Cyclone Yasi clean-up work continues

While the destructive winds of Cyclone Yasi have now dissipated, members of Club Marine’s salvage team continue to deal with the aftermath, particularly in Port Hinchinbrook in north Queensland, where enormous damage was sustained in the marina. Nearly all of the 130-plus boats in the marina were seriously damaged, many beyond repair.

Led by Club Marine’s National Claims Manager, Phil Johnson, the team of experienced disaster response specialists is now well into the recovery operation, using large cranes to remove boats that were piled up on the shoreline and assessing the damage. The team includes divers, crane operators, assessors and experienced disaster management specialists.

“Our main priority is to salvage boats as quickly as possible and move them to hardstands for assessment,” said Johnson. “We’re moving boats regardless of whether they are insured by Club Marine or not. The most important thing is that we get them onto dry land and have them assessed.”

Another priority is claims processing and settlements. Club Marine has already completed a settlement for members Bob and Colleen Ford. A professional skipper and boat builder, Bob was forced to abandon his live-aboard catamaran, Miss B Haven so that he and his wife, Colleen could shelter from the storm’s fury on dry land. Unfortunately – and despite going to extraordinary lengths to secure his craft — like so many vessels caught in the path of Cyclone Yasi, Miss B Haven broke free from her berth and was smashed onto nearby rocks. The boat was declared a write-off and the Ford’s claim was the first processed since the Club Marine team began its salvage work at Port Hinchinbrook.

Bob said he was amazed at the speed of the response from Club Marine and brokers, OAMPS. “Peter Skirving from OAMPS phoned me straight after the cyclone to see how we were,” explained Bob. “Then, at 7:30 am on the Monday after the cyclone, Phil Johnson presented us with a cheque for the agreed value of our boat. We were prepared for a long wait and all sorts of forms to fill out, but the service from OAMPS and Club Marine was simply stunning,” he said.

“At a time when you’re wondering about sorting out accommodation and everything else, Club Marine and OAMPS really came through for us.” Bob explained that Miss B Haven had survived four previous cyclones since she was launched nearly four years ago and said he and Colleen were going to purchase a motorhome for the time being so they would at least have somewhere to stay.

Phil Johnson said that recovery work still has a long way to go as assessors and salvagers continue to work through the smashed and crippled boats littering the marina shore.

“This is easily the worst disaster from the point of view of boat damage I’ve ever seen,” said Johnson. “We’ve got 50 Club Marine members’ boats at least involved and we’ll be working well into next week before we’ve sorted through them all.”

One of the biggest challenges is arranging repairs for the many craft that can be salvaged from the disaster, said Johnson. “We’re trying to move boats to repair facilities as soon as we can. We’re moving some by road and others are being repaired temporarily so they can be sailed to Cairns or Townsville where permanent repairs can be carried out,” he said.

“Phil and his team are doing a fantastic job under extremely trying conditions,” said Club Marine CEO, Greg Fisher from the company’s national headquarters in Melbourne. “And we are doing our best to process claims as soon as we possibly can to try and keep the trauma and loss for victims of the cyclone to an absolute minimum. We’d encourage anyone who wants to lodge a claim or has specific concerns to call us on 1300 00 2582 (CLUB).”