In early June 2007, New South Wales was hit by severe storms. Many towns did not survive well under the conditions. Homes were destroyed, roads and bridges washed away, families injured. One town in particular, Newcastle (2 hours drive north of Sydney) took a ‘fair beating’.
One amazing incident to occur on the 8th June as a result of the storms was a 40,000 tonne coal ship named ‘Pasha Bulker’, 225 metres in length, ran aground on a sandbar off Nobbys Beach due to the gale force winds and high seas.
This naturally caused a huge stir and curiosity getting the better of everyone, Mike and I included, took a drive up to Newcastle to view this Phenomenon.
Arriving in Newcastle , the floods of people flocking to the beach to view this ship, literally stranded on the beach, mere metres from the road was amazing.
The weather that day was overcast, raining and incredibly windy which added to the surreal atmosphere of viewing an enormous 225 metre ship sitting on the beach, almost within reach. The sight was almost bizarre in a most fascinating kind of way.
It took several attempts over the following days for a ‘rescue’ operation to attach anchoring handling vessels and tug boats to attempt to refloat the ship and tow it back out into open waters. 
The link below will take you to more photos and information on the ship.
http://www.abc.net.au/newcastle/stories/s1945881.htm
