Community members came to the rescue after seeing the Paradise Queen sinking from the back during a storm front that hit Yarrawonga on Monday evening.
The effort of many locals and emergency service crews helped save the much-loved Paradise Queen cruise boat from major storm damage on Monday evening.
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A storm front hit Yarrawonga Mulwala at around 8pm and brought with it northerly winds of up to 50km per hour whipping up huge waves across Lake Mulwala.
The winds created major issues for boat owners who were still out on the lake or had their boats moored up on the Victorian side of the water’s edge.
Paradise Queen owner Travis Smith, who was travelling back to Yarrawonga at the time, was alerted that his cruise boat was taking on water and beginning to descent into the lake at around 9pm.
“None of it was expected. The storm seemed to hit surrounding towns fairly quickly and looked to pass us though we copped the wind which caused the lake to be very choppy and create large waves,” Mr Smith said.
“We don’t operate on Monday’s so the boat was moored at the foreshore, but it started taking on water which caused the back end to sink.
“With its pontoons, the whole boat would never sink but being at the engine end of the boat, it could have created major issues. There was also a risk of the front end of the boat raising on to the foreshore which it did with the tornado (in 2013).
“A group of people saw it happening and jumped on the front to try and weigh it back down to level but obviously when the emergency services arrived, they had to get the people off the boat for their safety.”
SES, CFA and police arrived at the scene with pumps used to remove the excess water from the back of the boat before Matt Judd arrived with an excavator to weigh down the front so water could escape.
People jumped onto to the front of the cruise boat to help weigh it down so water could be pumped away from the back of the boat.
“There are a lot of people to thank, heaps of locals, emergency services and so many helpers. Bec Coulter went above and beyond with getting pumps to the boat and working on the back for several hours,” Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith also praised the efforts of Robbie and Fraser Knowles from the Cumberoona and Matt Judd who arrived around 11pm with his excavator.
As excavator was later brought in to help push the front of the boat down while water was being pumped out of the back.
“Mal Stone and Phil Smith also dragged the boat to Chinaman’s Island at 5am so we are in shallower waters to examine if there is any damage.
“The community spirit is just incredible in Yarrawonga and so many people arrived to see what they could do to help.”
The Paradise Queen is now safely moored at Chinaman’s Island where it will now undergo necessary safety checks with the aim to be operational before the weekend.
“We should have it up and ready to sail again in three to four days, we just need to ensure everything is safe and we are able to be operational again very shortly.”
Yarrawonga Fire Brigade spokesperson Simon Crawford said it was a great effort by all involved.
“By the time we got there, there were around 30 people on the front of the boat trying to weigh it down, but we had to remove them as a safety issue and so equipment from the differing services could be used to assist,” Mr Crawford said.
“It is great to hear that at this stage (Tuesday morning) there is no damage to the boat. They are a local business and someone’s livelihood which we have to look after.”
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