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13/01/2007: "CAIRNS HARBOUR ...... Coralita pre 1st accident"
While tied-up to the wharf at Cairns, Queensland, Coralita was accidentally squashed by a vary large visiting warship as it attempted an optimistic turning manoeuver against the current.
The foreign navy involved was prepared to make a payment on the spot for damage it had caused.
Australian authorities advised (in error) against this.
Alby and Irene Ziebell, (the second owners) of this famous scuba adventure vessel were heartbroken, to say the least. With a young family they had moved north to Cairns to service the increasing interest in Cairns as an international destination to The Coral Sea.
(Coral reefs beyond the outside edge of The Great Barrier Reef in a crystal-clear, cobalt blue, sea frontier where few vessels venture).
Albie's expertise as an adventure marine diver, (also as a former professsional abalone diver in Tasmania) and skipper were outstanding.
His underwater photography was to rival the best in the world. Albie's life was then cut short.
