General News
16 January, 2026
Boaties rescue big cat
A KURRIMINE Beach boat operator and a local marine mechanic have been praised for securing a Dunk Island passenger cruise vessel that broke its mooring and went adrift just before Cyclone Koji swept through the area.
The two-deck ‘QuickCoast’ catamaran, owned by Dunk Island Reef Adventures, broke free from its mooring with no-one aboard in Brammo Bay at Dunk Island, probably in the very early hours of Saturday 10 January.
The vessel was believed to have drifted north-east nearly 20km across to Kurrimine Beach.
Local residents first spotted the vessel at Mission Beach around the time a tropical low-pressure system off the coast was about to be upgraded by the BoM to Cyclone Koji.
Troy Volpe from Kurrimine-based King Reef Marine saw a picture of the adrift catamaran posted on a Mission Beach page earlier in the day.
He and Kurrimine Boat Hire and Fishing Charters owner Mick Acheson then estimated when the passenger vessel, pushed along by prevailing southerly winds, would reach the Kurrimine Beach area.
When conditions were safe enough, the pair headed out to the cat – which had become caught on a small sandbank close to shore in the more protected Midgeree Bar-Garners Beach area just south of Kurrimine – on a smaller boat owned by Mr Volpe.
“That was great for us because it slowed the boat right down,” Mr Acheson told The Observer.
“We were able to unjam its anchor and tie one of our anchors, a rather large one, to it to give it enough to secure the catamaran,” he said.
Mr Acheson got in touch with Dunk Island Reef Adventures owner Bry Penfold, who was in the UK at the time making plans to return home as soon as he could, to update him on his runaway boat.
“Early local communications suggest the vessel appears to have sustained minimal damage, although a full assessment will be carried out as soon as possible,” Mr Penfold posted on social media.
He also said he did not know how his vessel had broken away from its mooring at Dunk Island.
“The mooring itself is engineered and rated for a vessel significantly larger than ours, so at this stage we do not yet understand how this has occurred,” Mr Penfold posted.
“Watching this unfold from afar has been incredibly difficult – it truly feels like my baby floating at sea without me onboard to help. I’m relieved the immediate situation appears stable.
“More than anything, we want to sincerely thank the local community and individuals who have reached out, checked in and offered help. Your support means more than you know.”
As well, the two good Samaritans the following day made a return trip to the catamaran, this time armed with a water pump to get rid of rainwater brought by Cyclone Koji that had collected inside the boat overnight.
