But the takeaway for me as one of the current custodians, is that I didn't realise how much these old wooden boats still meant to the people who had been involved with them.

An upright, quietly spoken gentleman in a captain’s cap introduced himself, and without any hint of self-engrandisment, made it clear that he knew what he was talking about when it came to wooden boats.

The ancient continent of Sahul was comprised of Australia and PNG, when sea levels were much lower. It’s to this continent that the ancestors of Australian Aboriginal people came.

Another major piece of evidence in this discrepancy, is that my model is carrying on its mainmast, now very discoloured, the House Flag of Robert and John Craig, Glasgow

The creators of GLORIA were certainly looking for perfection during their 15 year build at Wilson’s in Cygnet. I’m not sure if they achieved contentment but they certainly created one of the most special yachts in Australia.

While we came away with enough content to keep these pages filled for a month or two, this week we choose instead to simply share some images from an unforgettable four days.

For some time at SWS, we’ve been discussing the need to dip a toe in the pool of offering our readers online products - and here we are launching with three. Welcome to our SHOP! Please come inside!

WARNING : Do not watch this video while driving. Just as there are those who prefer wood over plastic, humans can be further divided into good sleeps and poor sleepers. This article is for the later.

This joint exhibition examines the connection between the ‘Elements’ and ‘Shelter’. At sea amongst it, in an anchorage seeking it and ashore being comforted by it.

In today’s world many of us cry out for ways to express our individuality and character. Many of our manufactured possessions are white and precision made from plastic or metal, it is rare for us to give them a name or character.

The purpose of any rating rule is to enable yachts of different sizes to race together fairly. Without a rating rule there could be no enjoyable racing as, barring unforeseen circumstances, the largest yacht (and the richest owner) would always win.

From modest beginnings, never lacking family love, Bill found in himself a deep and abiding fascination for working with wood, primarily in helping to create some of the most famous yachts ever built in Australia.

I somehow knew, deep down, that the sculptor within had work to do, and that any luxury or convenience, anything impure or extraneous, was a hindrance and distraction.

I think to myself, isn't it great that we have people in the world, passionate master craftsmen like my good mate Eddy, who put all their love into a project such as Boongown, until it just seeps from every surface and inspires the admiration of everyone who sees it or is lucky enough to climb aboard.

“The day I on got on-board that thing at Palm Beach, I sat in the corner and thought, ‘shit this feels good’, Roscoe says.
“You don’t fall in love with every boat”, he adds.

So we have Andrew’s interpretation of reality rather than reality itself. His feelings and emotions are woven through these pictures like threads in a tapestry. This is not something a documentary photographer does lightly. It throws your work wide open to judgement.

The chosen social media platform at SWS is instagram… so here are nine feeds that should be covering the AWBF event if you can’t make it in person. There’s plenty of existing content from their journeys to the festival and hopefully plenty of imagery to come from Hobart

The forces at play once the five working sails all fill are huge and mistakes can be very costly. Since her first Gaffers Day back in the early 1980s the yacht has always sailed under the command of her owner, Sir James Hardy OBE. But, regrettably, ‘Gilbert’ was unable to take the helm this year and nominated me to skipper the boat in his place.

“Wife and I dragged the Mirror out of the shed where it has sat, unused, for 20 years. Started first time. Had a ball at the Invy regatta, highly recommended, great club and people.”

With an (almost) long weekend upon us, there are worse ways to spend your time than to settle down, perhaps in a quiet anchorage, and listen to four podcasts from the ABC, all discussing books about islands.