Wangany Mala follows the journey of young Muslim woman Nirmala as she works on the construction of a traditional pinisi boat and learns to sail, all while navigating her faith and family expectations.

At present what there is of the wood bank is kept in a dirty, dusty corner of a shed with no firefighting facilities (apart from a single small diameter hose). The timber is jammed in behind a vast wall of other timber. There has been no actual audit of the timber since its establishment, some boat builders who have tried to buy timber are appalled that sometimes good wood is mixed with low quality craft wood

In Melbourne you might catch the D6 Tram down Flinders Street, alighting at the French Renaissance style Flinders St Station. In South Australia a geology student from Flinders University, might undertake field work in the nearby Flinders Ranges

Two feet of her bow was missing; the cabin house had mostly disappeared as she ground her way upside down across the outer reefs that protect Panawina and the other islands of the archipelago; all but one of her oars were gone; and her valuable equipment had been shared among the islanders. Interestingly, when her wrecked cabin disgorged its load of water she righted herself and remained so until she was found.

A serious of photographs from a month aboard a wooden boat.

Here are the details of seven upcoming diverse wooden boat festivals… Whether you are in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Queensland or Auckland, there’s a celebration to get involved with. The pulse of our special field of interest seems to be beating a little more strongly!

On Sunday 17 December 2023, TANDANYA sailed south and down the Coles Channel to QCYC for the night. On Monday 18 December James Waters and James Spencer joined the crew as Mate and Sailing Master respectively. By some miracle the hoped for weather window presented itself.

The YVONNE project has been an integral part of the life of some of my closest friends for seven years now. So when we heard that the seminal British publication “Classic Boat” had selected her to be on the short list of best “Restored Sailing Vessel under 40ft” then it is cause for celebration.

First noted in the 3rd century BCE, the Romans called this game ‘capita aut navia’, meaning heads or ships, and both its invention and its name are shrouded in mystery.

At days end my retreat is a cool wine bar overlooking the fleet. Young cosmopolitans mixed with grandmothers and priests, not a sailor in sight, endless delicious anti-pasta free with the excellent local wine. I have realised that pretty well every boat here except ours is professionally crewed. A youthful full-of-it-ness camaraderie characterises their beery off-duty hours.

Today’s big news is that a vessel heading east has agreed to take myself and Jon out to Panawina on their way to a nearby island on a cargo run. We leave tomorrow afternoon and will be sleeping on the laid decks under the stars as she steams through the night under the watchful eye of her owner, Samuel.

I could not believe my luck! Ten days earlier I had a small glimmer of hope that Maiwar had landed on an isolated island, but this was solid evidence!

The Arka Kinari – a name formed from the Latin word for vessel, and a Sanskrit name for a half human, half bird musician that guards the tree of life – is a 70-tonne sailing ship that serves as a home, touring vessel, music venue and creative project for Filastine and Nova, who mix Javanese folk with psychedelic synths and percussion.

“This was our first Christmas at sea.  My wife surprised me with a large tin of tobacco, and I surprised her with a package of her favourite cigarettes. She had certainly bought both, and I had been aware of their existence all along, but that did not lessen our surprise or render the presents less appreciated.”

A vessel is registered as historic after a rigorous process, including their relevance to Australia’s social history, and their particular significance to our maritime heritage.

“One of the best things about the class, he says, is the people. “I've met a lot of good people and some of them are my best mates now which is pretty amazing. If they aren’t mates they become mates pretty quick.” 

Lars Halvorsen’s five sons and family created what became the largest and most famous Australian boatbuilders of their era, later taking their skills to Hong Kong and China, with exports all over the world. The story is one of hardship and passion, stoicism in the face of great adversity.

You look out onto the vistas of forests, or plains or desert and absorb their stillness and beauty, taking it all into your heart and mind. This is made easier if you are horseback or in the company of a good dog.

With constant evolving sailing technology and boat designs, it is becoming increasingly more important to remind ourselves of the heritage of yacht racing. A nod to the enduring legacy of classic yachts and their pivotal role in shaping the RSHYR has given rise to a dedicated two-day regatta

HOANA, like most old wooden boats, has a tenuous monetary value. Humanity's notions of progress place little value on the thousand-year-old particles in her veins, even less on her vanished forest ancestry.