GRETEL Connections
David Salter’s article in SWS inspired a couple of interesting comments sent to SWS this week.
Note the pole lashed to the boom as a crane extension!
Nancy Vada Gibb was the author of one of my favourite ever stories in SWS. This week she wrote to us from Christchurch.
Gretel visited the Bowen Slipway in North Qld in early 1983 ... At that time she was owned or managed by Trevor Cook of Airlie Beach. 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.
And by the way one of the photos in the old magazine is actually Gretel in the Whitsundays - the same year - showing the name on the stern clearly. I can’t actually claim whether I did it or not - mine was a touch-up.
We’d only been back in Bowen a month or so after our circumnavigation.
Regards,
Nancy (turned 85 last month…)
And this from Martin Bryan
I sailed on GRETEL when she was back at RYCV wih Jock Sturrock & Barry Scott in the syndicate. She had no engine, and our weekend flying trips around the bay became legendary with guests like English comedian Warren Mitchell , Graham Perkin editor of The Age & of course Jock who loved that boat. The more scotch he had, his head would take the angle of the boat, & he would say softly “I’m in the groove”.
Jock Sturrock Image - Graeme Andrews OAM MA