Does anyone know the guy that owened that tug boat that guided the 300 tonne foot bridge down the river in QLD?
Aparantly no one asked him to do it, he owned a tug boat and just got the job done.
That bloke who ever he is, is a bloody legend and deserves a lot of drinks for that effort.
Would be good to find out who he is and give him some recognition, if anyone knows who it is please give his company a plug.
He's a .....QUEENSLANDER!!!!!
say no more.
If he had of asked for permission! it probably wouldn't have happened!.
Good on him(them).
Scott
A massive slab of concrete walkway threatened all in its path as it tore down the Brisbane River, in the flooded Australian state of Queensland yesterday but any disasters were averted by a quick-thinking tugboat crew. What had once been a popular spot for walkers and cyclists along the banks of the river turned into a giant torpedo, six metres wide (20ft) and 150m long.
For nearly 16km (10 miles) the slab, which had been torn off its foundations by the sheer force of the floodwaters, sped down the river unassisted. It was heading for one of the city's major bridges, the Gateway, which spans 260m over the river.
Tugboat pilot Doug Hislop and engineer, Peter Fenton, were listening to the radio at about 4am when they heard that it was coming.
"We realised that it would have to come through the Gateway Bridge straight so we headed out to get it," he said.
"Nobody called us or asked is to do it. There was no time to talk to anyone. As it was we only caught it about half a kilometre above the bridge," he said.
Doug used the strength of his tug, the Mavis, to nudge the chunk of Riverwalk around so it would not collide with the bridge pylons. Fighting the speed of the river – flowing at about 12 knots or 18kph – he manoeuvred the giant slab cleanly under the bridge.
"I didn't want to put a rope on it. I just wanted to push it to where it needed to be so we could run from one end to the other and keep it straight," he said.
Once through the Gateway, other vessels helped get the slab out towards the mouth of the river.
Doug Hislop has been hailed as a local hero by the state premier, Anna Bligh. She said his skilful work had "saved lives".
Foreign minister, Kevin Rudd, whose electorate in Brisbane has been badly hit by the floods suggested his efforts be formally recognised.
"What a feat of seamanship. Whoever the pilot of the tugboat was deserves an order of Australia," said Rudd.
"That apparatus colliding into the Gateway would not be a good thing," he said.
The Gateway Bridge is one of the major arteries in and around Brisbane. It was officially opened in 1986 by Prince Philip and for 15 years held the world record as the largest pre-stressed concrete cantilever bridge.
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Last edited by Lucky_Phill; 13-01-2011 at 08:34 PM.
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i have a problem with why it wasnt done by the port authority in the first place, why was it left up to a private tug owner to have the brains to think about doing this.
Anna was on the TV the previous night talking about it breaking away, and they have plenty of tugs on hand and they are about 4 times the size of this champions tug. this guys truly deserves a medal.
...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy. ~William Sherwood Fox.
Agree 100% the guy did a magnificent job BUT why weren't the authorities ready and on the spot.
Why are we so reactive and not pro-active. Even this one isn't rocket science.
There should be tugs on stand by and spotter along the river reporting this stuff to a central comand/co-ordination location.
This walkway (in it's entirety - including the bit still up the river) should be towed to a good site and new reef - blow the sucker!
Amazed by todays pics of the rapid sinking of the break-away sailing boat dumpin two guys in the river - they had a lucky escape.
Cheers
Trev
bennykenny my father inlaw was on the larger tug that met them as they got closer to the mouth of the river. It took the walkway up to Nudgee where a barge then beached it.Originally Posted by bennykenny
He was telling my wife that the larger tugs cuoldnt have done wht that mighty little tug did as they would have simply gone over the top of it.
He reckons that the skipper of the smaller tug is a hero as do I.
Cheers Axl
a top effort..if they are handing out awards..that bloke that saved that boy in Toowoomba has to be top of the list also.
Awesome effort by these fellas.
They have helped revive my Faith in Human Nature!
I worry that if the Authorities start handing out awards, there will be deserving people who will miss out. I'd rather folks just do what they do, get the thanks of people around them, then move on to the next thing. This event is bigger than us all, imo.
Cheers,
Tim
Carbon Really Ain't Pollution.
Agree 100% Tim.
What gets me at the moment about the relief effort is all the kids/young people ringing the radio and emailling the TV stations saying they did this and that.
It's always been the thing IMO that you do a good deed and if someone tells you it was great you accept it, you don't go blowing your own horn just to look good.
Benny...my though is that if the Port Authority were to have done it, they'd still be lodging the paperwork for permission.
He certainly did a good job but if it went wrong they would have crucified him. Thar's what stops volunteer organisations doing work without the owner being present.
I think he'd settle for someone buying him a beer and just a simple "Thanks Mate"
Fillet and Release Squad
Quick thinking and a good effort on his part but this is what I understand the word hero to mean.
"hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity"
Leave the word for the real hero's out there
I don't get your point Fishhunter. He ticks those boxes in my regard. It was dangerous, he showed courage going out there and did it for the greater good.
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