Nothing is yet to match the Pasha Bulka storm

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The devastation the 2007 Pasha Bulker storm left behind is yet to be matched after nine lives were lost and well over $1 billion worth of damage was caused.

The 40,000 tonne Panamanian vessel played a part in many people's lives Friday 8th June 10 years ago, including Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman Glen Ramplin who played a big part in bringing 22 crewmen off the Pasha Bulker to shore.

Image Dave Barnett

At first, Glen thought it was a joke when the former president of Nobbys Surf Life Saving Club rang him to say there was a bulk carrier headed straight for the beach, but then the rescue helicopter's phones started ringing off the hook with the same situation.

Before he knew it Glen and his crew were in a helicopter looking straight at a big red ship which you could've been mistaken for thinking was parked in the centre of the city.

Glen couldn't thank his crew enough for having his back while he helped crewmen off the deck of the Pasha Bulker in what were almost cyclonic conditions in the smaller of the two rescue helicopters after the Bell 142 chopper was diverted from the ship to Clarencetown where local couple Bob and Linda Jones had been swept away.

"I've never experienced the wind the way it was, it was gusting over 100km/hr and made it quite difficult for the pilot to maintain his hover above the ship because of the wind gusting and the fact that the ship was still moving around and because we had to walk through an oil spill on the actual deck so once we were up on the hatch cover it was, I described it like being on an ice skating rink," said Glen.

 Video courtesy Dave Barnett

Former Lord Mayor of Newcastle John Tate says the gravity of the situation really didn't sink in until the weekend when flood waters started to take over parts of the city.

"We weren't aware of how bad it was going to be but then, of course, the next day and overnight we were very much aware that severe flooding had taken place particularly in Wallsend and certainly other locations in the city area, in the middle suburbs and that became a  concern - people's lives were at risk, cars were strewn everywhere and people's homes were damaged."

The former Lord Mayor believes the city learnt a lot from the disastrous storms but nevertheless "emergency services did a fine job and we were able to do as much as we could to get things tidied up (that weekend) and that went on for the next several weeks of course".

Wallsend's town centre hasn't been the same since the 2007 storm, businesses were left damaged beyond repair and shop fronts have been left empty ever since.

Now a business owner in Cardiff, Max McCorkell says at the time if there was something substantial done by the council to bring the street back to life they would've stayed, but it wasn't the case.

"I'm afraid council were very lax in that regard, it was all pen on paper and word of mouth and that was it, there was no physical action taken by the council to remedy the problem."

Now the council are working towards raising all three bridges into the town centre and promoting ideas for better access via cycleways and pathways, but former business owners think it could still be too little, too late.

The day Newcastle stood still.

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Mother nature is a force to be reckoned with, and it was certainly the case on this day ten years ago when the Pasha Bulker came to rest on the sand of Nobbys Beach.

Novocastrians woke on Friday June 8th 2007 to what appeared to be another common dreary day, but as the day wore on, winds picked up to 110km/hr and swells of 10 metres lashed the coastline.

The 40,000-tonne Panamanian carrier the Pasha Bulker was caught in the ferocious winds and rain along the coast. The captain ignored warnings to head back out to sea and then consequently failed to fight against the massive swells, leaving the Pasha Bulker grounded at Nobbys Beach.

Image abc.net.au

Former Nobbys Surf Life Saving President Dave Edwards saw the awesome moment the unthinkable happened to the Pasha Bulker and says any further north and the carrier would've been grounded on the rocks of the breakwater for good.

"I was going that way home so I thought I'll go and make sure everything was secure in the surf club and as I drove past Newcastle baths I saw the Pasha Bulker behind the baths there and it got pretty close but it never locked into my brain how close she was because I was more intent on getting around to the surf club to secure the surf club," said Dave.

He saw the propeller start to grab the water and move the boat, but it wasn't strong enough, "and then it started to come across the bay towards the surf club and I thought it was going to come through the doors of the surf club at one stage there. It came across the bay there and I thought oh no it's going to land right in the Southern quarter and come through the doors of the surf club, but then a couple more big waves washed it ashore where she ended up."

Every man and his dog flocked to the foreshore to see the unbelievable sight, along with a vast media contingent including former Newcastle radio journalist Loren Cousins who covered the story from the moment the Pasha Bulker hit the sand and still can't believe what she witnessed.

"It kind of just loomed up out of the waves, this huge coal ship and you just couldn't believe it was so close to the shore. It was just water and spray from the surf crashing all over it - it was actually incredible," said Loren.

"It just looked like an enormous site, this big ship just getting through across into the waves starting to break on the back of Nobbys Reef. Certainly, when you see a big red ship getting blown backwards its just I can't get it out of my brain, I'll take it to the day I die that image in my brain," said Dave.

Image Robert Rouse

The Newcastle Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called in to bring all 22 of the crew to the shore in what were almost cyclonic conditions on the deck of the carrier.

The big red ship spent 24 days grounded on the sand and it took three attempts over five nights to drag her back out to sea.

"I think I was on the phone at the time and at one stage there were a few different tries I seem to recall, but eventually you saw this tugboat going down towards Merewether Beach way and then you saw this huge coal ship just gliding along in the darkness," said Loren.

While a lot of what we remember was on Nobbys Beach that day, flooding and strong winds left much of the Hunter absolutely devastated and changed many communities lives forever.

Nine people lost their lives and the region was officially declared to be in a state of emergency.