Jeff Sutton’s yacht, Wyuna 1, ran aground on the beach at Byron Bay over a week ago. He’s asked The Echo to pass on his apologies and to let people know it will be towed out to sea shortly.
Jeff told The Echo he was sailing past Byron Bay ‘in the early hours, a week or so ago, with 40 miles to go before arriving in Tweed Heads, the end of a three and half year sailing adventure’.
‘My boom broke’, he said, which forced him drop his anchor in the Bay. He went ashore to get supplies to repair the vessel, he says. Heavy weather and rough seas ensued.
‘I was away for a day and night, and the police contacted me at 7am to say it had run aground’.
It turned out that the boat’s anchor chain had broken.
When The Echo spoke to Jeff, he said it was the ‘first time in a week things were looking up’.
A boat and skipper will attempt to re-float his yacht and get it out to sea again today he said.
‘I’m confident I can repair the boom and anchor once it’s floating again’, he said.
Given his situation, he said the NSW government proposed that they cut her up into pieces, and take the pieces to the rubbish tip.
‘It was a bill of upwards of $200k’, he said.
‘While I appreciate their offer, I must try and find an alternative’.
While Jeff says he has spent most of his working life at sea – commercial skippering and fishing etc – he said sailing had been ‘a steep learning curve’, and had only been at it for three and a half years.’
He had sailed up from Tasmania, he said.
‘This boat sent me broke a few years ago, as they all do’, he added dryly.
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