BrewGuru
11-08-2008, 11:35 PM
Yep me and the Waiben are off to the Toress straits next year to celebrate her 60th birthday at Thursday Island, she was launched in 1949 in Cairns and cruised up to Thursday Island to serve as a Pilot Vessel and being in a remote location was an everything vessel, government official boat, jail boat, school picnic boat and a host of other duties, she served at TI for Twenty Five Years, her first job was to replace the navigational beacons after WWII so the japs couldn't navigate their way into TI, she then was the first pilot boat to service Hay Point in Mackay as the newly appointed coal loading facility. She was in a bad way and taken to the Government Shipwright to get a quote to fix her up, she was deemed uneconomical to repair and the shipwright was told to burn her, he offered to buy her for $100, they fat cats scoffed and refused the offer, the shipwright stated that since she was deemed to be unseaworthy and had to be burned on his property he would charge the government $600 to burn the vessel and clean up the mess, he got his Waiben for $100. Eleven years and $300,000 later the Waiben had been rebuilt, refurbished and refitted. The shipwright won a contract with the then owned P&O, Brampton Island as a charter boat doing champagne cruises, diving, fishing and sunset cruises, that all finished in 2005, I have her now and I purchased her for $150,000 and I have spent the same amount in refurbishment with the focus being on safety and reliability.
I will be leaving Brisvegas in July and the plan is to cruise to Tin Can Bay, then Lady Musgrave Island, Great Keppel, Reprovision in Mackay, Cairns and Cooktown, criuse on to TI for the awaiting Birthday Party stay a few days, then hotfoot it down to Mackay, meet up with wifey, get rid of crew, cruise the Whitsundays for a week or two,back to Mackay, put wife on plane, get new or old crew and cruise down to Scarborough.
SO, I will be looking for two crew to go the distance or hop of at Mackay and inlist new crew or the same senario in Cairns and or TI and on the return trip maybe some new crew or the old crew returning to get her back home.
The criteria being, its not a holiday charter, I will pay for fuel and meals, you bring your own grog, will have to help with cooking, cleaning, maintenance, cleaning and filleting copius quantities of fish, keeping watch including overnighters and being able to have a GSOH.
If you are interested PM me and look forward to a fantastic adventure
I will be leaving Brisvegas in July and the plan is to cruise to Tin Can Bay, then Lady Musgrave Island, Great Keppel, Reprovision in Mackay, Cairns and Cooktown, criuse on to TI for the awaiting Birthday Party stay a few days, then hotfoot it down to Mackay, meet up with wifey, get rid of crew, cruise the Whitsundays for a week or two,back to Mackay, put wife on plane, get new or old crew and cruise down to Scarborough.
SO, I will be looking for two crew to go the distance or hop of at Mackay and inlist new crew or the same senario in Cairns and or TI and on the return trip maybe some new crew or the old crew returning to get her back home.
The criteria being, its not a holiday charter, I will pay for fuel and meals, you bring your own grog, will have to help with cooking, cleaning, maintenance, cleaning and filleting copius quantities of fish, keeping watch including overnighters and being able to have a GSOH.
If you are interested PM me and look forward to a fantastic adventure