A lesson in what not to do in Clarence Coast waters

Wooli Bar, Clarence Coast, Northern NSW
IMAGE: svbrahminy 2016

Coastal bars are shallow, shifting sandbanks at the entrance to rivers and coastal estuaries. There are at least nine coastal bars from Wooli to the NSW-Qld border.

Appearances are often deceptive when looking at a bar from the shoreline. Crossing bars can be a dangerous business that will in the blink of an eye turn a planned day's fishing into planning for a funeral.

"Crossing coastal bars can be very dangerous. Channels through the bars can change frequently. Waves can change quickly with the tide and weather. Even in apparently calm conditions, vessels can be swamped, damaged or wrecked, which can result in death." 

This story fortunately had a happy ending..... 

Clarence Valley Independent, 24 August 2022:

Two fishermen, a father and his teenage son, are lucky to be alive after their five-metre runabout overturned on the Wooli River bar on the weekend.

Two runabouts were observed by Marine Rescue Wooli Radio Watch Officer Jackie Taffs attempting to cross the Wooli River bar at around 6:20 on Saturday morning.

The first runabout had to contend with five sets of breaking waves of up to 2.5 metres, becoming near vertical on a few occasions, before making it to deeper water. The second vessel was not so fortunate, overturning and spilling its two crew members into the sea just past the breakwater.

The team at Marine Rescue Wooli instantly swung into action, with Deputy Unit Commander Richard Taffs who was also on duty, running down to the nearby bar with a handheld radio to keep a close watch on the position of the two fishermen so as to guide rescuers, while a rescue crew was quickly assembled for rescue vessel Wooli 30.

Fortunately, the crew of the overturned vessel were wearing lifejackets, and were soon swept into the surf zone and onto the nearby Wooli Beach, where members of Marine Rescue Wooli collected them, returning them to the base for a first aid assessment, dry clothes and a hot drink ahead of the arrival of an ambulance and a more thorough medical examination before they were interviewed by NSW Police.....

The dos and don't of crossing coastal bars in New South Wales can be found at:

https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/using-waterways/waterways-and-designated-areas/navigating-coastal-bars/crossing-coastal-bars