a multi-national company with thousands of employees, or spent 30 years at sea as a commercial skipper or ... sports clu
AWBF
newsletter October 2014
Greetings, All Now just seventeen weeks out from the 2015 MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival, many old friends are logging in to the festival website to register as AWBF volunteers. This is a truly remarkable group of people, some of whom travel thousands of kilometres to be part of the show and return year after year. The number of different skills and experiences they bring with them is amazing. I’m often impressed to the point of silence when I casually ask ‘What do you do for a living?’ and learn that the person I’m speaking to ran a multi-national company with thousands of employees, or spent 30 years at sea as a commercial skipper or makes exquisite hand-finished tools and ships them all over the world. Others, just as impressive, tell me they have spent hundreds of hours restoring historic boats or that they simply enjoy being part of a very large public event in their home city. Community organisations including service clubs, scout groups, bands and sports clubs take part to support the festival and raise much-needed funds for their clubs. The tremendous contribution our volunteer army makes to this event was honoured this year with the Hobart City Council’s Best Practice Award for Volunteer Management at a Community Event. The award was particularly appropriate for our terrific Volunteers Manager, Annette Ritchie, as she is herself a volunteer. I take my hat off to Annette and the hundreds of friends, supporters and new arrivals who will be part of the production team for one of Australia’s largest maritime festivals. If you would like to join our happy band, you will be very welcome. We need all sorts of skills, from a great telephone manner and a patient smile to getting a vintage Seagull engine started in the morning. If you are computer literate, jump on to the website HERE or you can do it the old-fashioned way by giving us a call on 03 6223 3375. We’re always up for a chat. - Paul Cullen, General Manager
1
HMS
Victory Adam Wieja and Peter Sawyer are not the first men to have a go at creating a model of Lord Horatio Nelson’s famous flagship HMS Victory, but this may be the largest and most detailed model yet made. Nor does it just sit there: a ship-of-the-line in Nelson’s day was a technically complex fighting platform that relied on dozens of systems to work together. This stunning model, which took three years to build, illustrates that with opening sides and moving parts providing a fascinating inside look at how the ship was fought. Every part, from the cordage to the intricate metalwork, was created from scratch in the workshop. The model weighs 95 kilos and measures 3 metres in length. HMS Victory will be a feature of the Model Boats Exhibition on the Elizabeth Street Pier. Entry to the exhibition is free.
Photos: top - the model stands over three metres in height and the same in length. Bottom - the attention to detail is remarkable and all of it hand made.
2
Professional photographer Rob Oates is the Photography Manager for the MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival. He coordinates a team of around 35 volunteers snappers on the festival site, capturing every aspect of the event. Rob is not only a gifted travel and event photographer himself, but he offers valuable advice on the technical and human aspects of event photography. Rob’s workshops are always well attended and no-one goes away from them
without having learned some valuable tip. Now Rob has gone one better: he’s posted a series of tutorials on his own website to allow photographers anywhere in the world to take advantage of his experience and technical advice. From choosing the right subject to the waiting for the right light, framing the shot to signing the model release, these four tutorials cover all aspects of this fast-moving and exciting form of photography.
All photos courtesy of Rob Oates. Log on to Rob’s website here:
www.ballantynephotography.com 3
SHE’S BIG SHE’S MIGHTY and … SHE’S BACK!
© Phil O’Halloran
There were some doubtful moments there, but we are delighted to confirm that the magnificent 1874 barque James Craig will be with us for the MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2015. The ship has a very special connection with Hobart. Passage berths are available from Sydney to Hobart for the adventure of a lifetime. Call the Sydney Heritage Fleet on (02) 9298 3888 for details.
© Doug Thost
4
The Wrest Point Cup First, let’s say ‘welcome aboard’ to our newest sponsor, Wrest Point , part of the Federal Group. We are very pleased to have such an iconic Tasmanian brand supporting the MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival and there are exciting days ahead. We’ll be publishing details in the coming months, but look for special events, celebrations and joint promotions that will add value across the whole AWBF program. One novel development has already set sail and we’re working in the details now. In keeping with the festival theme ‘As Once We Were’, we are keen to revisit the days when the commercial and fishing boats that plied their trade in the Derwent and the D’Entrecastaux Channel got together once a year for some friendly competition. Toby Greenlees, who is well known to most Hobart boaties as an officer at Marine and Safety Tasmania, is also an enthusiast for gaff-rigged ketches with a working boat history. Toby has rounded up four great examples: Julie Burgess, Yukon, Rhona H and Kerrawyn, as a start for a Historic Ketch Review (it’s not a race, you see, but a chance to see these classic working boats sail in company). Wrest Point has confirmed that they will be happy to present the Wrest Point Cup to the vessel that puts in the smartest performance on the day. Stay with us for more details of this great event. Photos, from top: Yukon, Rhona H, Julie Burgess, Kerrawyn. Courtesy Toby Greenlees.
N E OP T A O B
What a great idea! Registered boat owners at the AWBF 2015 will be encouraged to put on an ‘Open Boat’ for an hour or two, sometime during the weekend. Show off your boat to interested visitors and you never know what friends you might make. Boat owners can pick up an Open Boat sign at the festival information centre. You choose when and for how long you would like to welcome guests, and of course you control how many you have on board at any one time. Share your passion for wooden boats with a few enthusiastic guests and have some fun at the same time. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 7 to 9 February. 5
WINDEWARD BOUND Melbourne to Hobart aboard Windeward Bound Dates: 29th January - 6th February 2015, inclusive. Cost: $2400 per person Arrive at the AWBF in style from Melbourne! Windeward Bound is transiting Melbourne to Hobart just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Australian Wooden Boat Festival. Now is your chance to get a Bass Strait crossing under your belt, and have an album full of photos to show around at the festival. Depart Melbourne on Thursday 29th January, and arrive in Hobart on Friday 6th February following participation in the Parade of Sail. The cost of this 9 day, 8 night Bass Strait crossing is $2400 per passenger, and is inclusive of accommodation in a shared cabin, all delicious meals prepared by our beloved cook, use of ship's foul weather gear, zodiac transfers, stopovers, and participation in the AWBF Parade of Sail.
Join the Parade of Sail with Windeward Bound Date: Friday 6th February 2015. Board coaches at 7:00 am in Hobart. Cost: $150 per person including breakfast, lunch and beverages. Windeward Bound is joining the tall ships again this year for the much-anticipated Parade of Sail, kicking off the Australian Wooden Boat Festival. This is a package deal which includes a bus ride Friday morning from Hobart to Woodbridge, where you will board Windeward Bound and from there make your way back to Hobart and the festivities. A full hot breakfast and light lunch will be served, as well as bottomless hot beverages. All dietary requirements can be met if requested in advance. This is a spectacular way to become a part of the celebration, and historically, has sold out quickly so book early! How to book: Visit www.windewardbound.com.au for online bookings, or ring 0418 120 243 or 0438 120 599. EDITOR’S NOTE: voyages for the Parade of Sail will also be available on Yukon, Rhona H, Lady Nelson, Enterprize and other tall ships. We’ll bring you details as they come in. Watch this space! 6
A vintage wooden launch built on the Derwent more than 100 years ago may be returning home soon, but we’ve run into a common problem for boat owners moving boats to or from Tasmania across the Bass Strait. Many Australian transport companies specialise in moving boats, however on talking to them, we find very few who will bring boats to Tasmania. Worse, the transporters will charge for the return journey unless a backload is available. The cost for an ‘empty’ return can exceed $3000 depending on the truck/trailer. This is an ongoing problem faced by Tasmanian boat buyers and sellers. MarineDirectory.net has a possible solution: matching clients who want to move boats across Bass Strait with available transport. This will enable boat owners to save money and the transporter to avoid empty trips home.
In the meantime, if you need to move a boat to the mainland in the next month or so, here’s an opportunity:
SPACE AVAILABLE Registered trailer for boats to 32’ and 3.5 tonnes going to Melbourne Oct/Nov. Bass Strait cost is $2000. Pickup in Tasmania and mainland delivery quoted by transporter. Interested? Contact
[email protected]
Wooden Eights Race We are pleased to say that our friends at the Royal Hobart Regatta have agreed once more to sponsor joint events with The MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival. Here’s an excerpt from their 2015 rowing program:
In alternate years, the MyState Australian Wooden Boat Fes�val is held over the Royal Hobart Rega�a long weekend.
E S T. 1 8 3 8
2015 Rowing Program
When this occurs, a Wooden Eights Race concludes the Saturday rowing program at the Rega�a.
Royal Hobart Rega�a
In 2015 this will be followed by a row past at the AWBF by all wooden eights crews, concluding with a demonstra�on race start off the Princes Wharf No. 1 Shed (PW1).
There will be a significant prize purse for Saturday’s Wooden Eights race.
7
Welcome Aboard! Here’s a tip of the hat to the latest sponsors to sign up for the AWBF 2015. We’re grateful for the support of these local companies, who make it possible to keep this great event free to the public.
Locally owned and operated, Budget is a truly Tasmanian company. Budget will supply our needs for utes and trucks to set up the festival site.
One of Tasmania’s oldest companies, and a part of the community for more than 140 years. Blundstone will have a significant role to play in the Big Log Project at the Shipwright’s Village in Hunter Street.
We welcome back Southern Cross as our broadcast media partner for 2015, with great access to local and mainland networks. Advertising has already started in Victoria and SA.
Happy Birthday, Gypsy AWBF Chairman Steve Knight’s gaff-rigged yawl Gypsy celebrates her 100th birthday this year.
Photo: © Bruce Smart
8
Pint-Sized Pirates
Our excellent Social Media coordinator, Bella Laughton-Clark doesn’t mind a challenge. Apart from juggling a part-time job, a university degree and looking after her wooden boat Britannia, she set herself the goal of passing 2000 ‘likes’ on the AWBF Facebook page. We promised her a bottle of sparkling if she could do it. No problem. Bella scored that goal just last week and took the bubbly home for a quiet celebration with friends. Social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become a vital means of communication for wooden boat enthusiasts. Bella is on the case, with a steady stream of news and previews on the AWBF Facebook page. Check it out HERE.
Everybody involved with the AWBF is multi-skilled, it seems. Dock Master ‘Roscoe’ Barnett turns out to be a dab hand at graphic design. The traditional brass plaque presented to registered boat owners at the festival is a collector’s item, and no two years have been the same. Cast in solid brass, the durable insignia is only available to participating boat owners and some proudly display a collection going back to the early years of the festival. The 2015 plaque designed by Roscoe is from a lines drawing of a traditional West Coast piners punt, created by the Maritime Museum of Tasmania. With coloured enamel inserts, this handsome piece of bulkhead furniture will be cast in strictly limited numbers by Paul Weir at Master Cast, Hobart.
9
What Ship Is That? With more than 20,000 stunning images in the AWBF photo library, we can have a a bit of a play with identifying which boat is which. This beautiful three-master was a recent visitor to Hobart, went on to win a big race and is rumoured to be on the cards for AWBF 2017. Can you name her? The first reader to correctly identify this ship will win a small prize. Send your entry to:
[email protected]
Photo © Doug Thost
Join us for the Official Launch of the 2015 AWBF by the Hon. Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania and Minister for Tourism. Gather on the lawns near Parliament Steps to hear the Premier announce continuing State Government support for the largest wooden boat festival in Australia.
