Port Douglas's Reef Marina prepares as TC Nathan nears
Wednesday March 18 2015, 3:55pm
Users of the Port Douglas Reef Marina are readying themselves for the approach of Tropical Cyclone Nathan.
Cairns district harbourmaster Captain Michael Barnett said there is a ‘strong possibility’ of a Yellow Alert being issued for Port Douglas, Cooktown and other ports further north tomorrow morning.
A Yellow Alert means that all vessels must be securely moored in protected inlets like Dickson Inlet.
“We will certainly be paying very close attention to Bureau of Meteorology forecasts and make a decision based on that,” Capt Barnett said.
“There’s a strong possibility that a Yellow Alert will be issued tomorrow morning but it depends on the movement of the cyclone.”
Sergeant Andrew Ibell of the Cairns Water Police said it was better to act sooner rather than later in the face of an oncoming cyclone event.
“Boat owners should now be identifying if they need to move their vessel and if so identifying where they are going to move it to. It is necessary to ensure that you have adequate mooring lines to handle the winds and possible storm surges,” Sergeant Ibell said.
Water Police have also said that they understand if some boaties wish to remain aboard their vessels for the bad weather but ask that they ensure they have adequate communications and survival gear.
One Reef Marina user that’s helping others protect their vessels is Uplift Parasailing owner/operator Rick Maxwell, who will be towing boats into Dickson Inlet using ‘The Duck’ powerboat.
Rick has been operating in Port Douglas for five years and knows his cyclones pretty well, but admits it’ll be hard to pick what Nathan will do this far out.
“Hopefully it’ll keep drifting north but we’ll wait and see,” he said.
“The high tide is something I’m worried about more than the wind - if the tide’s all the way up there’s nowhere for stormwater to drain so we could get a lot of problems from that.”
