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| This is Kelpie the 1887 classic cutter. Larry restored her whole interior. She is still well loved and frequently out sailing on Sydney Harbour |
I had been invited to be a guest speaker at the Australian Maritime Museum’s Classic and Wooden Boat Festival in Sydney. Once there, I had a great time catching up with friends we’d made when we worked at River Quay Boatyard restoring Kelpie a 115-year-old 30 footer and putting a new keel on Brindabella modern 65-foot race boat. I also enjoyed meeting young, enthusiastic Australian voyagers including Jessica Watson who, at the age of 16, had completed a solo circumnavigation (click here to see why Jessica still loves sailing.) Another treat was dinner with Roy Blow, a video producer who in 1991 suggested we work together. We’d agreed to give it a try and created three videos which we later incorporated into two DVD’s, Get Ready to Cruise and Get Ready to Cross Oceans.
Laura Decker and I were given permission to use this immaculately restored 1900 steam launch Ena as our meeting place during the busy festival.
Roy had a gift for us, the original master for an interview he had arranged when we did some filming together in Fremantle, Western Australia. As soon as I was back home in New Zealand after the festival I listened to the questions the moderator, Jim MacBeth asked, the answers Larry and I gave. I was amazed at how they echoed, almost exactly, the questions asked by several of the potential voyagers I met in Sydney. Though almost 25 years have passed, potential cruisers still have the same concerns, and the answers are still the same. In fact, the only answer I might change is when Jim asks, “What is the scariest thing that has happened as you cruised?” After leaving Western Australia in 1992 we voyaged another 60,000 miles and as can be expected, had a few scary moment. Probably the worst of these was an encounter with extreme currents as we tried to work our way through the Straits of Le Maire to continue our bash south then west against strong headwinds and currents to round Cape Horn.
Over 140 classic boats gathered in Darling Harbour for this years bi-annual Australian Maritime Museum Classic and Wooden Boat Festival.
I hope you enjoy watching or listening to this video interview. I also hope it encourages you to take the next step toward reaching your cruising goals.
Jim MacBeth Interviews Lin & Larry Pardey from SailFlix on Vimeo.