Tag Archives: Saona

Woodys On Tour – Hobart – Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Day 1

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Dockside Mooch 09-02-2023

Woodys On Tour – Hobart – Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Day 1

Hello Woodys – As they same ‘I’m In Country’ and a little in awe for the scene here in Hobart. The festival doesn’t start till Friday, so the docks are only starting to fill up but already I’m gobsmacked by the woody craft tied up.

Went for an early evening mooch around the water front and today you get a wee tease – a ‘roughly’ filmed dock-side walk video of just one pier and my boats of the day pick – being Saona and a smaller woody, that I’ll have to get the name of – and yes Neil Chalmers – surprise surprise – both yachts 🙂

Today (Friday) I’m up at 6.30am heading to Woodbridge (36k south of Hobart) to meet / board – ‘WINDEWARD BOUND’ (see below) a 110’, brigantine rigged Tall Ship for the ‘Parade Of Sail’ into Hobart Harbour. The Parade of Sail marks the offical opening of the festival.

And it would be Australian without a serving of calamari and an ice cold IPA and a flat white.

Enjoy

Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Boat Folk Video Series

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Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Folk Boat Video Series


The good folks behind the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart have like a lot of people and events been cruelly affected by CV19 but unlike a lot that just rolled over – AWBF has been hosted some innovative channels to keep their festival top of mind with woodys around the world. One of the gigs is tagged – Boat Folk, a video series that profiles the characters and wooden boats the festival attracts. Behind each of these unique vessels is a unique person (or group of people) with a wealth of knowledge, fascinating stories, and a novel perspective on life.

Number 2 in the Boat Folks series features Ben Marris, owner of Saona , Ben Marris was Chair of the AWBF for many years. Saona was the last boat built by Charles Lucas in his yard in 1936. Ben and wife Jane purchased Saona in 1993 and have since sailed her in the 1998 Tall Ships race from Sydney to Hobart, circumnavigated Tasmania. As members of the Kettering Yacht Club, the couple now cruise the waters surrounding Bruny Island on her and enjoy Wednesday night races with family. Saona is one of a small number of wooden boats that have attended every festival since its inception in 1994.