Features

An incredible designer, builder and competitor. 1951 JJ Giltinan world champion, Bill Barnett The late Bill Barnett was a famous sailing identity who designed, built and raced world champion boats from 18ft Skiffs to international 12 metre class yachts to challenge…

(And it hits Quirky) No, not cannon balls or scurvy. Did you see the item from Dudley Pope in David Salter’s literary extracts in the last Afloat about disease in the navy? He missed out on one…

The discovery by a local diver of two large ship propellers on the sea floor of Darwin Harbour has offered a completely new interpretation of the events around the sinking of USS Peary on 19 February, 1942. The propellers appear to be…

Hugh Treharne is one of Australia’s greatest sailors. He was tactician on The America’s Cup-winning Australia II in 1983, a renowned 16ft and 18ft Skiff sailor, a widely recognised sailmaker and a world champion blue water yachtsman. In acknowledgement of his marvellous achievements, Hugh…

Brisbane led the way in the transition from the four-handed 18ft Skiffs to the three-handers in the late 1950s, but it was the late Len Heffernan who took up the challenge to introduce the new style boats to Sydney, when the local clubs initially…

Back in 2011, after we lost ’arry Driftwood, we asked Quirky if he could come up with a Christmas article for our December 2011 issue. He did. Then we asked if he had any more. He had just published the book Foul Bottoms with…

‘arry Driftwood was a regular and much-loved columnist for Afloat. He lived aboard his yacht Driftwood. He was a committed socialist and one of his favourite things was his daily trip ashore for a coffee and an argument – all in good humour. On…

Australia’s pre-eminent marine artist, the Albany-based Ross Harry Shardlow, has been honoured with Membership in the Order of Australia. The official recognition, announced by the Governor General in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours, is a fitting tribute to Shardlow’s extraordinary artistic talent and to…

The flash and crack of a lightning strike becomes a very vivid memory for anyone unfortunate enough to be hit while at sea. Although lightning strikes can be fatal, they also cause concern due to the potential damage. A lightning strike can be hard…

Have you ever heard of “Micturition syncope”? This is a fainting spell that can occur during or, more commonly, immediately after urination due to a severe drop in blood pressure. On board, such a collapse is not only particularly dangerous, but…

The 128-year history of Australia’s 18 Footers is famous for having generations of a family competing over many years.  Occasionally, even two generations are competing together or against each other at the same time. What sets the Kulmar family apart from the…

Jim Broadside is locked in the fo’csle but it didn’t stop him from sending his latest Nautical Quiz via carrier pigeon. AFLOAT NAUTICAL QUIZ 287 1.     The founder and leader of the WW2 Coastwatchers was:   Commander Eric A Feldt RAN…