An anti-wind farm protest has turned ugly in Port Stephens, as passengers on a Labor fundraising cruise claiming another boat intentionally tried to destabilise the 100-year-old ferry.
The Wangi Queen set sail from Lemon Tree Passage on Sunday morning, with about 60 people on board, including local MP Kate Washington and Labor senator Deborah O'Neill.
The cruise was raising money for Labor's Port Stephens mayoral candidate Leah Anderson, and dozens of people lined the banks with signs, taking the opportunity to protest the party's support of the Hunter Offshore Wind Project.
Senator O'Neill addressed the crowd, before boarding the ferry, which took off to Taylors Beach. It was followed by a large speed boat, which passengers say internally zig-zagged in front and alongside the Wangi Queen, creating large wake waves for the century-old vessel to collide into.
Former fisheries minister and Port Stephens MP Bob Martin was aboard and said the "intimidation" action "put lives at risk", labelling it the maritime equivalent of road rage.
"I ran the NSW Fisheries research for 18 years, so I know boats and I've never seen anything like this," he said.
"This was putting a boat in danger. It created a wave so big that furniture that wasn't bolted down would have flung people out of chairs.
"If that skipper hadn't taken very quick action to avoid hitting the waves head on, it could have been quite nasty."
David Simm was also aboard the ferry and said the waves created were up to a metre high, which for a vessel as old as the Wangi Queen could be extremely dangerous.
"They were purposely harassing our boat... on board the ferry, we had people over 80, little children and pregnant women," Mr Simm said.
"People were very concerned with the stability of the boat. This went on for 10 or 15 minutes."
"I've had decades of experience on the water and never have I seen this type of behaviour by another boat owner before."
The speedboat only stopped after Maritime Police ordered them to stand down
Protesters defend action
Newcastle-Port Stephens Game Fish Club president Troy Radford, who attended the protest, defended the group's actions and said the cruise was targeted because Senator O'Neill had voted against an inquiry into the offshore wind industry consultation process.
Although the inquiry eventually got up, without Labor's support its proponents were forced to water it down.
Mr Radford said the community have "had a gut full" and were tired of being ignored.
"We don't think it was overboard, we think it shows the frustration in the community," he said.
"They haven't been listened to. Politicians pretend to listen, but they just ignore the community.
"The boat got rocked today and I can guarantee you Deb O'Neill will go back to Canberra and tell her colleagues that people in Port Stephens are ropable."
Mr Radford said the law requires boats to remain at least 30 metres away from each other while travelling, and the speedboat was always "50 to 100 metres away".
"Personally, I believe no laws were broken," he said.
It's understood the skipper of the Wangi Queen gave a statement to police following the incident.
