Flotsam & Jetsam 22.05.26
A Big Knud
With Australia’s strong link to the works of Knud Reimers (Tumlarens, FIDELIS, PLYM, etc) readers may be interested in the restoration taking place in Plymouth UK of the 82-foot yacht AGNETA
Agneta. Credit: Josh Greet
From Classic Boat Magazine
The 82-foot classic yacht Agneta, a historic 1950 Knud Reimers vessel, has been undergoing an extensive restoration by Stirling and Son, but that’s not all that’s going on in the Plymouth yard.
In Stirling and Son’s the cavernous cathedral of Devonport Dockyard’s Number One Covered Slipway, dating back to 1763, the big job of the moment is Agneta.
The Handover of Australia’s Earliest Boat
I’m trying to work out the backstory to this transaction. I smell politics.. or at least fundraising. In the meantime, here is an edited press release…
“Vessel is a gateway to the establishment of Sydney’s maritime economy – Business Sydney calls for support”
The Australian National Maritime Museum today welcomed the handover from the NSW Government of the Barangaroo Boat into the National Maritime Collection, marking an important step in preserving the vessel for future generations and expanding public access to a significant part of NSW and Australia’s maritime and cultural story.
The remains of the boat, the earliest known Australian built vessel, were uncovered during excavations for the Barangaroo Metro Station, where it was found waterlogged but remarkably intact after nearly two centuries beneath the harbour foreshore. Since its discovery, specialist conservators and maritime archaeologists have worked to document the vessel and associated artefacts, stabilise fragile timbers and plan the long-term treatment needed to prevent shrinkage and deterioration as it dries. Now in the Museum’s care, this conservation program will continue through detailed assessment and careful preservation so the boat can be safely researched, interpreted and ultimately shared with the public.
The transfer strengthens the National Maritime Collection by protecting a tangible link to the earliest time of colonial Sydney, where transport and trade took place via the harbours and waterways of the fledgling colony.
Ms Daryl Karp AM, Director and CEO of the Museum said ‘The vessel is an eyewitness to history – to the first tentative decades of European settlement, when Port Jackson was the conduit for transport and trade and vessels of all types plied its waterways.
‘This is the perfect archaeological project for Australia’s museum of the sea and the National Maritime Collection. The storytelling opportunities for this are truly exciting, it is more than a Sydney story it is a national story – it marks a pivotal moment in the country’s maritime history.
‘I thank Minister Graham and Sydney Metro for their stewardship of this artefact, and we look forward to bringing life back to the vessel over the coming years.’
The Museum has continued the conservation process and had commenced with plans for the public interpretation of the vessel and associated items found alongside it.
Mr Paul Nicolaou, Executive Director of Business Sydney said, ‘This is a story that goes to the very heart of Sydney’s identity. As the nation’s first major commercial centre and with the Sydney Chamber of Commerce marking 200 years in 2026, this vessel represents the origins of our city’s economic journey and Australia’s broader trading story.
‘It stands as a powerful symbol of the harbour’s working life and the enterprise that has shaped modern Australia. In the coming months, we will outline a corporate support program with the Museum, inviting the business community to play an active role in preserving and celebrating this important piece of our heritage.’
Ms Karp continued, ‘We expect to open to the public a permanent exhibition, detailing not only the vessel and associated artefacts but the stories it elicits of this time mid-way through 2027.
‘It is a gateway to the past that we know visitors to the museum will enjoy investigating.’
Extra edition of the VERTUE Newsletter.
Roger Robinson writes…
Our Vertual community occasionally have extra special events to celebrate, and this year, like the legendary London buses that you can await for ages, they are coming along thick and fast! No sooner were we able to celebrate the memory of Cardinal Vertue doubling the Horn, the proper way in Bill Nance’s capable hands, than we now have more adventure actually being sought before our very eyes. Sixty-six years after she first entered the OSTAR, as Blondie Hasler’s idea soon became known, it has now become the ‘Jester Challenge’ and this year’s four ‘participants’ set sail from Plymouth last Sunday, including our very own Vertue called Eden Marindin.
Eden Marindin, or EM, revelling in the fresh offshore winds that sent the little fleet of single-handers briskly on their way……….next stop, Newport, Rhode Island on the US eastern seaboard.
Grass Roots SA
We are continually going on about how sailing needs to refocus activities on community and grass roots activities, rather than elitism and winning. Well you don’t get more grass roots than “Crow’s Nest”, the newsletter of the Wooden Boat Association of South Australia, published six times per year.
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like your news to be local, and you have a particular interest in the wooden boat world centred around Goolwa, then consider contacting Stephen Conway to sign up.
The latest Newsletter came out this week
Brand new at 100 years old
(From Sailing Scuttlebutt)
Peter Silvester owns the Q Class sloop Q7 Falcon which marks its 100th anniversary in 2026. Falcon was among the first class of yachts to race under the “Universal Rule” developed by Nathaniel Herreshoff in 1902 and that governed eligibility to compete for the America’s Cup from 1914 to 1937.
“I’ve always loved classic designs from the 1930s Universal Rule era, epitomized by the mighty Js of America’s Cup fame,” Silvester says. “When I saw Q7 ‘Falcon’ and learned more about these so called ‘mini-Js’, I knew I’d found a new passion.”
Falcon has raced in the Northeast, the Great Lakes, and off San Diego, winning two Chicago-Mackinac Races and five Queen’s Cups among other accomplishments. While the yacht was also known as Lively Lady, it has always raced under the sail number Q7, continuing that tradition today.
Falcon, designed by Burgess, Swasey & Paine and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, RI, is getting reimagined.