Wooden Boat Rally 2009
In February of this year the fourth Wooden Boat Rally was held on the Tamar River at the Seaport Marina in Launceston, Tasmania. The rally attracted 91 boats from around Tasmania ranging from the 13 entries in the alternative propulsion event to a number of vessels up to 50 feet. The rally was conducted over the weekend with a considerable number of people viewing the craft on display.
Among the entrants were two splendid steam powered launches and an experimental vessel powered by electric motors. The latter craft was entered by the Australian Maritime College. A large display of vintage outboard/inboard motors and also a Sterling hydrogen powered outboard along with Wally Mounster’s steam outboard which attracted a great deal of interest from spectators.
The Wooden Boat Rally is heavily promoted as family event and owners are available to discuss their boats with interested spectators. The public is not asked to pay an entry fee as the event is organized by a small group of volunteers and any surplus monies are donated to a local charity. The event is sponsored by Tamar River businesses of which Jessups Retravision is the major sponsor enabling many significant prizes in excess of $3000 for owner-entrants and a public prize. In 2009 the major prize of a 26” Samsung flat screen television set was presented to the Bruce Mountney.
The Wooden Boat Rally evolved in 2006 when Adam Park and a group of friends met at Seaport Marina where the idea of using the site for a wooden boat rally was extensively discussed. As a result of that meeting, Adam designed and printed a number of flyers and distributed them among fellow enthusiasts. In a relatively short time, 40 people expressed interest and the Rally was born. The 2007 Wooden Boat Rally attracted 50 boats which included the Dutch tall ship replica ‘Duyfken’.
The support and enthusiasm from boaters in attendance re-enforces the need for such an annual event in northern Tasmania. Evidence of widespread interest was demonstrated in 2008 by entries from the Tasmanian Wooden Boat School on the Huon River in Southern Tasmania, the Tasmanian Wooden Boat Guild and the Australian Maritime College.
The Tamar River and Tasmania is rich in maritime history and the construction and of wooden boats with fine native boat building timbers such as Huon Pine, King Billy Pine, Celery Top Pine and Blackwood. Many of our craft afloat today have been saved from being a total loss or a child’s sandpit due to the passion and shared knowledge/skills of like minded boaters. Most of these craft are unique and cannot be recreated once they are lost. Our aim is to maintain and foster an interest in the preservation and construction of these craft especially among the young.
Your assistance in raising awareness of our event will enforce the quality and future of Wooden Boat Rally. The fifth rally is to take place on the 13th February 2010.
Your support for the 2010 Rally would be appreciated. Please contact us,
Adam Park 0419307557, Bruce Jessup 0418135662