“Storm oil” could be deployed upwind in a container attached, for example, to a sea anchor, from which it slowly released its contents. Like nutmeg on butternut squash, storm oil was effective even when applied in tiny amounts.

We talked about the boat and his sailing life in Lamu. So many of his issues were the same as ours; dwindling timber supplies, increasing maintenance costs, changing weather patterns. Within a few minutes he had invited us for a sail on his smaller double ended dhow the SAFINA to learn a little about how to sail a lateen rigged boat and to enjoy the waters of the mangrove clad Lamu channel at the height of the off season.

The Police Report reads - “saw floating in the water the left arm of a human being, which had apparently been wrenched from the body at the shoulder joint. We retrieved the arm from the water and on examining it found that it had two large incised wounds on the upper and lower parts respectively. We also found that on the inside forearm there was a tattoo mark of two men in the fighting attitude.

In no particular order we bring you three boats that caught the editor’s eye this week. A motor boat on Pittwater,A Twister in the UK, and a Crayboat in Queensland.

Container losses in 2024 were influenced by ongoing disruption in the Red Sea region, which led to a significant shift in global trade routes. Vessel transits around the Cape of Good Hope increased by 191% compared to 2023. This area is well-known for hazardous maritime conditions, which contributed to a concentration of losses. The South African Maritime Safety Authority says around 200 containers were lost in this region alone.

Organized by the Royal Barcelona Yacht Club (Real Club Náutico de Barcelona), the regatta welcomed historic yachts from over 10 countries and nearly 400 sailors, reaffirming its prestige and outstanding international appeal.

“It was when she neatly sailed off her anchor the first morning of the racing, completed her first race and dropped her anchor under-sail again that the trouble began. A complaint was put to the race committee that all these manoeuvres could not possibly be carried out on a boat this size with a crew of three, safely! This, despite the fact that all the manoeuvres had gone without a hitch. The committee did not say who had complained , but it obviously upset Hugh and his young crew. Might be why I found myself learning Coral’s ropes as the fourth crew member the very next day. “

The film centers on Ian King, the late Harbourmaster of American River inlet, as well as colleague and mentor of Chris. The documentary has connections to towns like Victor Harbor and especially the coastal people along the trading routes across South Australia. It also captures the inevitable changes over time from working harbour to a holiday destination.

“We gybed at Bembridge and pushed hard as we didn’t know what we would face at Ventnor and St Catherine’s.  We debated whether to go high and hope for breeze under the cliffs or to take the rum line.  In the end, we stayed inshore and it paid off.  There was less breeze, but we wriggled through before the big wind hole came in.”

Applications go beyond construction. Superwood is like carbon fiber, but less brittle, and carbon fiber is already used in everything from sports equipment and tennis shoes to race cars and airplanes. The last notable wooden airplane was the De Havilland Mosquito, in World War II, but in a future of eVTOLs, otherwise known as “flying cars,” a material like Superwood could be in demand.

Among other maintenance items was a touch-up to her name on the stern and sides - and as the slipway's budding if amateur signwriter I was given the job. The long stern presented a challenge.

She is not currently in sailing order but has had considerable work done on her over the last 15 years. If you are prepared to do a little more, and respect timeless design and irrefutable provenance, you could do a lot worse than take a look at this 32ft double ended gem.

Less well known is the huge effort that went into that campaign 65-years ago, and its uniquely Australian “hands-on” character. When they were not actually sailing, everyone involved contributed their skills, experience and plain hard yakka.

A gathering of this weeks wooden boat news onto one eclectic page!

Wet and shivering, I rose from the outrigger of a Polynesian voyaging canoe. We’d been at sea all afternoon and most of the night. I’d hoped to get a little rest, but rain, wind and an absence of flat space made sleep impossible. My companions didn’t even try.

“The judge, the pianist, and workman,” he wrote, are interpreters. “Interpreters are always necessary because instructions are always incomplete.” The workman can do with his eye what the judge does with intuition and logic, what the pianist does with intuition and ear: he or she can measure with astonishing accuracy those things that can never be specified, isolate nuances that are too subtle to be described. No law book could be complete enough to handle the specifics of every individual case; no musical score could possibly convey how long each note must hang in the air, or precisely how loudly it should sound out; no boat design could determine a single, absolute outcome of every curve.

PS we don't have sail numbers as per the regatta sailing instructions because skiffs using characteristic unique symbols out date sail numbers. 

Bits and pieces from around the wooden boat world

Described by WoodenBoat magazine as “one of the best-maintained and sailed classic yachts in the country—if not the world,” the 93-year-old Sparkman & Stephens design came to Rockport Marine last year to capitalize on the company’s traditional wooden-boat building skills to replace aging frame ends, floor timbers, some planking, and driveline.

Some of this week’s news and stories from around the wooden boat world.