Gold Coast 'freak wave' beaches trawler, crew forced to swim
A skipper and his two deckhands have been forced to jump from their fishing trawler just moments before it was beached by rough surf on the Gold Coast yesterday.
The crew has described the moment a "freak wave" smashed the boat, shutting down its power and leaving them at the mercy of mother nature.
"Out of nowhere, it just smashed (the boat)," deckhand Jordan Craig told 9News.
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A fishing trawler has been beached on a Gold Coast beach following rough waves yesterday. Nine
The skipper and his two deckhands were forced to jump from the trawler. 9News
"A freak wave just came along," deckhand Tahnee Rolph said.
Water police and paramedics scrambled from both land and sea to meet the crew moments after they jumped off the ship into the rough waters, with the boat soon after running around.
The crew, including Tahnee Rolph and Jordan Craig, have described the moment a "freak wave" smashed the boat, shutting down its power and leaving them at the mercy of Mother Nature. 9News
The trawler was attempting to travel through the Gold Coast seaway before it was pummelled by the waves. Nine
The boat's captain was escorted from the boat by paramedics with a concussion and a head injury.
He was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital.
The dramatic scenes follow a large catamaran being captured battling large waves trying to sail out of the Gold Coast seaway this morning.
The foreign couple on board had to be saved by authorities and towed back to port.
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