A man is to face court in January after police accused him of crashing a boat in the Tweed River over the weekend.
Police on Sunday said emergency services were called to the river, near the entrance of Jack Evans Boat Harbour, around 1.30pm in response to a 14-metre-long houseboat having run aground after crashing into the northern break wall of the river.
Officers attached to Tweed Heads Marine Area Command said they attached several tow lines to the vessel to successfully pull the boat off the rocks and rescue a 45-year-old man.
When they subjected the skipper to a breath test, he allegedly returned a positive result, prompting his arrest and a breath analysis at Tweed Heads Police Station which allegedly returned an alleged reading of 0.244.
He’s charged with operating a recreational vessel negligently and with a high range blood alcohol content and is to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Tuesday 27 January 2025.
Police breath-checking skippers across the state
Marine Area Commander Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said boat users often overlooked marine safety issues but police regularly patrolled all waterways conducting random drug and alcohol testing.
Anyone operating a vessel under the influence or in a dangerous manner would be brought before the court.
.‘Our message is clear,’ Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said, ‘do not drink alcohol when you drive a boat’.
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