The mid 1990’s. Two locals begin rowing round a few of the older boats asking if anyone might be interested to participate in the revival of a Regatta based at Mahurangi. The rest is history.

Can we draw your attention to the smile on the chap, about to christen the bow of his boat with a bottle of beer. Sums it all up. Priceless.

The story is brilliant … However what I found difficult to grasp was the genre. Was what I was reading based on documented research or extrapolations from the imagination of my author?

In many ways the post-war wooden, Southern Australian Cray Fishing boats are ideally suited to become cruising vessels. Listen to a man who has actually lived the dream and dodged the pitfalls.

The Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club held the inaugural Noosa Gaff Rig regatta in 2019 in conjunction with a local charity on the banks of the Noosa River…And now there are plans to do it again.

…Somewhere in this spectrum fits Tim Severin who died three weeks ago in West Cork, Ireland. In my teenage years I read “The Brendan Voyage” a few times, relishing his account of both the research and the execution of his greatest adventure…

The photographs and article come all the way from Hungary.  The images speak for themselves of family bonds, of patient learning, of persistence and of dreams. This is the story of Eight And A Half.

The famous Sunstone is for sale in Nelson, New Zealand, and for the right custodian she would be the most rewarding combination of form, function and provenance.

“When Melbourne went into stage three lock down in July 2020, we lost the opportunity to go sailing in our beautiful wooden boats.”

70 years after her first trip to Hobart, this little boat is heading south again this year, in the hands of husband and wife team Anne Lawrence and John Whitfield.

“I knew there were already plans to electrify the lights. To automate. To relegate man beneath machines. To make us redundant. To take all the purpose out of life. As if richness did not lie in purpose and meaning but in leisure. I was keenly aware that I was in love with a dying life.”

PODCAST ONE - In this our very first podcast we speak with ANT PERRI, BOAT COOK EXTRAORDINAIRE! Get a pen and paper to jot down his tips and tricks.