Jessica Benton
A psychic will take to the waters off Queenscliff to tell spooky stories of haunted shipwrecks.
Charter boat operator Andrew Malouf said his ghost cruises with psychic Donna Barnard would be an Australian first despite shipwrecks all around the nation’s coastline.
Mr Malouf, who described himself as sceptical about ghosts, hoped the cruises would “bring to life some of that mystery” about the region’s shipwrecks.
The cruises will tour an area known as Ships Graveyard, the resting place of more than 40 wrecks.
Ms Barnard said she believed that the spirits of 24 sailors who died when minesweeper HMAS Goorangai collided with the liner Duntroon in 1940, still haunted the area.
“There are also tales of unexplained disappearances and mysterious lights in the area,” she said.
“There is quite a lot of history on the outskirts of The Rip. We’ll be talking about the wrecks and the mysterious, strange happenings and informing people about the area with a supernatural theme.”
Ms Barnard brushed off sceptics.
“I’ll let people make up their own minds about what has happened but I’ll certainly be presenting a few angles to consider.
“I’m a professional psychic but I’m not there to impose my beliefs on people – I just want to present a different view to the conventional one.”
Mr Malouf said his Gamerec Charters planned to begin the tours in January.