Man denies raping teen on Qld sailing trip

A man has pleaded not guilty to repeatedly raping a teenage woman who worked aboard a yacht almost 30 years ago.

John Collins, 76, pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault at a trial in the Brisbane District Court on Monday.

Crown prosecutor David Nardone said the complainant, who can't be identified, was 19 when she answered Collins' 1986 newspaper advertisement seeking a companion and tutor for a boy aboard the yacht.

The vessel, which had other adults on board, was to sail up the Queensland coast.

Mr Nardone said once the trip was underway, Collins began harassing the teen and asking her for sex but she rebuffed his advances.

After a group dinner on a deserted island, the others returned to the yacht, leaving Collins alone with the young woman.

"The accused started to touch (the woman) and he would not take no for an answer," Mr Nardone said.

"In order to get what it was that he wanted, he threatened to harm (her) parents.

"He had told her that he knew bad people capable of hurting them."

The woman reluctantly agreed to sex, and wept during it.

The prosecutor said the following day Collins again forced her to have sex in a room on the yacht.

The day after, when moored off Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, Collins sexually assaulted the teen on deck and raped her in his cabin.

Later a woman on Hamilton Island helped the teen buy passage to the mainland where she was able to contact her parents.

Mr Nardone said the complainant never told her parents the full story but contacted police many years later.

She gave evidence on Monday in a closed court.

The trial continues.