Toyota

The boating component of the Toyota Fraser Island Fishing Expo has grown over the years to become an integral part of the event. With 302 boating entries each accompanied by an average crew of three means over half the competitors are fishing from boats.

This number of boats operating on the waters east of Fraser Island presents a challenge for organisations like Maritime Safety Queensland who in partnership with Toyota want to see an incident free event.

Maritime Safety Queensland introduced marine radio communication for competitors in 1993 and run the radio base, call sign 'Waddy Base' each year. This provides the basis for all boats to log on to Waddy Base providing information about return times, fishing locations and numbers of persons on board. However, safety is ultimately the responsibility of the boat owners or skipper and the professionalism they display at the time.

The safety record at the Toyota Expo is excellent considering the condition boats endure when launching and fishing the exposed waters east of Waddy Point. Invariably there are always a few who try and spoil the record through either carelessness or plain ignorance about their boat, the waters they are fishing and in some cases, greed.

If you are planning to fish the expo from a boat and it's your first time, take some time to learn about conditions and what to expect from Fraser weather. In future newsletters Maritime Safety Queensland will provide advice and safety hints for boat skipper to consider before turning up to fish Fraser.

However, in the meantime if you are considering entering as a boating competitor, take note of the hints below:

Make sure your boat is fit for the purpose. Open dinghies are not suitable to fish the offshore waters of Fraser Island.

Is your motor reliable or prone to breaking down? If unreliable, then replace it or remain at home.

Motor reliability is essential for safety and a broken motor can be very disheartening when you are left on the beach.

Before leaving home, ensure you have the required safety equipment and avoid arriving at Orchid Beach and then having to scavenge safety gear. If you are a serious competitor, you should not arrive at Fraser unprepared.

If a first timer, take time to learn about the conditions and the art of crossing waves in a surf zone before you arrive.

The Toyota Fraser Island Fishing Expo is an experience that is to be remembered and to arrive home safely from.

Maritime Safety Queensland

For online information, visit the Maritime Safety Queensland website.