Wonthaggi police were perplexed to discover a strange vessel washed up at Waratah Bay last night.
The barnacle-covered, unmanned boat had clearly travelled a long way before ending up at the quiet cove to the west of Wilsons Promontory.
After a bit of research, it was revealed that the vessel, known as a ‘Saildrone’, is used for ocean mapping and scientific research.
The California-based company launched three Saildrones from Bluff in New Zealand in 2019 on a mission to sail around Antarctica researching krill numbers using sophisticated fish-finding equipment.
Unfortunately, contact was lost with one of the vessels while it was navigating an ice pack somewhere between Antarctica and Cape Horn in late 2019.
It then drifted for 18 months before washing up on this quiet corner of the Victorian coast.
Sometimes used by the CSIRO for research in Victorian waters, these vessels weigh 450kg and are seven metres in length.
For boat spotters out there – this model has a fixed hard sail, a motor, rudder and keel and is apparently the only one that has ever gone missing.
