Well, that escalated quickly.
A small motorboat attempting to cross the Brunswick River bar in northern New South Wales, Australia, was launched skyward by breaking surf before being overwhelmed by another wave and capsizing, throwing all three occupants into the ocean.
The shocking video captured from shore shows the vessel heading straight into a churning entrance, where waves are detonating near the rock breakwater. The bow rises steeply off one crest, drops back toward the water, and charges toward the next.
“Oh, he’s off his head,” an onlooker can be heard saying, according to news.com.au.
Then the ocean takes over.
A wave crashes into the boat, flooding its interior.
“Yeah, it’s under, is it?” the witness asks.
Within moments, the vessel rolls, leaving its three occupants scrambling in the water and onto the overturned hull.
Related: Unmanned NOAA Drone Boat Battles 65-Foot Waves Inside Hurricane Isaias (Video)
Thankfully, everybody survived.
According to Marine Rescue Brunswick, all three people were brought safely ashore. The swell was reportedly around 1.7 meters, or roughly five-and-a-half feet.
The footage was also shared by marine safety officials, turning an astonishing spectacle into a boating safety warning. Before the capsize, the person filming can be heard asking whether the occupants are wearing life jackets.
The incident unfolded Wednesday, October 21, at Brunswick Heads, near Byron Bay, where the river meets the Pacific between two rock walls. The entrance is notorious for its shifting sandbars and unpredictable breaking waves.
The NSW Government’s official coastal-bar guide describes it as “narrow and dangerous,” warning that “depths vary continually.”
“Entry should not be attempted without local knowledge,” the government advises.
Marine Rescue NSW urges boaters to check conditions before crossing bars, wear life jackets, and know when to turn around.
As for this crew, what began as an attempt to get offshore ended as an involuntary—and frightening—swim.
They were lucky to make it back.
Related: 30-Foot Rogue Wave Swallows Crabbing Boat in Terrifying Bering Sea Footage (Watch)
Original Post from this site