“I came to understand that life is best to be lived with many adventures, preferably enjoyed on or by the water.”

This crazy little film, made this week, starts off a little slow… but soon picks up, and somehow warms the heart!

John Brown suggested it - a round up of the D Boys. I was curious, how is it that this group of kids from Kettering, or there-abouts, has jumped on board the Derwent Class? Not as crew, but as custodians. Fully engaged, fully into it and loving their D’s. Listen to this wonderful conversation and be inspired.

Why did this have to end? The perfect weather, the beautiful craft, the friendships… did we really have to go home the next day?

What is almost as impressive as the aesthetic, is the historical accuracy of the paintings…”The start was off Rose Bay between Clark and Shark Islands. Rose Bay beach is in the background.”

The first images of the ship since those taken by Shackleton’s photographer, Frank Hurley, revealed parts of the vessel in astonishing detail. An image of the stern showed the name ENDURANCE above a five-pointed star

These brands act as a reminder of a time when local was good, when small could be beautiful and one craftsperson with a sewing machine could dream of powering the boats of champions.

From dancing at Governors' balls in distant colonies, to evading pirates and meeting armed Indigenous warriors on remote Australian shores, to surviving shipwreck in the wintry Falkland Islands, Rose used her quick pen to record her daily experiences

There are two enticing small craft events on offer, both with a proven track record and within a fortnight and 60kms of each other.

One squally day or stormy night about 1,700 years ago, a boat carrying hundreds of amphorae of wine, olives, oil and garum – the fermented fish sauce that so delighted the ancient palate – came to grief during a stopover in Mallorca.

A couple of weekends ago, while covering the Inverloch Classic Dinghy Regatta for SWS, I was struck by the history and beauty of retro design encapsulated in the cloth badges of the sailmakers from the 1950’s 60’s & 70’s.

This was a weekend to celebrate the boats and the shipwrights who maintain them. The willingness to share information, answer questions and put in for each other is the way. While we like to sail well, winning races has small interest for this classic community.

There is a varied and enriching selection of events on offer, that brings to live the wooden boat building and associated crafts of the Huon Valley and the Channel Region South of Hobart.

When the English pirate Henry Every seized treasures from the 1,500-ton GANJ-I-SAWAI owned by India’s Grand Mughal Aurangzeb, off the coast of Surat in September 1695, it was the heist of the 17th century.

Then throw into the mix a beautifully preserved Rainbow, a stunning diagonal planked Finn, an original Cherub, a few Minnows, a 145 (the bigger brother of the well know 125) a couple of cruising dinghies, a brace of Sabres and you’ve got yourself a regatta.

I’m just about over online events… I’m craving reality. I’m done with “virtual” for the moment…. However, If you’re going to have an online event you might as well do it properly.

We just said to family and friends, that we would contact them in about a month when we arrived. “We'll see you when we see you”.

“We’re totally thrilled to have the participation of our Australian mates, but there are ethical protocols within the field of archaeology that everyone should respect.”

The Kettering Wooden Boat Rally 2022 – if you didn’t happen to make it, here’s what you missed. Welcome to a place where you can smell the wood shavings. Here varnish is thick, history alive and passion is real. Old boats are and always have been, a way of life in Tasmania. Old boats don’t come to Kettering to die, they come here to thrive.

A Photographic Essay-450NM, five friends, a 66 year old boat, a home made tender, a double rip swimmer, a mainsail with 12,000NM on the clock…(time for a new one!)