HOBART WOODEN BOAT SHOW

Kingbilly Pine yacht.


Over the last ten years the Hobart Wooden Boat show has grown and grown.
The recent show attracted some 650 wood boats from all over the world and
attracted over a quarter of a million visitors. Anyone interested in boats, particularly
wooden ones this display is not to be missed.


 

Cluster of wooden yachts.

The display has grown in size year after year to now be the largest exhibition of wooden vessels
in the Southern Hemisphere. To wonder around the Hobart docks on a fine January day is a
delight. Then there is the added bonus to be able to  talk and discuss the methods of construction of these
wonderful vessels with the people who actually built them. Their love and enthusiasm for their
task is there for all to behold.
Hobart has had a long history of boat building which in a sort of way justifies the British settlement of this
part of the world. The British Admiralty became quite excited about the Norfolk pine trees on Norfolk Island
and could see how they maybe able to supply the navy with masts and spares. This of course didn't happen, but what did take place the discovery of Huon Pine, a timber that was nearly rot proof, oily and ideal for boat building. This was the start of Tasmania's love affair with wooden boats, a affair that has lasted to this day. The state has establish a wooden boat school at Franklin were an enthusiast may learn how to do it from experienced shipwrights.

 

James Craig' steel hulled ship along side the dock.

James Craig.

 

 

The James Craig was a steel wreck tied up to the Hobart shoreline when I first came to live here in 1975. How it had survived over the years is any one guess. However a far sighted individual from Sydney purchased the vessel. towed it back home to Sydney Harbour and set about the restoration of this fine example of 19th cent shipbuilding. The result does great credit to the  craftsmen involved as any viewer would testify. She had sailed down to show the flag. During the year the James Craig sails around the Australian coast, and I believe any keen sailor has the opportunity to learn the ropes.

 

 

A beautiful boat . 

This a beautiful example of the shipwrights craft.

Tasmania is well blessed with many fine timbers suitable for boat building, Huon pine,

Kingbilly pine and many others. 

 

                                                                    Eye of the Wind.


One of several sailing vessels who made the trip down to Hobart. There was a grand sail past at the end of the long weekend down the Derwent River. Some of my readers may not realise that the Derwent in a very deep waterway, and the harbour is one of the largest in Australia though now not greatly used thanks to the container age.

                                                                  Hobart steam ferry.


Years ago Hobart had a flourishing ferry service, sadly now not as greatly used as it could be.
However the city still has a number of the old steam ferries operating as tourist vessels.They add a sense of great charm and colour to the dock area and are very popular with visitors. It is possible to catch a ferry up the river to a new Hobart attraction MONA Museum of Old and New art.. The Hobart docks are more or less in the middle of town giving the city a maritime feel.

Looking across the docks at a few of the boats.

 

 

 

Russian visitor. This vessel sailed half way around the world to get here!

 

 

 

Sullivan's Dock with a few of the visitors.

 

 

 

Poop section of the "Notorious"

A replica of the Portuguese 15th cent caravel..

 

This vessel has been hand built along the traditional construction lines and was open to visitors.

It was built from reclaimed timber by a dedicated couple in Victoria.

 

 

Hand built canvas boat with its builder.

 

Who is only too willing to instruct you in how to build your own..

Note the novel oar shape. This boat has been built along the lines of an Irish corache.

Note the rib construction made of small sapling timber and how the stringers have been tied

to them. As the vessel is covered in canvas and then sealed with bitchmen paint you need to

be careful where you place your feet.

 

 

 

Sail past up the Derwent River on the last day of the show.

Transit of Venus, Hobart

Courtesy of Mercury

As a Libran I could not possibly miss the Transit of Venus, an event that only comes around every hundreds years or so. Luckily the event happens in pairs eight years apart, so you have a double chance in each lifetime. Living in Hobart there is always the chance of cloud cover or overcast weather, but on” the day “  last week, the sky cleared and the sun came out. The Astrological Society of Tasmania set up a battery of telescopes on the Hobart Domain, a great location as this area juts out into the River Derwent allowing panoramic views of not only the sky, but of the river and Hobart as well. Generally, this area is mainly used for kite flying, the odd circus and somewhere to park your car. During the morning of the Transit there was a steady stream of people using the telescopes and taking this opportunity to view that other world.

The sun proved to be pulsating orange ball with a scattering of sun spots randomly scattered across its surface, and there was Venus a perfect round black form moving across its surface. I must confess, I was somewhat surprised by the perfect geometry of its shape in sharp contrast to that of the sun. Around the sun’s edge fiery gases licked the heavens. The whole scene was one that suggested power and heat, so if you missed it make a note for next time; it is only 117 years away.

Flamenco , Dance of Life.

                                                                                

 
Many people are lucky enough to some point of their life to experience an unforgettable evenings, or if you are very lucky several, so if you are ever in Madrid in June, be sure to visit the Teatro Albeniz to watch Danza Espanola y Flamenco. This theatre plays host around this time, to a choreography competition for all the best flamenco schools in Spain. This is a competitions for the best new work in dance, music and choreography, it should be an original composition. I found this theatre quite by accident, having asked my hotel if they could recommend a venue were one could view authentic flamenco dancing.

On the evening I attended, I  immediately became aware that this was not just some normal night, everything seemed to be on a high octane level. Those in attendance were not your normal audience, but seemed to be a highly select group. Looking around the theatre, one became aware that it was full of dancers and knowledgeable patrons. They were mainly young, beautiful, and critical. Dressed in all the finery of Spanish fashion, the girls with red flowers in their jet black shiny hair,  were a sight to behold, as they chatted excitably about the coming evening's entrainment. These exquisitely dressed young women, filled the air with that buzz of excitement that only the young and passionate are capable of, They seemed to have come from not only Spain, but all over Europe. The couple seating next to me had only just arrived from St. Petersburg to watch their son, young Juan dance.

This competition is held over four days, three nights of elimination with only the three best from each evening, going through to the final. All the performances seemed to me to be out of this world, how one could judge was beyond my limited knowledge. This was no tired nightclub routine, but the real thing, for not only were reputations at stake, but substantial prize money could be won. An electric current surrounded each group of dancers, as their seamless intensity of movement griped your throat. The girls twirled and spun in their well-trained routines to the haunting sounds of flamenco voice and guitar, as they moved around their male partners. Each individual performance of these young dancers filled the theatre with their passion, skill and power, the visual sight was one of sheer joy, and love of their dance. There would be short quick flicks of a foot that sent their dress flying through the air, to fall in some perfect pattern upon the stage. The crisp defiant body movement, the tossed head and flashing eyes were a language in themselves. Their tense steps, seemed like coiled springs would suddenly release, as they turned away from some unwanted lover. One particular performance on the first night I was there, a choreography of memory, of a young girl, as she used her cape to represent various aspects of her life. Her first love, her child and the death of that child, Spanish culture is very dark, but also wonderful.

It seemed inevitable, that I was destined to return the following night to watch the final. The  sensation of this night was even more intense than before. The winners of this competition was Olga Pericet, who played and sang with two other dancers, one male, one female. They danced out their life with such passion, that many eyes were somewhat teary. The audience and performers had become one, each twirl and movement was greeted with a shout of Ole, the audience by now were one their feet, shouting in great excitement, as they encourage the dancers to even more daring feats. The guitars seemed ready to burst, as frenzied feet beat the stage at greater and great speed. You felt you were at a bullfight, as this fierce national pride over took over the theatre, it is hard to explain the experience to anyone, unless you were there in the flesh. The crowd just clapped in time to he music, as they stamped their feet, shouting their approval. Life and death seemed so close, as the male dancer in this sager departed from this world, leaving his partner to her lonalyness and grief. This performance won both the music and dance section, and left me with this wonderful memory of an unforgettable night. I have never in my life experience such a high powered evening, and I only hope that such a night may come again.