Fun in the sun on New Year’s Eve led to a court date and community service for a boat driver.
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On what should have been a fun day celebrating the end of another year, a Sanctuary Point man was caught operating his 5.8-metre boat while drunk after he crashed into another vessel on a Sussex Inlet Waterway.
Luke Alex Gorecki fronted Milton Local Court charged with mid-range PCA and driving a vessel negligently, not causing death, following the December 31 incident.
The new year’s celebration started at 8am drinking alcohol and finished at 8pm in a police station for Mr Gorecki.
It wasn’t until 6.05pm that the 28-year-old ran into trouble, crashing into another boat.
When returning to his camp site from the Sussex Inlet Tavern by boat, Mr Gorecki decided to take a detour into a sandy beach on the inlet. It was here he tried to splash a group of teenagers with his boat, losing control and colliding with the youths’ vessel.
He caused internal damage to the motor and offered the victim compensation in the form of cash on the spot.
Just as he thought he had paid his way out of trouble, the law caught up with him and the police were on scene.
After several failed attempts to wave Mr Gorecki and his boat to shore, police commandeered a member of the public’s boat.
The accused increased his speed, going above the eight knot speed limit, before police finally caught him.
As police approached the boat, Mr Gorecki turned left, then right four times, causing a wake and obstructing the police.
The trouble didn’t stop there for Mr Gorecki, who had eight passengers on board without life jackets.
When police breath tested him, he returned a positive result and admitted to consuming alcohol just 30 minutes earlier at Sussex Inlet Tavern.
For an hour Mr Gorecki and his passengers failed to comply with police, forcing backup officers to be called to the scene in the middle of the Inlet.
During the incident, police property was maliciously damage, two police officers were assaulted and a plethora or offensive language and gestures were directed at police by passengers on the vessel.
Once backup officers were on the scene, Mr Gorecki was arrested and taken to Huskisson Police Station.
He told police he began drinking at 8am and had his last drink at 6pm, just five minutes before the crash, and had only eaten a bacon and egg roll.
Mr Gorecki admitted to police he started the day with eight Carlton Dry full strength beers, followed by two Captain Morgan rum and cola mixes and topped off with a jager bomb.
In court on Thursday, May 25, Magistrate Gabriel Fleming condemned the man’s actions and said his charges were serious.
“It is not just silly, it is dangerous,” she said.
“You need to address how much you drink when you go out.”
Mr Gorecki’s solicitor said he needed a “more mature attitude to drinking”.
“It was New Year’s Eve, everyone was in a good mood and they were camping at Kangaroo Point,” she said.
“He is extremely embarrassed and has learnt his lesson.”
His solicitor told of a hard-working man with a successful business and family.
Mr Gorecki was fined $800, ordered to completed 100 hours of community service and will not be able to return to the helm of a boat for six months.