisho can make mistakes. If you have to think twice about heading outside then don't do it. It's not worth it. Condolences to his family. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Just heard about it tonight on the news, Dan - commiserations to his family & friends. Like you, I have seen idiots going out with no knowledge of how to cross a bar, let alone leave it til the top or bottom of the tide when it is at its calmest. The seas have been 'rough as' off Forster this week - we live at Burgess & look out to sea & watch the waves crashing around Latitude Rock & also all along the bottom of the cliffs of the Cape Hawke National Park - I think 'beautie, blackies will be coming onto Cunje now' and even then you have to be careful fishing from our rocks here at Burgess - not 'Let's go outside & catch bait!' Very sad, but unfortunately totally avoidable. That is why they have the webcam, so you can check out the swell on the web before going out! There is a link to it on the Forster Beach Caravan Park & the Coastal Patrol Forster Breakwall Web Cam to monitor the Bar - new pic every 5 secs http://121.223.221.114:8888/ If this doesn't work, go to the Caravan Park website (where members get 10% discount too!) http://www.forsterbeachcaravan.com.au/ and hit the 'links' bar - it is the first site on top of the list. It is a notorious bar - and care always needs to be taken. When the tide is mid turning - you have the 'in tide' coming in on the top & the 'out tide' going out on the bottom (or vice versa) & this causes HUGE SWELLS within the breakwall - so much so, that the local White Water Kayakers use our 'weird swells' for non-stop white water action for them to practise their skills on! The saying is well known & pretty simple. IF IN DOUBT, DON'T!! Cheers roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day's Fishin Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Dave the quin & 35hp are ok to head out if you have someone on board that has experience. The head swell can bring an inexperienced boater to grief very easily. There's plenty of top fishing for your type of boat inshore & you will get home to show off your catch to your loved ones. Think about it! Regards Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beupatsunup Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Sorry to hear but you can't help bad luck. Better than dying in a nursing home!!!!!!! Hard, but fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameldownunder Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Condolances to his family I wentured about 300m east of the north head, probably not even 100m, but sure it felt like 300 an more. There was a moderate swell of about 1m, and I did not feel safe at all (5m boat and 60HP) Decided to go back in. What a relief !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
out n about Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 cheers for the heads up Raiders. as i had mentioned before i would love to head out on a good day but i think that good day is still far away in the distance hope you all have a good one Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickb Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Condolances to the pro's family. I have spent most of my life at sea, being a retired navy seal, At sometime or other I have been in monsoon's typhoon and even hurricanes, they are all bloody hairy, Iam not afraid of the sea, but at the same time I have a lot of respect for it. people who have no respect for the sea,are bloody IDIOTS. Every time I go out,I sit for 1/2 an hour watching the swell and waves,and only then decide if it is safe. stay safe . Rick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steze Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Just heard from my father that one of the old Forster Pro fisho drowned today on the Forster Bar . He was an experienced fisho and to hear that he had been going out in a 4.3m tinnie to catch a couple bonito and lost his life really makes you think about risk . Plenty of times I have been fishing off the breakwall and have seen many come close to losing their boat and life due to bad conditions and\or the inexperience of the drivers . So next time your going out especially a bar crossing make sure your wearing your jackets , aware of the risk and confident you and your vessel are up to the conditions . Before we cross the bar we know what the tide is going to be doing and if the swell is up we sit on the breakwall and just check it out before we put the boat in the water , that way you can pick out the safest path and check were the waves are really jacking up and make the decision if it's safe for us to cross or not . It's not worth the risk if your not sure don't do it. . Bubba P.S Would be great to hear any advice or tips for those who are going to attempt their first bar crossing . Very unfortunate to hear . However just a quick question, What is a BAR? When you guys are mentioning about crossing the Bar im not very sure of what this is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) Hi Steze Many river openings have either a long natural channel leading to the ocean or (as in Forster/Tuncurry case) a long breakwall constructed of large rocks & concrete to allow a safer passage out to sea & back for boats. However, the breakwalls themselves can impose a different danger. By slowing the flow of water out to sea (where as in its natural state it used to spew out heaps of sand on the big tides and deposit sand on either sides of the opening, which become beaches) this sand is often dropped 'mid way' along the breakwall, making some areas shallow & others deeper. As the water hits the shallow bits, it creates a wave (same philosophy as surf waves on the beach.) Often the worst bit to cross is right at the mouth. Boats attempting to go out when this heavy wave action is happening face the very real danger of being capsised, especially if they lose engine power during the manouevre. These guys were really lucky to survive this bar crossing and should never have attempted it. On the third wave, the bloke up the front is nearly catapulted out of the boat - & probably damaged himself when he hit the deck again! Check this site out immediately & you can see that the water in the breakwall at 11.30am Wed 10/2 is relatively calm as it is nearing low tide. Check it out again in about 4hrs time & the story could well be different. http://121.223.221.114:8888/ Often one side of the breakwall is 'safer' to use than the other side as one side is usually deeper than the other (ie the stronger flow of the water gouges out a deeper channel.) Safest thing to do is to sit back in the calm area (in Forster's case, near the 'Rockpool' on Tuncurry side) and Watch the wave activity for a good 10 mins before trying to go out. Once again, IF IN DOUBT, DON'T!! Roberta Edited February 10, 2010 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorado 2 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi Roberta but should not the bar in 4 hours time be calmer as it is going up and getting deeper.?? in saying this always taking into account wind/direction. I will be takling this bar when I come up next week to forster but offcoarse I will visit the local coastal patrol to fill me in what I need to know. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) Hi Dorado I probably should have said to have a look at 6-7hrs later (with no guarantee that it WILL become rough) but at about 2.30pm, there was a wave swell showing off the Tuncurry side that extended to at least a 1/4 of the width of the opening. Now, at 2.38pm, there are small whitcaps inside of the breakwall already! In the right conditions of wind, tide & swell, these could become large & dangerous (except for the yakkers who revel in it!) I will try to remember to add more pics as the tide increases ..... With Forster, what you have to keep in mind is that the tide level in the lake is 2-3hrs behind the tide level on the beaches (because of the small opening it takes heaps longer for the water to get in & out, plus the out tide has any flood waters backing it up that are trying to get out as well as just normal river/tide movement.) So, low tide in the lake will be about 4pm (allowing for daylight savings + 1/2 later than Fort Denison tide time + at least 2hr for time lag in the lake if you are looking at a current tide chart showing Fort Desison low tide at 12.42pm for Feb 10th '10.) But, the Sea tide will be trying to push in, as IT changes at about 2.15pm (working on the previous equation without the 2hr lag included!) If there is a swell coming in from the ocean (and we do have a bit of a one today) it can easily whip up the waves in the lake in a matter of minutes, virtually making it impassable. The sandy 'beach' in the middle right of the webcam is actually a small dam that fills & empties daily with the tide. Soon, the webcam will show it with more water in it, but the tide is (in fact) still going out strongly on the top but coming in on the bottom. Many coastal breakwalls are affected in this way. Always check with local tackle shops or coastal patrol (if they have one & most of the more dangerous breakwalls do) as it could save your life. If you are planning on going offshore this weekend, I would suggest that you phone the Coastal Patrol even before you hook up the boat, as we have been having pretty rough seas for the last week. There is plenty of good fishing to be had inside the lake, too. Just put your bait/lures alongside (or into) any of the leases up from the bridge. BIG BREAM & FLATTIES HIDE THERE!! cheerio - hope this explains it a bit further Roberta Edited February 10, 2010 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steze Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi Steze Many river openings have either a long natural channel leading to the ocean or (as in Forster/Tuncurry case) a long breakwall constructed of large rocks & concrete to allow a safer passage out to sea & back for boats. However, the breakwalls themselves can impose a different danger. By slowing the flow of water out to sea (where as in its natural state it used to spew out heaps of sand on the big tides and deposit sand on either sides of the opening, which become beaches) this sand is often dropped 'mid way' along the breakwall, making some areas shallow & others deeper. As the water hits the shallow bits, it creates a wave (same philosophy as surf waves on the beach.) Often the worst bit to cross is right at the mouth. Boats attempting to go out when this heavy wave action is happening face the very real danger of being capsised, especially if they lose engine power during the manouevre. These guys were really lucky to survive this bar crossing and should never have attempted it. On the third wave, the bloke up the front is nearly catapulted out of the boat - & probably damaged himself when he hit the deck again! Check this site out immediately & you can see that the water in the breakwall at 11.30am Wed 10/2 is relatively calm as it is nearing low tide. Check it out again in about 4hrs time & the story could well be different. http://121.223.221.114:8888/ Often one side of the breakwall is 'safer' to use than the other side as one side is usually deeper than the other (ie the stronger flow of the water gouges out a deeper channel.) Safest thing to do is to sit back in the calm area (in Forster's case, near the 'Rockpool' on Tuncurry side) and Watch the wave activity for a good 10 mins before trying to go out. Once again, IF IN DOUBT, DON'T!! Roberta I understood all of it by just watching that clip. My God that is some dangerous waves. Im surprised the boat didnt capsize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooze Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Just heard about it tonight on the news, Dan - commiserations to his family & friends. Like you, I have seen idiots going out with no knowledge of how to cross a bar, let alone leave it til the top or bottom of the tide when it is at its calmest. The seas have been 'rough as' off Forster this week - we live at Burgess & look out to sea & watch the waves crashing around Latitude Rock & also all along the bottom of the cliffs of the Cape Hawke National Park - I think 'beautie, blackies will be coming onto Cunje now' and even then you have to be careful fishing from our rocks here at Burgess - not 'Let's go outside & catch bait!' Very sad, but unfortunately totally avoidable. That is why they have the webcam, so you can check out the swell on the web before going out! There is a link to it on the Forster Beach Caravan Park & the Coastal Patrol Forster Breakwall Web Cam to monitor the Bar - new pic every 5 secs http://121.223.221.114:8888/ If this doesn't work, go to the Caravan Park website (where members get 10% discount too!) http://www.forsterbeachcaravan.com.au/ and hit the 'links' bar - it is the first site on top of the list. It is a notorious bar - and care always needs to be taken. When the tide is mid turning - you have the 'in tide' coming in on the top & the 'out tide' going out on the bottom (or vice versa) & this causes HUGE SWELLS within the breakwall - so much so, that the local White Water Kayakers use our 'weird swells' for non-stop white water action for them to practise their skills on! The saying is well known & pretty simple. IF IN DOUBT, DON'T!! Cheers roberta I didn't think Forster had a bar or dangerous bar. The breakwall looks long and i assumed it wasn't as bad as i am reading. Obviously in windy and swelly conditions it not wise to go out to sea, it a shame i was looking to buy a holiday house in Tuncurry hence the reason i didn't buy a house i Port Macquarie. Am i wrong? Cheers Snooze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorado 2 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thx for the info Roberta I wil be there on Monday for two weeks but there will be no hurry to go offshore as my son and his family will be with us and most of the fishing will be done in the lakes but if the weather is good I wouldn't mind a dolly or two. I can assure you I will never become a statistic just for a fish, just crazy really. Hope the weather changes for the good for us though, as long as it's not pouring anyway. Hey if I see you on the water I'll come and say hello Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi Snooze No, you are not wrong to continue looking for a house here!! Port Macquarie has the same sort of breakwall (only wider than ours) so I reckon they would have the same problem in rough weather! And it is another hour further away from Sydney. Stay here, much nicer place, with really friendly people! BY LAW, YOU MUST WEAR A LIFE JACKET AS YOU CROSS ANY BAR IN NSW. If Reg had left his on (and done up) he would most likely to have survived. He had a large gash on his forehead, indicating that he hit his head on the boat at some stage. Many people just "put them on without doing them up." I see it all the time here. That is just plain dumb, & stupid. It is the most likely time that you will need it!! We live on the best part of the east coast of Australia! The rest of the state got flooding rains on the weekend, we had a bit of drizzle & I was out yakking with buddies from Fri - Mon ! All week, it indicated that it would be wet on the coast here - WRONG!! Bright sun every day. Our lake is about 5 times bigger than Sydney harbour, is full of fish & there are always islands to hide behind if the wind does come up - and I just love it!! You just need to be careful if you intend fishing outside when you are crossing the bar (going out as well as coming in.) It only roughs up really bad maybe once a month or so - it would be extremely bad luck if that was the day you decided to go out. Hence, use the Webcam before you even leave home, or call the coastguard. Usually just looking at it will give you an idea. Keep looking for that house, mate - everyone else on FR will just be jealous!! And I'll have another fishing buddy!! Hi Dorado - Hope you get into a heap of fish - there have been marlin caught offshore recently, too (but I believe you have to be out near the Continental Shelf) and ours is way further out than most towns! I'll only be inshore, in the yak ..... you should be able to see my orange flag from way away!! Hi Steze Those pics are of only tiny waves - wait till I capture it in its full glory!! Just have to keep remembering to check out the webcam!! Cheerio & stay safe! Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooze Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Hi Snooze No, you are not wrong to continue looking for a house here!! Port Macquarie has the same sort of breakwall (only wider than ours) so I reckon they would have the same problem in rough weather! And it is another hour further away from Sydney. Stay here, much nicer place, with really friendly people! BY LAW, YOU MUST WEAR A LIFE JACKET AS YOU CROSS ANY BAR IN NSW. If Reg had left his on (and done up) he would most likely to have survived. He had a large gash on his forehead, indicating that he hit his head on the boat at some stage. Many people just "put them on without doing them up." I see it all the time here. That is just plain dumb, & stupid. It is the most likely time that you will need it!! We live on the best part of the east coast of Australia! The rest of the state got flooding rains on the weekend, we had a bit of drizzle & I was out yakking with buddies from Fri - Mon ! All week, it indicated that it would be wet on the coast here - WRONG!! Bright sun every day. Our lake is about 5 times bigger than Sydney harbour, is full of fish & there are always islands to hide behind if the wind does come up - and I just love it!! You just need to be careful if you intend fishing outside when you are crossing the bar (going out as well as coming in.) It only roughs up really bad maybe once a month or so - it would be extremely bad luck if that was the day you decided to go out. Hence, use the Webcam before you even leave home, or call the coastguard. Usually just looking at it will give you an idea. Keep looking for that house, mate - everyone else on FR will just be jealous!! And I'll have another fishing buddy!! Hi Dorado - Hope you get into a heap of fish - there have been marlin caught offshore recently, too (but I believe you have to be out near the Continental Shelf) and ours is way further out than most towns! I'll only be inshore, in the yak ..... you should be able to see my orange flag from way away!! Hi Steze Those pics are of only tiny waves - wait till I capture it in its full glory!! Just have to keep remembering to check out the webcam!! Cheerio & stay safe! Roberta Thanks for answering my post. I was intending on coming up this weekend to check it all out, but other things have come up. My father has been up there a few times before and he really loves it, I cant beleive i haven't passed by when i head up much further north. I've seen pics and checked it all out on google earth and it looks really good and plenty of places for fish to hide. I know we are going of topics here but is there any other boat ramps that can get you out to sea without a bar? Cheers Snooze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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