The photos that captured a disaster: 18 years on from the Pasha Bulker storm

Ask any local on the street and chances are they'll tell you where they were on June 8, 2007 when the massive 76,000-tonne Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in a wild tempest of fierce seas, roaring gale winds, and pounding rain.
That month is still one of the wettest on record for Newcastle, as nearly half a metre of rain fell over Nobbys Head, eclipsing the Bureau of Meteorology's 161-year average for the month over four times over.
The city had woken up to a rotten morning. The beaches were pummelled by a merciless swell, whipped under tearing winds and a pouring rain.
Veteran newsman Greg Wendt was waiting in the gale for his morning coffee at the Merewether Surf Club when he caught word of a ship might have been in trouble off the coast.
As he made his way into work at the Newcastle Herald offices, the phones were ringing off the hook. The Pasha Bulker had been fighting her way up the coast, battered by a 10-metre swell.
The ship was unloaded and sitting high in the water, and her captain was fighting hard to get the propeller to find purchase.
By the time Wendt arrived on the waterside with photographer David Wicks, the untethered ship was floundering.
"The captain of the ship was trying to reverse it and then jerk the bow into the teeth of the storm, so he was reversing down towards Nobbys," Wendt reported for the paper on the 10th anniversary of the storm.
"There is a great shot that (former Herald photographer Darren Pateman) got of the Pasha Bulker being hit by a wave and was bent almost over the rocks at the Cowrie Hole.
"I thought that's where it is going to end up. But it kept going in reverse towards Nobbys at a rate of knots.
"This wave just swamped it and all you could see was a bit of the funnel and a little bit of the bow and then it disappeared in the murk towards Nobbys.''
The ship ultimately ran aground on Nobbys Beach as its crew sheltered together inside the swaying 225-metre vessel, before they were rescued from the deck by a pair of Westpac Rescue Helicopters.
Notably among them, crewman Greg Ramplin, who could be seen descending into the tempest's teeth countless times to winch the crew to safety, and veteran lifeguard Warren Smith who leapt on board a jet ski with a few fellow surf life savers to brave the ocean and patrol from the water.
After 90 minutes, the extraordinary rescue - which continues to be lauded as one of the great maritime operations - was over. Ramplin collapsed, utterly spent, on the sodden turf outside the surf club.
The dramatic events of June 8 preceded more than a year of investigation and scrutiny by the national transport watchdog, which finally found the bulk of blame for the grounding rested on the ship's master, who either failed or didn't properly understand how to ballast the ship for bad weather.
The investigation, which prompted significant changes to the Port of Newcastle's arrival and vessel queuing protocols, found that most of the 27 ships, including the Pasha Bulker, that had tried to ride out the storm in the port's coal queue dragged anchors in the gale before the Pasha's master attempted to haul anchor and adjust the ship's course ultimately leading to the grounding just after 9am.
"A number of masters did not appropriately ballast their ships," investigators concluded in 2008, among a litany of findings and recommendations.
"It was also found that the substantial ship queue increased the risks in the anchorage and resulted in another near grounding, a near collision and a number of close-quarters situations at the time."
The Japanese-owned ship was renamed Drake for a time, and then Anthea in 2018, and was last reported to be off the coast of Brazil this week en route to the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Ask any local on the street and chances are they'll tell you where they were on June 8, 2007 when the massive 76,000-tonne Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in a wild tempest of fierce seas, roaring gale winds, and pounding rain.
That month is still one of the wettest on record for Newcastle, as nearly half a metre of rain fell over Nobbys Head, eclipsing the Bureau of Meteorology's 161-year average for the month over four times over.
The city had woken up to a rotten morning. The beaches were pummelled by a merciless swell, whipped under tearing winds and a pouring rain.
Veteran newsman Greg Wendt was waiting in the gale for his morning coffee at the Merewether Surf Club when he caught word of a ship might have been in trouble off the coast.
As he made his way into work at the Newcastle Herald offices, the phones were ringing off the hook. The Pasha Bulker had been fighting her way up the coast, battered by a 10-metre swell.
The ship was unloaded and sitting high in the water, and her captain was fighting hard to get the propeller to find purchase.
By the time Wendt arrived on the waterside with photographer David Wicks, the untethered ship was floundering.
"The captain of the ship was trying to reverse it and then jerk the bow into the teeth of the storm, so he was reversing down towards Nobbys," Wendt reported for the paper on the 10th anniversary of the storm.
"There is a great shot that (former Herald photographer Darren Pateman) got of the Pasha Bulker being hit by a wave and was bent almost over the rocks at the Cowrie Hole.
"I thought that's where it is going to end up. But it kept going in reverse towards Nobbys at a rate of knots.
"This wave just swamped it and all you could see was a bit of the funnel and a little bit of the bow and then it disappeared in the murk towards Nobbys.''
The ship ultimately ran aground on Nobbys Beach as its crew sheltered together inside the swaying 225-metre vessel, before they were rescued from the deck by a pair of Westpac Rescue Helicopters.
Notably among them, crewman Greg Ramplin, who could be seen descending into the tempest's teeth countless times to winch the crew to safety, and veteran lifeguard Warren Smith who leapt on board a jet ski with a few fellow surf life savers to brave the ocean and patrol from the water.
After 90 minutes, the extraordinary rescue - which continues to be lauded as one of the great maritime operations - was over. Ramplin collapsed, utterly spent, on the sodden turf outside the surf club.
The dramatic events of June 8 preceded more than a year of investigation and scrutiny by the national transport watchdog, which finally found the bulk of blame for the grounding rested on the ship's master, who either failed or didn't properly understand how to ballast the ship for bad weather.
The investigation, which prompted significant changes to the Port of Newcastle's arrival and vessel queuing protocols, found that most of the 27 ships, including the Pasha Bulker, that had tried to ride out the storm in the port's coal queue dragged anchors in the gale before the Pasha's master attempted to haul anchor and adjust the ship's course ultimately leading to the grounding just after 9am.
"A number of masters did not appropriately ballast their ships," investigators concluded in 2008, among a litany of findings and recommendations.
"It was also found that the substantial ship queue increased the risks in the anchorage and resulted in another near grounding, a near collision and a number of close-quarters situations at the time."
The Japanese-owned ship was renamed Drake for a time, and then Anthea in 2018, and was last reported to be off the coast of Brazil this week en route to the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Ask any local on the street and chances are they'll tell you where they were on June 8, 2007 when the massive 76,000-tonne Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in a wild tempest of fierce seas, roaring gale winds, and pounding rain.
That month is still one of the wettest on record for Newcastle, as nearly half a metre of rain fell over Nobbys Head, eclipsing the Bureau of Meteorology's 161-year average for the month over four times over.
The city had woken up to a rotten morning. The beaches were pummelled by a merciless swell, whipped under tearing winds and a pouring rain.
Veteran newsman Greg Wendt was waiting in the gale for his morning coffee at the Merewether Surf Club when he caught word of a ship might have been in trouble off the coast.
As he made his way into work at the Newcastle Herald offices, the phones were ringing off the hook. The Pasha Bulker had been fighting her way up the coast, battered by a 10-metre swell.
The ship was unloaded and sitting high in the water, and her captain was fighting hard to get the propeller to find purchase.
By the time Wendt arrived on the waterside with photographer David Wicks, the untethered ship was floundering.
"The captain of the ship was trying to reverse it and then jerk the bow into the teeth of the storm, so he was reversing down towards Nobbys," Wendt reported for the paper on the 10th anniversary of the storm.
"There is a great shot that (former Herald photographer Darren Pateman) got of the Pasha Bulker being hit by a wave and was bent almost over the rocks at the Cowrie Hole.
"I thought that's where it is going to end up. But it kept going in reverse towards Nobbys at a rate of knots.
"This wave just swamped it and all you could see was a bit of the funnel and a little bit of the bow and then it disappeared in the murk towards Nobbys.''
The ship ultimately ran aground on Nobbys Beach as its crew sheltered together inside the swaying 225-metre vessel, before they were rescued from the deck by a pair of Westpac Rescue Helicopters.
Notably among them, crewman Greg Ramplin, who could be seen descending into the tempest's teeth countless times to winch the crew to safety, and veteran lifeguard Warren Smith who leapt on board a jet ski with a few fellow surf life savers to brave the ocean and patrol from the water.
After 90 minutes, the extraordinary rescue - which continues to be lauded as one of the great maritime operations - was over. Ramplin collapsed, utterly spent, on the sodden turf outside the surf club.
The dramatic events of June 8 preceded more than a year of investigation and scrutiny by the national transport watchdog, which finally found the bulk of blame for the grounding rested on the ship's master, who either failed or didn't properly understand how to ballast the ship for bad weather.
The investigation, which prompted significant changes to the Port of Newcastle's arrival and vessel queuing protocols, found that most of the 27 ships, including the Pasha Bulker, that had tried to ride out the storm in the port's coal queue dragged anchors in the gale before the Pasha's master attempted to haul anchor and adjust the ship's course ultimately leading to the grounding just after 9am.
"A number of masters did not appropriately ballast their ships," investigators concluded in 2008, among a litany of findings and recommendations.
"It was also found that the substantial ship queue increased the risks in the anchorage and resulted in another near grounding, a near collision and a number of close-quarters situations at the time."
The Japanese-owned ship was renamed Drake for a time, and then Anthea in 2018, and was last reported to be off the coast of Brazil this week en route to the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Ask any local on the street and chances are they'll tell you where they were on June 8, 2007 when the massive 76,000-tonne Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in a wild tempest of fierce seas, roaring gale winds, and pounding rain.
That month is still one of the wettest on record for Newcastle, as nearly half a metre of rain fell over Nobbys Head, eclipsing the Bureau of Meteorology's 161-year average for the month over four times over.
The city had woken up to a rotten morning. The beaches were pummelled by a merciless swell, whipped under tearing winds and a pouring rain.
Veteran newsman Greg Wendt was waiting in the gale for his morning coffee at the Merewether Surf Club when he caught word of a ship might have been in trouble off the coast.
As he made his way into work at the Newcastle Herald offices, the phones were ringing off the hook. The Pasha Bulker had been fighting her way up the coast, battered by a 10-metre swell.
The ship was unloaded and sitting high in the water, and her captain was fighting hard to get the propeller to find purchase.
By the time Wendt arrived on the waterside with photographer David Wicks, the untethered ship was floundering.
"The captain of the ship was trying to reverse it and then jerk the bow into the teeth of the storm, so he was reversing down towards Nobbys," Wendt reported for the paper on the 10th anniversary of the storm.
"There is a great shot that (former Herald photographer Darren Pateman) got of the Pasha Bulker being hit by a wave and was bent almost over the rocks at the Cowrie Hole.
"I thought that's where it is going to end up. But it kept going in reverse towards Nobbys at a rate of knots.
"This wave just swamped it and all you could see was a bit of the funnel and a little bit of the bow and then it disappeared in the murk towards Nobbys.''
The ship ultimately ran aground on Nobbys Beach as its crew sheltered together inside the swaying 225-metre vessel, before they were rescued from the deck by a pair of Westpac Rescue Helicopters.
Notably among them, crewman Greg Ramplin, who could be seen descending into the tempest's teeth countless times to winch the crew to safety, and veteran lifeguard Warren Smith who leapt on board a jet ski with a few fellow surf life savers to brave the ocean and patrol from the water.
After 90 minutes, the extraordinary rescue - which continues to be lauded as one of the great maritime operations - was over. Ramplin collapsed, utterly spent, on the sodden turf outside the surf club.
The dramatic events of June 8 preceded more than a year of investigation and scrutiny by the national transport watchdog, which finally found the bulk of blame for the grounding rested on the ship's master, who either failed or didn't properly understand how to ballast the ship for bad weather.
The investigation, which prompted significant changes to the Port of Newcastle's arrival and vessel queuing protocols, found that most of the 27 ships, including the Pasha Bulker, that had tried to ride out the storm in the port's coal queue dragged anchors in the gale before the Pasha's master attempted to haul anchor and adjust the ship's course ultimately leading to the grounding just after 9am.
"A number of masters did not appropriately ballast their ships," investigators concluded in 2008, among a litany of findings and recommendations.
"It was also found that the substantial ship queue increased the risks in the anchorage and resulted in another near grounding, a near collision and a number of close-quarters situations at the time."
The Japanese-owned ship was renamed Drake for a time, and then Anthea in 2018, and was last reported to be off the coast of Brazil this week en route to the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

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Time seemed to slow down as residents and shutterbugs mingled to take it in. "This is a process called thermo-regulating," a spokesperson for Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia told the Newcastle Herald in 2023, when another seal was spotted off the Nobbys breakwall similarly waving a flipper as it floated. "When they get too hot, it helps them cool down." Friday's sunshine was expected to gradually give way to cloudier conditions, with a chance of showers toward the middle of next week. Surf conditions are expected to remain fair through Sunday, with a swell just above two feet, at waist height. Southern swell spots were making the best of the conditions, surf forecasters said, with chest-high waves for the short boards, or the sheltered zones optimal for the longboards on the incoming tide. The southern hemisphere's winter solstice is on Saturday, June 21. It marks Australia's shortest day and longest night of the year based on sunlight hours. But the good news is that from then on Aussies will get an incremental increase in the amount of visible sunlight each day. There were - to use the journalist's favourite literary device - 'sealier' places to be than soaking up the sun just off Newcastle Ocean Baths on a near-perfect winter's day on Friday. It boasted a pristine sky, fair surfing conditions and clean sets off the Cowrie Hole. Awash in a warm and sunny 19 degrees, and just off the back of the Newcastle Ocean Baths, a bulky Australian fur seal luxuriated in the serenity as the surfers gave it a respectful berth. The fur seal - which, along with their long-nose cousins, frequent the Hunter - is a somewhat regular visitor to the ocean baths. Lifeguards on Friday morning, speaking of the big pup like an old friend, said it drops by usually around this time of year to check in. Its whiskers just crested the water line as is bobbed between the swell. 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Don't miss out on the headlines from HyperLocal. Followed categories will be added to My News. Today's forecast is mostly sunny; n'ly winds. At 12am today, expect a dry day with a dew point of 5. The temperature will feel more like a cool 5.6 with a relative humidity of 86 per cent. The highest expected temperature today is 15, which is 2 degrees lower than yesterday's max. Warmer conditions are expected on two of the next six days, with the mercury climbing above today's maximum on Sunday and Monday. The chance of rain today is 5 per cent. There is a similar chance of showers tomorrow with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a slim (5 per cent) chance of rain. The UV index is predicted to be 1. While there is a low risk of harm from sun exposure. Experts suggest using eye protection, sunscreen and covering up, especially people with sensitive skin who burn easily. Winds will be north-northeast around 5 km/h in the morning shifting to north around 9 km/h in the afternoon. Details for the next six days: Sunday, June 22: Mostly sunny. NE winds Min - 4. Max - 16. Monday, June 23: Mostly sunny. Fresh NE winds Min - 9. Max - 19. Tuesday, June 24: Mostly cloudy. Showers, chance storm. Fresh N/NW winds Min - 10. Max - 14. Wednesday, June 25: Mostly cloudy. Rain periods. Fresh NW/SW winds Min - 6. Max - 12. Thursday, June 26: Mostly cloudy. Showers. NW/SW winds Min - 7. Max - 14. Friday, June 27: Mostly cloudy. Clearing shower. NW/SW winds Min - 7. Max - 15. The previous Manningham weather article can be viewed here.