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07/06/2008: "WRECK OF "RUNIC" ..... Midddleton Reef, Australian territory"
As seen from Coralita during her first visit in 1971. We encountered cyclone Colin on this voyage which departed Port Macquarie and returned to Coffs Harbour due to high seas along the coast.
With the cyclone approaching fast, Captain Wally Muller took precautions with his anchorage. An antique iron anchor was removed from a nearby unknown shipwreck and transfered to the sandy lagoon floor where his own anchor and chain were lashed to it.
Even so, during the height of the cyclone which passed nearby, Coralita dragged both anchors 150 meters.
Two years later we returned to Middleton Reef and had a 2nd and even more powerful cyclone catch us. The same admiralty style iron anchor came in handy as Cyclone Ulan passed by with a whipped up huge sea that tore the stern from Runic as waves broke higher than the ships funnel.
Captain Wally later told me he feared for Coralitaand without the cool heads of Ron T. and I (?) the outcome would have been very serious. Maybe my contribution was hearing the hull crunching against the tips of a staghorn type coral on a bommie below, during the wide swing of the ship at anchor.
I didn't inquire fully as to what he had implied.
