BELOVED News Of The Area fishing writer John ‘Stinker’ Clarke faced every boatie’s worst nightmare and lived to tell the tale.
How it began:
“Dropping anchor around 2.30pm, I was excited at the prospect of great fishing.
“The whales were jumping everywhere, breaching within 20 metres of my tinny, and a huge school of salmon circled the boat.
“I had two thumping snapper in the Esky when conditions worsened, which finally made me decide to go home. The sea was too big.
“As I was lifting the anchor around 3.30pm a big wave washed over me and the boat, totally swamping ‘Stinkpot’.
“I knew immediately that I was in strife as the conditions were hostile, there was no one else on the water, and swimming ashore was out of the question as the big waves pounded the rocks.”
How it ended:
“ABOUT 6pm on Wednesday 24 June 2026, emergency services were alerted after Mr Clarke failed to return home from a fishing trip.
“A coordinated marine search and rescue operation was launched involving Marine Rescue NSW volunteers, Port Stephens Water Police and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
“About 8.30pm, the helicopter crew located Mr Clarke’s overturned vessel smashed against rocks approximately 400 metres southwest of Fingal Lighthouse.
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