When Scott Patrick took Wistari out for her 51st race we thought she deserved an appropriate escort of vintage timber yachts. It would be the 18th Gladstone for Pagan, my 1962 Tasman Seabird, and the first time Dan Deburiatte skippered 1959 Joanne Brodie in the race up the coast. Wistari sure as hell didn’t wait around for us though. 

When it came to Classic boats on the big screen, the readers of SWS took it to a whole other level - here’s what you had to say!

We memorize the rising and setting points of stars and use those to orient ourselves in our physical space so that we can navigate from place to place. I used to think that we would go to things. But that island out there was always there and all you’re doing in your place is you’re making it come to you.

Thanks to Jaemie Wilson for telling us about this rare opportunity. CORINNA, Perhaps the only huon pine international Dragon ever built is being offered free to a good home. Her condition is described as “Dilapidated”.

Albert Park Lake in Melbourne and Lake Wendouree in Ballarat are large, freshwater, metropolitan lakes, often forgotten for their contribution to boating, yacht design and racing for 150 years.

SWS is 5 months young and as we Grow, we’re also evolving. Our aim is to continually offer our readers rich content and to involve more voices. this week we are delighted to launch a new section - EVENTS.

134 years ago today, on 22 April 1887, a cyclone struck the pearling fleet at Ninety Mile Beach near Broome claiming 140 lives. The storm was unexpected, as it was late into the season, so the fleet had very little warning of the approaching danger.

A second wonderful piece from Tim Phillips aboard the Jane Kerr. Tim is undoubtably one of the last true woodenboat adventurers. An inspiration for those of us looking for more from our time on water than sailing well varnished, museum pieces, around in small triangles!

So here it is, SWS’s TOP 5 ALL TIME CLASSIC MOMENTS AFLOAT! If you have a film featuring a wooden boat of which you are particularly fond, let us know. Preference given to craft of the Southern Hemisphere.  It’s all up for debate and your input.

Quick trivia question : Name three yachts that arrived off Battery Point, at the end of the Sydney-Hobart, believing they were line honours winners, only to be denied by the protest committee?

Peter Warner may have won line honours in three Sydney to Hobart Races and narrowly missed a fourth by less than a minute but perhaps he was better known for his rescue of 6 Shipwrecked,Tongan teenagers.

What John Wilson doesn’t know about Tiwi Culture, the land and sea is not worth knowing. This quiet gentleman is a walking encyclopaedia of local knowledge. John is gifted with smiling eyes that draw you in and leave you wanting to know more, such as the story of Australia’s oldest boat.

If you are perhaps needing motivation to push on with your own restoration or naturally a night owl, it could well be worth registering for The 2021 Classic Boat Awards, an online event that due to it’s location, unfolds in the wee small hours of a Southern Hemisphere morning.

So, when I was given a copy of South Sea Vagabonds by Johnny Wray I assumed it was going to be another entertaining but outdated, perhaps pompous account of a privileged white man’s parade through the islands. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When an ageing farmer took archaeologist Bob Sheppard aside and pointed high into the rafters of his old hay shed, the history lover could not quite believe his eyes.

Having spent all his summers on the Bellarine Peninsula Oscar Perri assumed Queenscliff to be the natural home of the famous Couta boat…Turns out, where there’s wood, there’s a story worth following.

Salar 40s were designed to be safe, comfortable, and seaworthy, and to travel long distances. ‘A round the world yacht’ was the marketing slogan when the boat was built, and it wasn’t just hot air.

The success of a yachting class often rests with a few unforeseen events and decisions. For over 90 years two similar boats, the Tumlaren and the Dragon have competed for devotees.

I’m developing another theory which is almost the inverse. It goes something like this…. “The amount of pleasure per dollar gained from owning a wooden boat is inversely proportional to its length.”

After a tumultuous 2020 and a busy Christmas period we decided on a turnkey cruise! Squally Cove is beautifully set-up and so, so easy to live on. The Kent Group — I just love the place… Fishing, walking, swimming, scenery, it’s got the lot.