Couple Rose to the challenge
WHEN David and Rosemary Lesser visited the Australian Wooden Boat Festival as tourists in 2013, they started dreaming of sailing their own boat to Tasmania to participate in the festival.
That is a pretty amazing dream to pursue, but even more so considering that the Lessers live in Ogden, Utah, in the United States. But dreams do come true. David and Rosemary Lesser’s boat, La Vie en Rose, was launched after a three-year collaboration between the owners and designer Paul Gartside. She was built by Jespersen Boat Builders in Sidney, a town at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
La Vie en Rose, a monohull cruising yawl, was described by Bruce Halabisky in WoodenBoat magazine as “a collaborative masterpiece by owner, designer, and builder’’.
Its hull is cold-moulded of western red cedar and douglas fir, sheathed with fibreglass and epoxy. The split rig provides easy sail handling in a wide variety of conditions. Its full keel results in a comfortable motion and stable handling, and the single cabin layout is ideal for a couple.
“We have lived aboard for the past five summers, exploring the remote regions of the coast of British Columbia,” David Lesser said.
“This year, we have decided to take the offshore plunge.
“We will be leaving North America this month with the goal of reaching Hobart in time for the 2019 Australian Wooden Boat Festival.” THE biennial Australian Antarctic Festival is a wonderful event for which to volunteer, and expressions of interest are now open for anyone interested in participating in this way.
The team running the festival is ready to welcome inquiries from people whose roles as a volunteer will give them a chance to see what goes on behind the scenes in this significant sector of Tasmania’s culture and economy.
They can also share the warm glow that comes with helping thousands of people better appreciate Antarctica and the significant work Australians are doing on this magnificent frozen continent.
AAF volunteers may find themselves involved in a variety of activities. These include an international photography competition and exhibition; Mawson’s Hut replica visits; open days at the CSIRO and the University’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies; lectures and exhibitions; ship and aircraft tours; and a schools program that will bring schoolchildren from all over Tasmania to Hobart to visit the Australian ice breaker Aurora Australis and the CSIRO’s RV Investigator.
The Australian Antarctic Festival is produced by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation and will be held on Hobart’s waterfront from August 2-5, with some possible training days for volunteers in the week or so leading up to the event.
People wishing to volunteer can register their interest on the festival website at www.antarcticfestival.com.au or by phoning 6223 3375 or by emailing director@antarctic festival.com.au THE Derwent Sailing Squadron has recognised the achievements of its members over the past season, including the top woman skipper at the SB20 world championships, and a crewman who completed the two-handed race from Melbourne to Osaka, Japan.
Clare Dabner received the Outstanding Woman’s Achievement Award at the club’s recent annual prizegiving event.
As skipper of the Athena team’s SB20 Essence of Athena, Clare led her team of Kate Peacock, Annelise Hunt and Col Danber to win the women’s team award at the world championships.
The Seamanship Award went to Jamie Cooper, who with Tristian Gourlay sailed their Adams 11.9 Force 11 in the 5500 nautical mile Melbourne to Osaka race, a voyage that took 38 days, three hours and 46 seconds after confronting every weather situation imaginable, including a headon with Cyclone Iris.
The Graham Blackwood Memorial Trophy for furthering the sport of sailing went to Michael Denney for his tireless work and support of sailing in Hobart as a sailing administrator and as a competitive skipper of his yacht Wild West.
The Don McKean Memorial Trophy for champion skipper in Division 1 was awarded to Shaun Tiedemann, owner/skipper of Philosopher.
During the past season Shaun and his youthful crew of the Sydney 36er won the PHS category of the Maria Island Race; the IRC and AMS categories of the King of the Derwent for the second consecutive year; Division 3 IRC and PHS of the Australian Yachting Championships; the IRC category of the Bruny Island Race; the AMS category of the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Series; and the IRC category of the Combined Clubs Offshore Championship.
Brett Cooper (skipper) and Nick Corkhill (crew) of the SB20 Aeolus each received a DSS Special Award in recognition of their outstanding performances during the past season. THE Bellerive Yacht Club also had its annual prizegiving evening recently, with Aaron McKibben being awarded the inaugural Crewperson of the Year trophy. Aaron sails on Twitch.
The Sheehan Trophy for Club Member of the Year was awarded to Rob Mazengarb.
Other trophy winners in the club summer pennants included: Jeff Cordell’s B&G Advantage (Snowy O’May Memorial, Group 1, PHS); Don Calvert’s Intrigue (WF Ferguson Memorial, Group 1, AMS); Jock Young’s Juana (Dave O’May Perpetual Trophy, Group 2, AMS); and Stephen Mannering’s Camlet Way (Guy Vermey Memorial, Group 4, PHS).
The Long Distance Trophy went to Albatross (Austen Roper), and Pursuit Trophy to Phase Three (Paul Strong).
Phil Soley, owner/skipper of Mako, the overall winner of the 2017 Launceston to Hobart Race, was awarded the John Burton Memorial Trophy and the Commodore’s Trophy for best performance by a BYC yacht in the L2H.
In the Bellerive Regatta, the Luke Cripps Memorial Trophy for an outstanding keelboat sailor who is new to the sport was awarded to Freya Stokell, a crewperson on As Good As It Gets.
War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) won the Fergusson Trust Award.