From the beginnings of the novel in the 17th century until the present day, the sea has provided a compelling backdrop for storytelling. Be they tales of adventure and derring-do, romance, philosophy, historical, political or geographical drama, the allure of the sea is strong.

Half a dozen finished boards rested against a wall, their lacquer shimmering in the morning light, but what immediately caught the eye were the intricate patterns embedded in their facades.

After sixty years of constant use the entire boat has been stripped back to bare inside and out.

He looked at his father and discovered he was ankle-deep in water. Then he looked over his shoulder to the vastness of the Pacific. “There were three orcas; a daddy, mummy and a baby in between. The daddy’s head was split open and bleeding badly.”

Although he designed racing and cruising yachts, it was fishing boats that launched his commercial career. The introduction of high-powered diesel engines was a significant change and needed someone able to calculate the power and propeller requirements, along with the best hull shape and construction, if the craft was to achieve its desired performance

Having sailed hard in the big winds in the early part of the week and then dominating in the light breeze in the second half of the regatta, it was the Metre yachts that triumphed overall

"When you are out at sea for months on end and you don't get to see your family, it's also like a nice warm beacon that reminds you that civilisation is just on the coast right there. It gives them a feeling we are there to look after them and help them get on with their journey safely.

South Passage’s reason for being is sail training, a term which, these days, is lost on many people. To para-phrase Irving Johnson: sail training is not about preparing young people for a life at sea; rather, sail training uses the challenge of voyaging on a sailing a ship to prepare young people for life.

With her distinctive raised deck, pretty canoe stern and unique shear strake, CARESS is the epitome of a truly classic design from a past era.

As I write British Classic Week is half way through its program (report to come), and the Aucklanders run a good Racing Weekend, but apart from the Sydney Hobart Veterans Regatta on the Harbour, there is a dearth of genuinely competitive sailing events exclusively for heritage boats in Australia.

Bertrand Russell wrote… “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” I’m a huge admirer of Russell’s work and values and so perhaps I shouldn’t be encouraging you to take a look at this auction.

As long as there has been transportation to faraway places, people have been sneaking on board. But the illicit act didn’t have a name in English until 1848, when “stowaway,” a derivative of “stow away,” entered the language.

The Pacific proa configuration has many advantages, including considerably less load on the beams, and thus the rig.  Having the ama to windward, although seemingly counterintuitive, is actually safer, as its weight, combined with reserve buoyancy in the main hull’s leeward pod, makes the boat much more resistant to capsize.

In 1953 the first marine plywood trailable yacht designed for home construction, the Silhouette, emerged in the UK. The idea took off and by 1960 there were over a thousand sailing throughout the world. The concept was adopted by Richard Hartley in New Zealand who designed the Hartley TS16, and her big sisters the TS18 and TS21: a range of trailable multi-chined plywood yachts.

It was an easy but painful decision to abandon SOLUTION. She was clearly sinking. I estimated  that the water was rising an inch every ten minutes and it was now completely covering the  floorboards, with 8 inches to go before it covered the main batteries located beneath the lower  bunks in the main cabin.

Which part of Warner’s custodianship these films cover is unclear. However the word ‘Aloha” hints that it might be about the Trans Pac Race? So what we are hoping to find is an SWS reader with the expertise and technology to transfer these reels into a digital format so that we can share them with our community!

This week the news item below appeared on YouTube. It’s six months out of date but when wooden boat sailing hits the main stream (Channel 7) then SWS should be there to highlight the moment!

She meets a lanky Australian engineer Graeme, with a yen to sail around the world, and together they buy HOPE a traditional wooden gaff-rigged cutter and grab adventure with both hands.

"It shouldn't just be a small organisation in Darwin trying to save this vessel, it should be the Australian government looking after the heritage of their military history." Mr Brokenshire said the vessel was "sacred" to a lot of military people.

EVENING TIDE was originally commissioned by Frank Collins who, in 1978, started Collins Marine, now NANNI Diesel Australia. As a keen yachtsman, and at that time, a Renault automotive dealer located in Sydney, it was a natural fit for a person with an engineering background and a strong passion for sailing to get involved in the distribution of marine diesel engines.