Sam Newman has been hit by a series of disasters while sailing his boat.
The media personality has been riding the high seas for charity, raising funds for the Rule Prostate Cancer organisation.
The 78-year-old set off from Queenscliff, Victoria, in May, but it has not been smooth sailing since.
As he heads for his destination in the Whitsunday Islands, Sam has faced a number of trials.
This week, he had to drop anchor and head to Proserpine Hospital in Queensland after being gored by his own drone.
In a social media post, Sam revealed his injured foot, which was cut deeply when a gust of wind sent the device careening into him.
He destroyed the drone in anger, before heading to hospital where he was treated for cuts, but did not requite stitches.
Last week, Sam faced another emergency when his boat caught fire when two of the vessel’s batteries shorted out.
Sam Newman (pictured) has been hit by a series of disasters while sailing his boat. The media personality has been riding the high seas for charity, raising funds for Rule Prostate Cancer
Newman said he had to ‘deploy the fire extinguisher’ but was fighting through smoke to get the blaze under control.
The trip has had ongoing dramas for the television star including ‘horrendous weather and huge sea swells of six to seven meters’.
‘We had to pull into Jervis Bay for repairs after the waves blew out a porthole and flooded most of the boat’ Sam told the Herald Sun.
At one stage, Sam had to stop water from leaking into the boat by laying on the bed and keeping the porthole closed with his feet.
The 78-year-old set off from Queenscliff, Victoria, in May, but it has not been smooth sailing since. Last week, Sam faced another emergency when his boat caught fire when two of the vessel’s batteries shorted out
Newman said he had to ‘deploy the fire extinguisher’ but was fighting through smoke to get the blaze under control
This week, he had to drop anchor and head to Proserpine Hospital in Queensland after being gored by his own drone. In a social media post, Sam revealed his injured foot, which was cut deeply when a gust of wind sent the device careening into him
‘It was like throwing cream puffs at the town hall. It did a fair bit of damage to the electrics and the interior of the boat’ he said.
Sam added: ‘We have had a few other minor problems; a transmission leak, a steering ram hydraulic leak, we have had a couple of burst hoses, we have had a little trouble with the radar, but we have survived.’
He is travelling with friend Sue Stanley, and it doesn’t come cheap – Sam estimates the journey is costing him $100,000.
It is Sam’s first long trip on a sailing boat, and although he has owned a few vessels, this is the first time he’s taken them out to sea.
