Club Marine team tackle the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi

by Sandra Harvey on 9 Feb 2011 Dealing with natural disasters is nothing new to the staff of Club Marine, Australia’s largest provider of recreational boating insurance, but the sheer scale of the devastation of Cyclone Yasi has moved even our most experienced assessors and managers to wonder at the power of nature unleashed.

Led by Club Marine’s National Claims Manager, Phil Johnson, a team of experienced disaster response specialists arrived at the most affected area in north Queensland over the weekend and team members are beginning the arduous task of assessing damage and trying to allocate resources to boat salvage and recovery. The team includes divers, assessors, crane operators and anyone else with specialist abilities who may be able to contribute to recovery efforts. In a spirit of cooperation, Club Marine is working with other insurance providers to help stricken boat owner in the most affected areas.

Initial estimates of claims for Club Marine member vessels alone has passed the $3.9m mark.

Speaking from Port Hinchinbrook, which bore the brunt of the damage at its main marina, Club Marine’s National Claims Manager, Phil Johnson said the task ahead of him and his team was enormous.

'There are large boats just stacked one on top of the other piled up on the shore,' he said. 'They were swept up with the marina pontoons still attached. We’ve got a huge job ahead of us. We’ve also been approached by other insurance companies looking for help to recover boats and we’re happy to be able to oblige where we can.

'We’re assessing the full extent of the damage at the moment, but it’s crucial that we approach the salvage task carefully,' he said.

'What we’re faced with is an enormous game of ‘pick up sticks’,' he explained. 'We have at least 40 boats to recover and we have to tread very warily and recover one boat at a time to ensure that we don’t cause any more damage or endanger any of our team.'

Johnson said initial efforts will be focused on moving many of the houseboats, which were washed up between other craft and buildings lining the marina. They will be moved to hardstands, while crane operators and specialists will then attempt to remove other craft wedged between the water and shoreline.

Already, Johnson and his team have spoken with more than 20 affected Club Marine members whose boats have been damaged in Port Hinchinbrook, with claims forms issued and plans being put in place for salvage, where possible.

'I’ve been speaking with Phil and his team on an almost hourly basis since the cyclone hit,' said Club Marine CEO, Greg Fisher from the company’s national headquarters in Melbourne. 'They are working around the clock right now and we’re doing all we can to support them, which means sharing our resources with other insurance companies if they need our specialist help. We’ve also arranged for extra staff to man the phones at our call centre and we’d encourage anyone who wants to lodge a claim or has specific concerns to call us on 1300 00 2582 (CLUB).