The thing is with the 1770 bar, it has been " open " for more than 30 years. Meaning, it has been accessible ( more than 1mtr at low tide ) for that amount of time. It has been accessible for far longer than that, as i remember crossing it in style in the late 70's and early 80's. It has only recently... last year.... filled in. Not sure why, but maybe lack of a good flushing and therefore it needs some help.
The centre or northern sandbar has remained pretty stable, although it does grow and shrink, but moves are very limited. The middle channel / break in the sandbar certainly moves east and west , but has always been navigable. The last green buoy has only been moved a couple of times in all those years, and the sand drift ( build up around the headland ) has been noticeable over the last 5 years or so. Last year was the worst I have seen it in ....40 years, so I am thinking, with my layman's intellect, this is a one off occurrence and can be sorted fairly simply.
The shallowing has caused boats to ground and others drive around them with dire consequences to some. damaged props and gear boxes from hitting rocks. During last years marine incident when the Lady Musgrave caught fire and sank, the VMR had to wait to cross the shallow area with injured people on board... not an ideal situation.
We have been lobbying the MSQ, Gladstone Port Authority, NPSR, GRC and Mp's for a while to get something done. Now the council has taken it upon themselves to start the ball rolling. It is NOT up to council, as all the previous mentioned authorities are stakeholders and all seem to pass the buck when asked to take ownership of the problem. The thing is, MSQ are responsible to provide a safe navigable waterway, as the channel is beaconed. Gladstone Port Authority have a duty of care as the estuary is under their management, but it also seems NPSR have jurisdiction as well. just a bit of a cluster%$#k.... over all.
This issue of 1770 in general started back in 2004 when the roads from Miriamvale and Bundy became all bitumen. Certainly the advent of internet and social media have alerted the throngs of SEQ fishos to this fantastic place. Agnes and 1770 are " over-cooked " IMO. The boat ramp had an upgrade as did VMR facilities, but the car parking has not. And for the size of the community, 1770 gets a hell of a lot of traffic from tourists and fishos, poor locals can't get a look in.
The thing is, if you are aware of the shallow area, all is good, well except at MSLT which gives you about 40cms of water. ( or less ) So newbies could be in for a nasty shock as some do not log on to VMR and ask about the bar.
Locals and frequent visitors utilize the right tides, but still proceed with caution.
The sooner the " fix " gets underway, the better..........
LP
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Originally Posted by Lucky_Phill
