Boats on the rocks in Point Samson

Two boats shipwrecked in Point Samson drew crowds from around the Pilbara over the weekend.

The first vessel, The Alert, came off its moorings and ended up on the rocks outside Point Samson Tavern last Wednesday.

Local Skipper Franz Van Derpoll described the dramatic six-hour rescue operation for The Alert, which took place until the early hours of June 12.

"It was like a storm in a teacup out there, we had pumps on it for almost two days to stop it from sinking," he said.

"We were out there until two o'clock on Thursday morning until The Alert finally gave way and came off the rocks."

Mr Van Derpoll said no sooner had The Alert been rescued, a second boat, The Dawn, was lifted onto the rocks in Honeymoon Cove.

"It's what you would expect with those moorings, they're only day moorings, not cyclone moorings," he said.

"They do let go sometimes, especially in rough weather."

Global Marine manager, Alex Jones said The Alert was very lucky it had minimal damage but the fate of The Dawn remains unclear after a four-hour rescue attempt failed to free the vessel last Friday evening.

"There was no moving The Dawn even with full power - its stuck solid on the rocks," he said.

"The Dawn has a gash about 150mm long in the keel, picket holes throughout it, cracks along the weld and along the keel from where it's leaking.

"We're going to have to get a salvage company to remove it and it's debatable as to how they will even get it off the rocks - it's not even in a good spot to do anything from land."

A crew from Global Marine spent Saturday afternoon pumping the remaining diesel from the vessel to avoid any environmental damage occurring, and rescue efforts had drawn quite a crowd.

"Lots of people have ventured down to see The Dawn," Mr Jones said.

"I guess at least it's bringing people into town which is good for local business."

A third boat came off its moorings in the harbour on Sunday. However that boat has since been recovered.