Every journey starts somewhere, and for me at least I suspect this one commenced before I even knew it. My father had a love of sailing, and used to often talk of his own dad’s boat Wyruna (my grandfather). There were stories of the yacht squadron, day trips and longer trips to Kangaroo Island – and it all sounded pretty exciting. When I was young, he took the most of his limited opportunities to go sailing, which was a challenge as a young dad of four kids. We had a Mirror to race and play about at the beach in, and a friend’s yacht to borrow from time to time. I remember quite vividly dad returning home one night from probably his last Goolwa to Milang race sometime in the 1970’s (at least I think it was this race) – I remember he was wearing a huge smile from a challenging race, although it was outdone by my mum’s temper at his late arrival. I heard a few stories of bouncing across Lake Alexandrina when the wind was up, and the water low, and that sounded like fun also. For my partner in this venture, Linda, her journey started much later, but she enjoys a challenge, and takes joy from the happiness of others – she saw the excitement in my dad, and that was enough!
Our houses always had several artefacts from the boat – being some wonderfully heavy old brass navigation lights, and the bronze letters for the name. One letter has been missing for as long as I can remember, but I always knew the name. These items were carried from house to house for over 40 years, and always seemed to be present somewhere. He also carried a set of photos (slides) of Wyruna, that always held some fascination for me. Some of these will feature on this site.
Dad often wondered aloud where Wyruna had gone, and it seemed likely that it had either gone interstate or suffered a mishap not unknown to occur to wooden boats, or boats in general.
As it turns out, both things were true.
During 2018, a chance internet search revealed a recent article in the CYAA newsletter advising of Wyruna’s current circumstances, which then carried to discussions with the owner. Wyruna had moved from South Australia, and had subsequently spent more than 30 years in a backyard in Altona (Victoria) specifically purchased for it. Dad was keen for one last look, and made some arrangements. Good news!
I got over there to Altona in late 2018, and the first look revealed there had been a few challenging years while on land – a combination of weather, time and circumstances had created quite a restoration project. Not too dismayed and more than a little curious, a tentative look at restoration possibilities, and for an appropriate boatbuilder started. In the meantime, my dad came over to look, which brought out a few stories and a sparkle in his eye not seen for a while. This provided some nice additional motivation.
In the meantime, it was clear that the vessel had some history outside my own family that was worth preserving. The designer, builder and original owners are all well known in their own right, as are several subsequent owners. It seemed to be a vessel that carried a strong feeling with it. The designer, Walter Reeks, has a limited number of vessels still in use but was prolific during the earlier part of the last century (I understand). The original owner was from a pioneering South Australian family, and there are connections to other owners from the family. Some of this will require additional research, and hopefully we can put this together over time.
Under advice of the owner, we engaged with Ferdi Darley, a shipwright with the formidable skills required to bring Wyruna back to life. The move to his shed was planned for December 2019, and the journey started.
I am still puzzling over my own motivation. While I haven’t been an active sailor for many years, I have always enjoyed it. As a young boy just out of school, I had a dream of living on a yacht, and purchased magazines for several years looking for something that might be suitable. This was back when things were sold in things like the Trading Post and if I recall, sailing yachts had their own flashier versions full of glossy pictures. Given I couldn’t afford a car at the time, this was always a bit of a dream. But here we are.
More shortly!
