Celebration of a magnificent journey marks the start of an awesome passage
by John Curnow, Global Editor, Powerboat.World 15 Aug 10:00 NZST
Murray Pass, the Cheviot 32 at Depuch Island WA, East of Karratha © The Wooden Boatshop
43 years and 7000 nautical miles. Both are very weighty numbers in their own right. Both have tremendous significance. Both apply to the same greater subject here. Now the former is the journey, and the latter is the passage. As for the one linchpin? Well, that would be Tim Phillips OAM.
In 1981, Phillips moved the fledgling Wooden Boatshop from his driveway to its new home on Hotham Street in Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. It has remained there ever since, and grown with each evolving decade. They started with most craft being around the 26-foot mark, and as the clientele grew, so too did the boats. Just recently, The Wooden Boatshop launched their latest 50-footer, with a 55 and 60 in the works.
So just how do the 7000 nautical miles come into it? Well, that's the distance around the only island continent on the planet. In February of 2025, and immediately after the next Australian Wooden Boat Festival, Phillips will commence his third 'Lap of Oz'. The first was in 2011, and the second in 2021. Only thing is, this time it will be a cruise-in-company, literally, with some 10 to 12 other creations from The Wooden Boatshop joining in for a rally like no other in the world.
Did someone say third? Yes we did. Thing is, Phillips' first lap with his wife Sally was completed on board their Cheviot 32. Undoubtedly one of the smallest craft ever to do so... Evidently, I was not the only one captivated by the tale, so colourfully portrayed in regular newsletters. Others were even more motivated, and in a bit of Victor Kiam moment, they marched straight into The Wooden Boatshop and placed orders for new, even larger boats with the dream of doing it themselves. Clearly, this has all come to pass.
So, which comes first?
The armada or the itinerary? Does it really matter? Probably not, but we'll knock off the fleet first. There is one Cheviot 32 on the roster, three Efficient 44s, and three Deal Island 50s. These are all planing boats and will do a lot of the trip in the 12 knot bracket, with sprint pace in the 20s and on up in the case of the Cheviot. There are some other displacement vessels, but at 8 knots only they may miss a few of the short stops, and simply leg it to the major ones.
The Deal Island 50, Winter Cove, was the latest splashing a little over a month ago, and at just a few weeks old she put a humble 1000nm down as her shakedown cruise via a jaunt to Sydney and back. She will lead the fleet. No matter what the final number of craft from the greater family that do take part, the celebration of all things Wooden Boatshop will only be enhanced by the fact that this is unique in Australia's ever-so-rich nautical history. A victory for vision and collective will, me thinks.
Like really, did you have to ask?
Why? I mean, firstly, simply because it is there. Secondly, because it is an 11-month festival of all things pertaining to The Wooden Boatshop. Thirdly, it is what they are for. Not sitting in marinas; actually being used and going places. 'The lap' was unofficially announced about a year ago, and the owners stepped up swiftly. Going public with it back in March was more statement of intent, rather than garnering for extra business.
This is a grand and very true seabbatical for 'Blue Nomads', as Phillips refers to himself and his cohorts. It is not about busting a nut. If the weather is not right, they simply sit it out for a bit longer. Each vessel has ample refrigeration, storage for all manner of things (especially live seafood), shade for the warmer days, often on board fires for the cooler ones. Relax. Tell some tales, have a nap if you want. She'll be right, mate.
So what does it look like?
Broadly, the journey is broken up into legs, with smaller hops comprising the overall passage. These will generally be in the 80-120nm bracket (some as small as 10-15nm), with boats' target around 12 knots, which will equate to 2-3 litres per nautical mile. As discussed, it is weather dependant, but the main aim is to have the prevailing breezes as far aft as possible, hence the overall timing.
"We're trying to make it into a fairly flat-water cruise. We're not trying to break any speed records, or set out against any inclement weather forecasts. We'll stick around and wait until the breeze is behind us at 15 or 20 knots, not much more. It's not to say that we mightn't get caught out somewhere once, but with the weather forecasting as good as it is today, we hope to be able to either skirt around, or sit out any inclement stuff," noted Phillips.
Efficient 44 from The Wooden Boatshop on Vimeo.
Leg One
Hobart to Port Lincoln - Highlights include Port Davey, Strahan, Port Fairy, Robe and Kangaroo Island.
Phillips explains, "So it's going to be quite a big task for people to keep up in displacement boats, but they may be able to, because there's time between each leg, and our customers will be able to join in on a leg."
"They may leave a day or so earlier, and we'll catch up and then pass them, ultimately seeing them again at the destination of that leg. For example, in the Kimberley leg, we're looking at spending five weeks in the Kimberley, and most of that time, the distances are minimal, if anything at all. Sometimes we'll be staying in the one place for two or three days in that particular region."
Leg Two
Port Lincoln to Fremantle - Highlights include Coffin Bay/Flinders Island Group, Streaky Bay, Esperance, Albany and Rottnest Island.
"We're going to do a little bit of whale watching out from Albany with a friend of ours. After that, we'll end up at Fremantle. We've organised berthing at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, which is where all the Couta Boats are (these are the spiritual ancestors of The Wooden Boatshop ethos). As a lot of the cruise-in-company fleet sail on the Couta Boats back home here in Sorrento, they'll jump on, and we'll have a bit of a race, with a nice dinner afterwards. There's a huge amount of background hospitality that's been arrayed at various stops all around the coast. This is just one example," commented Phillips.
"The whole trip is about 165 days at sea, but over a ten-month period. Instead of hitching up a caravan and becoming part of the huge Grey Nomad culture, I look at us as pioneering Blue Nomads. Thousands do it on land, but no one does it on water, and we can get to places the Grey Nomads can only dream of."
"Great islands, great fishing, great camaraderie, great scenery, and we can do all this reasonably economically, and without frightening your partner or kids. Safety and efficiency are always at the fore. This really is the way to use our boats that we envisaged when we set out to create them. That so many have joined in is just tremendous."
"Things like Starlink means they can also keep in touch with their businesses both effectively and relatively cheaply whilst being very remote, and of course, fly back during the breaks between legs. Better forecasting and communications really have been a gamechanger over the last 10 years."
Anyway, the gaps are not that big in the first stages, as they want to get across The Great Australian Bight in the Sou'easterly airstream, and that means before Easter. Then they want to get to the top half of Australia before the Winter season sets in. The longest stop is in Darwin, sort of halfway if you look at it like a clock but over half the mileage, and this will be for about three months.
Leg Three
Fremantle to Broome - Highlights include, Geraldton, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef, and Port Hedland.
This includes some of the great natural wonders of Australia, as well as an exclusive viewing at a major iron ore facility. Undoubtedly, many of the owners have been talking about this since it was announced, to which Phillips says, "There's been a great deal of enthusiasm and take up. I've been actually quite surprised. The fervour is really extraordinary. I just about got bowled over after we announced it publicly."
Leg Four
Broome to Darwin - Highlights include - well there is really only the one - The Kimberley, which is why there is five weeks slated to this sector.
"The Kimberley is very popular, no doubt due to its dramatic scenery, and massive tidal flows. Our boat is already well and truly booked out with guests for this time, and I am sure the others are equally so."
Leg Five
Darwin to the Whitsunday Islands - Highlights include - Gove, Cape York, Lizard Island, Cooktown, and also a wee thing called The Great Barrier Reef.
"Our departure at the beginning of October is all about being out of the cyclone sector of Australia ahead of the start of the season. These are very rare in both October and November, and the forecasting is so good these days that you know pretty well in advance. Still, we want to be below Gladstone before we even have to think about it."
This is a very intense are to navigate, with many an obstacle. The fleet will be making longer passages here, with Thursday Island the first port of call. "From there we'll probably head to Lizard Island, down the glorious Ribbon Reefs. It's really nice there, it's rarely visited, and the fishing's good. From there we'll get into Hamilton Island, because of the fly in/fly out aspect."
They will wait for an appropriate weather window at Gove in which to cross the Gulf of Carpentaria in early November (ensuring no cyclone activity is present). Then it is on to the top end of the Great Barrier Reef, where they will come down the inside of Ribbon Reefs. These really are glorious sights and deliver easy and incredibly spectacular fishing opportunities. At night they will anchor inside the incredible Marine Parks inside the reefs.
Leg Six
Hamilton Island to the Gold Coast - Highlights include more of the Whitsundays before they end up in the Gold Coast for about 10 days.
It will be a three- or four-day steam, including stops in locations like Lady Musgrave Island, and an overnight in Hervey Bay (Great Sandy Strait). As all of this area is more accessible from Melbourne the cruise-in-company will not be spending as much time on the way here, and many of the Wooden Boat Shop's clients do this trip regularly, anyway.
Leg Seven
Gold Coast to Sydney - Highlights include Yamba, Trial Bay (South West Rocks), Port Macquarie, Port Stephens and then Sydney (Pittwater) where maybe some more Couta Boat activity is on the cards for the group.
Leg Eight
Sydney to Sorrento - Highlights include following the Sydney to Hobart Fleet out the Heads and part way down the coast - maybe Shellharbour, Ulladulla or Eden. They'll wait for a suitable window to traverse across The Paddock (as Bass Straight is known as) with maybe a pit stop at the glorious Deal Island (Kent Group) for which the larger vessels of the fleet are named after. Once back on the Mornington Peninsula, everyone will have become a modern-day Matthew Flinders and crew.
It could seem a bit trite to finish something so major with this note from Phillips, "We love our boating, and we would like to share it with other like-minded people." Me thinks there'll be plenty more advocates of The Wooden Boatshop by the time January 2026 rolls around.
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Finally. Please look after yourselves.
John Curnow
Global Editor, Powerboat.World