 
Sweet sixteen, and never been … around the world alone
As head of the year 10 debating team at my school and SRC Representative, I have been given the task of making contact with your publication Affloat (sic), to inform your readers of an initiative that the parents and pupils have undertaken in the interests of character-building in girls via sailing.
For many years our school has offered sailing tuition on Saturdays, and during a Year 9 away-camp in Kangaroo Valley. Many of us are skilled in kayaking, rowing, and sailing. As a result most girls at our school are capable of taking on any challenge. My team-members and I recently won an inter-school debate at the Opera House proposing that ‘A solo-circumnavigation builds character’.
One thing led to another and one girl suggested that the school buys a yacht, and holds a competition to select one fortunate 16-year-old girl from year 10 to sail it around the world. Another suggested buying two boats, lending one to a public girls high school and having a private school vs public school sailing competition. The competing girls would be encouraged to dress in school colours (like at sports days) and would be required to prepare their own cheer routines and costumes for at-sea media broadcasts.
The School Board, and the Parents and Friends Committee at our school agreed to support our proposal for a solo race around the world, as a character-building exercise, and a timely demonstration of our social responsibility. It will be like an extended work experience obligation in the Year 10 syllabus. No formal schooling will be missed as study can continue during the race thanks to the invention of the iPad.
We are already planning a number of fund-raising events to buy the two yachts which will be almost identical in every detail. The public school parents will be responsible only for food and clothing aboard their boat, as tastes can be quite different (LOL jk).
Our boat will be called Spirit of Banks in honour of Sir John Banks, the gardening expert (I think) who arrived in Australia in 1770 aboard the first fleet. It will be decorated with spray-on designer stencil art on the hull and sails, by the currently famous and very appealing artist Banksy. At least we hope we can convince him to do it if one of the parents (who owns an art gallery in Paddington), can contact him and work out a suitable price.
The other boat, which we have already decided will be named Lady Graffiti, will be imaginatively painted with durable enamel spray cans and have hard-wearing scrubbable anti-tag fabrics in the cabin.
Pupils from the successful public girls high school will be invited to contribute to the boat’s preparation through a fair at their school to raise whatever funds they can manage, and we wish them luck in that endeavour. My dad says he knows which boat he’d rather be eating on during the two boat race around the world.
Many parents at our school have quite large luxury pleasure boats. A few could follow the race for safety and moral support. One of the dads is a barrister and he is checking the rules to find the best way around them.
In September we will have an Around the World Ball at our school to raise more funds, at which time we will auction a limited number of berths on the followers flotilla. The parents’ sea voyage should be fun with a gourmet chef on board and stops at exotic ports along the way. It will be a perfect networking opportunity for interested parents.
I would like to invite readers of your magazine to contribute to the success of this very worthwhile and deserving cause, which we hope will become an annual event and demonstrate not only the very real benefits that a private school can offer girls, gifted and otherwise; but also the admirable social-work being done by private schools in our greater community.
I cordially wish both girls every success and hope I am not being unfair to the other competitor in hoping that Spirit of Banks gets back here a long way in front of Lady Graffiti. Woo! You go, girls!
Georgia Masters-Cunningham,
Rose Bay.
[Georgia, have you considered an around-the-boys race? Here’s an Around the World Ball Burke Bag to kick off your fundraising – Ed.]
 Deltacraft reborn
Afloat has done it again.
It was due to an article in the August 2007 edition ‘Deltacraft Islander – Relax the old fashioned way’ by Ewan Kennedy that the Deltacraft owners club was born by lots of owners who love their boats.
A follow up article was published in November 2007 ‘The Delta Blues’ by John Gunter about someone who retrofitted bilge keels to alleviate the rolling.
All this has inspired me to put the Islander back into production in a much modernized 2010 version.
I originated the boat back in the 1970s, but it took the sheer enthusiasm of owners to make me realize that there just really isn’t any other boat out there quite like it, so here we go again!
Thanks Afloat … you truly are priceless! And thanks to the many Deltacraft owners, may you be always happy where ever you wander.
Steve Leonard,
Pittwater.
Casting lures against the side of moored boats
Yes, I too have problems with fishermen casting their lures against the side of my boat as Tony Triglone described (Afloat May’10).
A few years ago I took my pride and joy out of the water for her annual slipping and spent a considerable amount of money having the topsides professionally painted. Since then, the sides of the boat have become covered with dozens of chips and scratches from inconsiderate and self-centred fisherman who target the side of my boat with their weighted lures.
I have observed for years without any need for objection, fishermen luring their prey from underneath mine and other boats … and admit enjoying a touch of the anglers’ excitement while I wait to see what is being landed.
This has changed with the inconsiderate practice that has now developed.
I no longer cast a casual eye to see if the fisherman is having any luck, I now find I am watching to see if he is about to target the side of an adjacent boat with a carefully aimed projectile! Unfortunately my boat was featured (without my knowledge) in a locally made fishing video showing the presenter targeting fish under moored boats.
Judging from the amount of chips and scratches, my boat must be the only boat on Lake Macquarie with fish below it. I can only imagine the reaction if I were to accidentally scratch one of the offending persons’ pride and joy.
Gentlemen, please consider the consequences of your actions. Also consider that many eyes are watching you carrying out your chosen pastime, and take offence to this inconsiderate practice that has recently developed.
Glen Picasso,
Lake Macquarie.
Boat thieves
I have a solution that worked for me regarding Jim Ellis’s stolen tender (Afloat Jun’10).
I got three metres of chain and inserted it into a clear flexible tube (about 25mm). Insert the chain in your mooring grab handle and in the handle in front of the zodiac and use a lock.
You will need to tie a good float to one of the exposed chain links, in case you drop the chain. You only make that mistake once!
Yes, they could cut through the mooring grab handle but it is unlikely they would have the right type of saw.
If you think that could be an issue, you would need to connect a longer chain to your mooring chain and then have it connected to your Zodiac. At the back of the Zodiac where you secure the outboard there is a metal loop that could be more secure. Then they would need a hack saw.
Mark Skipper,
Saratoga, NSW.
 A ship of Liverpool
I was recently enthralled by a series of photographs by Alan Edwards of lands below 50°S. Among his photographs were views of the rusting hulk of a tall ship in Ocean Harbour, South Georgia and I wondered what she was.
Indeed, the photograph reminded me of another tall ship also abandoned in a remote bay … the James Craig, former Clan Macleod of 1874. For over 40-years James Craig had lain on the sandy bottom of Recherche Bay Tasmania before her extraordinary salvage and restoration and now the pride of the Sydney Heritage Fleet.
Today in Ocean Harbour is another iron built survivor of the age of sail and seemingly remarkably well preserved. For here lies Bayard a 2-deck full rigged ship built by T. Vernon & Son of Liverpool in 1864. She was built for Alexander & Young for the India service.
Bayard carried passengers on a number of voyages, including indentured labourers, to Fiji and the West Indies. By 1881 she joined the ubiquitous windjammers having been re-rigged as a barque. Four years later she struck an iceberg south of Cape Race and suffered serious damage with the loss of her bowsprit, jibboom, fore topgallant mast and yard.
With the demise of sail, and like many others of her kind, Bayard became a coaling ship and, for her, duty with the burgeoning South Georgia whaling industry. However, her coaling days were short lived, on 6th June 1911 a storm caused Bayard to part her moorings and she was blown onto rocks on the southern side of the bay.
I have no knowledge of Bayard calling at an Australian port, perhaps Afloat readers might be aware of any passages here. I suspect that Bayard as a full rigged ship is a rare ‘find’, certainly a very rare survivor of the age of sail.
I wonder if some gallant person or maritime museum might investigate if she still has a bottom and rescue her. And, like James Craig, she too may be on the water once more.
Should this be so, then clearly, her current occupants Phalacrocorax atriceps georgianus (Imperial Shag) would need to be rehoused to a more natural abode.
Rick Pool,
Jannali.
Min Min Lights of Pittwater
The light David Everdell refers to (Afloat Jul’10) is commonly called phosphorescence and is actually bioluminescence caused by micro organisms in the water.
It is possibly part of the natural defence system of the micro organisms which is triggered by the movement of water. To avoid predators the light either confuses them or illuminates more desirable prey than the micro organisms.
Phil Hare,
Greenwich.
Let’s not be too harsh on AVCG
Ross Constable’s comment on the “selfish stance taken by AVCG” (Afloat Jun’10), probably reflects how many people feel and it’s hard to disagree with him.
To understand, consider you are in charge of a national organisation like AVCG who rely on Government and community support. The State Government then decides to put in place its own similar organisation and threatens your volunteers that if they do not shift allegiances they will be out of a job, by virtue of withdrawing your operating accreditation and funding. Does not their arrogance in assuming your volunteers will bring all the assets with them annoy you just a little?
The NSW State Government through MRNSW, has stated that it wants to set a very high standard for Volunteer Marine Rescue operations, being both well funded and equipped, which is admirable. Should other states follow suit, AVCG could have the complete rug pulled out from under it.
Is this the way to treat an organisation that has given a wonderful and professional free service to the boating public?
As a result of this state’s action, a National marine rescue organisation, all working to the same standards and talking the same language, has been further eroded. We could now end up with seven different state and territory organisations, doing their own thing as usual. Is that progress?
Remember coastal sailors don’t care about state borders; they just want a seamless service when help and assistance is required.
I’m a member of MRNSW and AVCG and I can understand how we have arrived at this position, but I’m saddened that our politicians could not have found a way to achieve their goals without damaging a great organisation like AVCG.
The way the NSW Government has handled this issue is appalling … not dissimilar to the standards set by the Rudd Government.
In fact if the Rudd Government had kept to its pre-election promise to have a National Coast Guard (not necessarily AVCG) then all this could have been avoided.
Roger Evans,
Fishing Point, Lake Macquarie.
Marine Rescue Levy
In regard to the intended tax, I agree with Roger Evans of Fishing Point (Afloat Jul’10) that the tax is totally unfair.
Primarily, the majority of services provided by Marine Rescue pertain to ocean waters. Therefore, how can it be justified that boaters who use fresh water and rivers should contribute to this tax.
The income achieved by NSW Maritime yearly for licences and registration for recreational boating exceeds $40million per annum. Indeed, the better boating program has commenced to provide some improvements for boaters, however, this expenditure is less than 10% of the aforementioned revenues.
Graham Donald,
Croydon.
Marine Rescue – which bases will close?
As we see from the many letters in Afloat, the transition of the various rescue services has a number of problems. The latest controversy is the proposed ‘Marine Rescue Tax’ which is an unnecessary impost on the boating community.
There are other issues that are simmering beneath the surface too, not the least is the lack of transparency about which bases Marine Rescue NSW will shut down as part of the rationalisation process. The new commissioner will not commit to any decision and the resultant uncertainty is having a destabilising affect.
Port Stephens is a classic example where there are two rescue bases, one at Nelson Bay and the other at Lemon Tree Passage. Both have been happily co-existing and functioning effectively as purely volunteer services for many years, at no cost to the state, and generally, running costs have been from sponsorships and public support.
Most of the major financial support for Coastguard’s bases, replacement vessels and motors etc. has come from the Australian Volunteer Coastguard based in Victoria.
THAT is why the Coastguard is reluctant to simply give those assets to the New South Wales government, particularly as it seems that a number of Coastguard bases will be sacrificed.
Port Stephens is a large place. The road difference between the two bases is approximately 55 kilometres.
If Lemon Tree Passage is to be closed down as part of the new rationalisation process, then all the members will likely resign. Some of these people have been members of Coastguard for many years and have made a substantial contribution to rescues as well as the development and maintenance of the base and infrastructure.
These (past and present) volunteers have been the reason why the base has existed for 30 years. It will be difficult for them to simply walk away because the bureaucracy says they are no longer needed and it is withdrawing support for them.
How would you respond if put in this position?
Peter Mason,
Lemon Tree Passage.
Repainting of Danial Thain
I refer all to a news article that appeared in the Port Stephens Examiner on 8 July and subsequent comments in the Afloat Discussion Forum.
I was misquoted in the Examiner article as saying that the repainting of the Danial Thain had been paid for by Marine Rescue.
This statement obviously set all the Marine Rescue knockers’ hearts aflutter – at last we have something else to discuss that could delay the process of the final formation of Marine Rescue in NSW.
I repeat, I was misquoted.
The repainting of the Danial Thain into Marine Rescue livery was funded in full by the Nelson Bay Unit of Marine Rescue, and not one cent was received from the coffers of the State Government or Marine Rescue NSW.
All funds expended were raised in the usual fund-raising methods employed by all volunteer units – sponsors, raffles etc.
Malcolm Milliken, Unit Commander,
Marine Rescue NSW, Nelson Bay.
NSW bias towards a state rescue organistion
The AVCG is not asking the public to pay for the assets which they already own (Ross Constable’s letter Afloat Jun’10), in fact it is NSW Government along with MRNSW which is doing the asking.
Before this mess started (formation of the new rescue group) the three groups were roughly getting about $1.3 million.
Now we are looking at a figure of around $14 million! It could be more – who knows with a new TAX to help pay for it. There’s executives driving around in government cars, paid staff (the new deputy commissioner).
The volunteer side of things seemed to have gone out the window.
Also down the track a new VHF Marine repeater network that we don’t need (just fill in the existing gaps) and 96 or so new rescue vessels of various types. It appears that it’s jobs for the boys here. If something is not working the way the NSW Government would like it to they start up something new.
Just remember, this is a basically another TAX grab by the government of NSW and remember this is the same government that has ripped off money from the AVCG in Port Stephens in its Tower Tax grab (a voluntary and non-profit organization) that has been existing in Port Stephens for 30 years.
The assets belong to AVCG which just happens to be a national organisation. In fact the largest volunteer marine rescue service in Australia. Our volunteers work hard to raise funds to deliver marine rescue and education services across five states from Port Vincent, SA, to Cape York, Qld.
I have no problem in the NSW Government funding new marine repeaters, it’s something that they should do.
Think wisely, spend wisely and MRNSW is definitely not the way of the future. I have had almost 30 years service with the AVCG and I have seen the ups and downs of all aspects of rescue work.
Richard Osborne, OAM,
AVCG Port Stephens.
NSW election looms large
With respect to comments made by Messrs Chapman, Paull, Breuseker, Flett, Evans, Mason and Forsaith (Afloat July ’10), the last Saturday in March next year looms large … at least for those of us who live and vote in NSW.
Let’s return NSW Maritime to its core charter, and do away with the ever-hungry, fawning lap-dog of Treasury it has become under Labor rule.
Mitch Geddes,
Glades Bay.
 Making waves
 Destructive and dangerous waves destroy the environment, both the natural and the built. Time for an 8 Knot speed limit and courteous skippers!
The culprit in this case (one of very many, especially on weekends) was a 40ft motor cruiser travelling at a ‘moderate’ speed of about 12 knots.
John Vaughan,
Northbridge.
Found in Tasmania – tug George
The same day that my article ‘A Sentimental Journey with Tug Skipper Gordon Petersen’ was published (Afloat July’10) I was contacted by George’s new owner. The 1958-built tug George (ex-Macpete) is now based in Tasmania and has been lovingly restored.
What an extraordinary extensive readership you have.
Thank you, Afloat!
Randi Svensen,
Leura.
How the West was won
Every month I pick up free copy of Afloat from Royal Perth Yacht Club and enjoy a damn good read. The articles are of great interest to an ageing yachty from WA. However, when I read in the June edition the article on Perth written by Gregory Blaxell, I was disappointed.
How Mr Blaxell’s black armband view of WA could be considered of interest to the boating public, I don’t know. I don’t pretend to know how much Eastern Staters know about the West but you won’t learn much about us from that article.
However, having said that, all I know about Sydney is what I read in Robert Hughes’s book The Fatal Shore and Ray Parkin’s magnum opus HM Bark Endeavour.
If you want to read something about the early days of WA, may I suggest buying a copy of the Diary and Letters of Admiral Sir C H Fremantle, GCB published by the Fremantle Arts Centre Press in 1979, or some of the works by Leslie Marchant on the history of the French exploration of the coast of WA.
Dave Tierney,
Darch, WA.
 Refuge Bay Waterfall
What memories that photo on last month’s front cover brings back.
My father Bert Wilson, founding member of the CYCA and early Commodore, with the crew of the 36ft steel sloop Patience took pipes and cement in the mid 1950s to replace the old cliff-top pipe.
 How much joy generations have shared for so little cost. (Just like reading Afloat!)
Centenary of Burranneer / Taeping
I am seeking help in tracing the history of an old sailing vessel Burraneer about 25ft long on deck with a 4ft bowsprit and huge ‘barn door’ rudder. She was later renamed Taeping.
She was built in Burraneer Bay in 1911, possibly by William Ellis. Owned by Cliff Gale and later by Frank Coates, she won races in the Anniversary Regatta in the 1920s and I owned her in 1967. By then she was fitted with a 10/12 Simplex, and the wooden mast was painted with aluminium paint. I sold her to a Mr Bob Young of Elanora Heights in late 1967 (with much regret I might add!)
Next year will be her centenary year and it would be great to know if she is still afloat or her fate.
 HMAS Lolita
I’m seeking more information about the motor launch Lolita designed sometime during the 1930s by Holmes Bros for owner H. Small of chocolate fame.
Lent to the Navy during WWII, HMAS Lolita was part of the Hollywood Fleet based in Sydney Harbour on the night of the Japanese midget submarine attack. Commanded by Warrant Officer Herbert S. Anderson, the crew dropped two depth charges on the baby sub caught in the net but they failed to explode in the shallow water.
Lolita was making her third attack when the midget submarine self-destructed, lifting the Channel Patrol Boat out of the water in the violent explosion.
Sadly, the historical texts give little information about Lolita’s specifications and design features. The best that can be said is that she had similar lines to the Halverson motor launches of the day, such as Sea Mist and Steady Hour, but was lighter.
According to the skipper’s surviving son the vessel was fitted with a bathtub, much to his father’s delight. Lolita was wrecked following an explosion and fire at Madang in June 1945. I welcome reader feedback before this vessel is lost to history.
Steven Carruthers,
[Author: Australia Under Siege (1982),
Japanese Submarine Raiders 1942: A Maritime Mystery (2006)]
Tel: 02 9905 1330; email casper_565@hotmail.com
PO Box 225, Narrabeen, NSW 2101. |
