Zonja: Lost and Found
Tarna #91 & Zonja #92 cross the finish at St Kilda, C1945
Charlie Salter, Custodian of
the black Tumlaren, SIROCCO sent us this story. hopefully Zonja is now heading towards a happy ending!
Lost & FOUND
A post last year about a Tumlaren on the Instagram account @tum.lare_melbourne prompted a family member to respond and start a trail of connections that led us to a boat that had disappeared for some 20 or more years. Last Saturday, #92 ZONJA emerged from a shed 50kms from Melbourne. This is a boat with great pedigree being one of the original five pre-war Tumlaren cruisers commissioned in 1937 to start the fleet at St Kilda. She was built by J J Savage & Sons in Williamstown for Fred Heber.
By 1939/40, the Tumlaren fleet had grown to eight and was enjoying very competitive racing. With VJ day still months away, the hiatus of the Pacific war was relieved by racing recommencing in the summer of 1944/45. By now boats were seeking any competitive advantage. In 1947 Jack Greig, ZONJA’s skipper was the first to shorten the cabin top by 18 inches allowing the crew to stack the weather deck which was considered “unsporting”. While the stripped out day-sailor set-up is now common, the Tumlaren Trustees refused race entry until the cabin was restored fearing the boat could be swamped in heavy seas, while insisting the crew remain “inboard”.
Wally Johnston bought ZONJA from Otto Meik after crewing on her under skipper Otto Tuck in the 1960’s and sailed her until the mid 70’s. Wally’s daughter, Elizabeth Harding @sharkboat_roma (“she who dies with the most wooden boats wins”), was ZONJA’s foredeck hand and maintenance officer in her school holidays. EH sent us the photo of a barometer presented to her father by RMYS in 1970/71 and still kept by the Harding family.
The current owner who had sailed Tumlaren #201 VAHINE for many years, brought ZONJA home to Melbourne from Adelaide in the 1995/96 season. His plan was to reinstate the original Knud Reimers cruiser layout with a few personal modifications for comfortable sailing on Corio Bay.
Sadly, he died in 2008 within sight of finishing the boat with “pop-pink” topsides. A new suit of Hooper sails was already delivered and have never left the bag. The owner’s family have taken great care to cover and store the boat for the last 12 years.
ZONJA is 75% complete with the heavy lifting done by a meticulous craftsman. The ribs are replaced, celery top planking is fully splined, new deck installed and keel dropped ready for installing new bolts. This is a terrific project for a wooden boat enthusiast to finish and re-join the growing fleet of restored Tumlaren around Victoria and Hobsons Bay.
Thanks to the late Bert Ferris RMYS Historian - “Royal Melbourne’s Remarkable Tumlarens”
WRITER // Charlie Salter
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If the above sparks your passion to share your story of restoration with SWS, drop us a line!