NEW Zealand fisho Peter Drybre and local charter operator, Zak Slaughter, made a surprise discovery along one of Northland’s beaches.
According to an article in Newshub.co.nz, Peter discovered the upside down Bar Crusher, originally thinking it was a beached whale. To his surprise, the barnacle encrusted “whale” was actually a Bar Crusher 615C with a Suzuki 140hp donk attached.
Here’s a rough timeline explaining how the boat travelled 2000km over 18 months before washing up at the tip of New Zealand.
– Bar Crusher’s Sydney dealer Blakes Marine originally sold the new Bar Crusher 615C (with Suzuki 140hp) to a customer in 2015. It was then sold to another owner, David Nash mid-2017.
– In September 2017, David arrived at The Peak, about 13km offshore from Maroubra, NSW. As he was dropping the anchor, the rope became tangled around the motor. Before he could unhook it, the anchor took hold and pulled the stern under in the rough conditions. The boat was swamped by a large wave, causing it to take on more water.
– David was rescued by helicopter. As the boat was being towed back by a rescue boat, the tow line snapped. The boat “disappeared”, presumed to have sunk. A search was unable to locate it.
– It had obviously been floating in the water for about 18 months, until washing up in NZ – over 2000km away!
– The boat is largely intact. The motor is still there, along with David’s fishing gear, etc. The windscreen and folding hard top/rocket launcher are damaged.
– One of the blokes who found the boat in NZ is Zak Slaughter. He runs a fishing charter business and is considering cleaning up the boat and using it.
This trans-Tasman journey sure is testament to the build quality and air-bouyancy chambers built into Bar Crusher boats.
Images courtesy of Slaughter Charters.
