GM’s Log – October 2018

It’s great to see a swell of support coming in late (this is Tasmania, after all, and we do tend to sprint towards the finish) with many boat owners putting their applications in for Boats Afloat, with less than two weeks to go now before the cut-off date.  The selection panel has been impressed with the variety and quality of the submissions and it’s shaping up to be a fine display on the Hobart waterfront.

We’re also delighted to see one of the best fields for the Parade of Sail that we’ve seen in years, with at leasat twelve principal vessels in the fleet, including the mighty James Craig, Soren Larsen, One and Allfrom Adelaide, Julie Burgessfrom Devonport, Enterprizefrom Melbourne and the remarkable sight of both Endeavours – the RAN training ship Young Endeavour and the Australian National Maritime Museum’s magnificent replica ship Bark Endeavour, sailing up the River Derwent.  They’ll be accompanied by the ‘home fleet’, with popular favourites Windeward Bound,Yukon, Rhona H, Kerrawyn and Mallana hoisting their sails in procession.  Given a fair wind and a sunny day, it promises to be a rousing sight – you wouldn’t want to be without your camera.

There’s good news, too on the Boats Ashore front, with a special surprise arranged by Windeward Bound’s skipper, Capt. Sarah Parry, to christen a brand new lay-out for Boats Ashore, at centre stage in Mawson Place. With extra shade and the roadway closed to traffic, this promises to be what boat owners have been asking for – better protection from the wind and sun and a brilliant central location with plenty of boats to see and (carefully) touch.

Model boats are back in the Waterside Pavilion with more than 80 superb examples to look at and for the first time, a new exhibit just a few steps away at the Hobart City Hall – a remarkable attempt to bring together hundreds of model ships in bottles in a red-hot attempt at the Guinness Book of World Records score for the most displayed in one place at one time.  Scrimshaw is back, too.  This antique artform from the early maritime history of Hobart will be on display at the Maritime Museum of Tasmania during the MyState Bank Australian Wooden Boat Festival.

All of this and a good deal more will be described in the Advance Program for the four-day festival, due out in November and distributed by festival media partner The Mercury. Look for it in your Saturday paper!

Paul Cullen

General Manager