The Classic Couta Boats

We are rather interested and taken by the form and romanticism associated with the iconic Australian wooden  'Couta Boat'. 'The General', the Bloke's brother, has a reproduction fibreglass version (the Janet Anne) and with the Bloke raced her in Geographe Race Week. As it turned out there wasn't another boat remotely similar participating in this event which is mostly dominated by 35'+ cruisers and racers that descend on Busselton for this annual festival of sailing from as far away as Perth and Esperance. The Janet Anne was hopelessly outclassed and on a number of occasions barely made it past all the race buoys before organisers were retrieving them! Couta boats were designed as a fishing boat to sail out to sea on a morning breeze and return later in the day with an afternoon wind and they perform less well upwind. The Janet Anne was quite competitive on the downwind legs of the course but really struggled upwind. The boys concluded that the sail cut, which wasn't fully faithful to the original didn't help. As it turned out, the General and the Bloke's valiant efforts during Race Week did not go unnoticed and they were awarded the Spirit of the Regatta trophy. This is considerably better than the ubiquitous wooden spoon which was theirs for the asking!

The Janet Anne: Geographe Race Week 2013

Couta Boats are peculiar to Victoria and were originally used between 1870 and 1930's in the fishing industry centered around Queenscliff and Sorernto at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay. Fishermen needed a seaworthy boat to get through the notoriously dangerous 'Rip' at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay when heading out to sea and fish for Barracouta, a snake mackerel also sometimes known as a Snoek and fast enough to race them back to the markets to gain the best prices. These boats derive their name from the Barracouta fish and have a distinctive gaff rig and bowsprit. Some were of a clinker construction but most were smooth. One thing is for sure, the fishermen were v e r y adept sailors.

In the 1970's, long after the 'Couta Boat' fleet had all but vanished, a small group of Melbournians became captivated with these vessels and the maritime history that they represented. Extensive searches were undertaken to locate the whereabouts of the disused hulls. One by one boats were recovered as far away as from Robe and Portland and began to be lovingly restored. Gradually a revived fleet of these boats would gather in Sorrento in the summer and then races arranged purely for Couta Boats. Imagine 100 or so of these boats! Learn more

The Bloke and 'Ariel'

The story of 'Ariel'

So how does all this connect with our journey? On our first trip down the jetty at Portland and close to the Portland Maritime Discovery Centre we found 'Arial' in pride if place and with this explanatory plaque. We took the photo especially for the General. She is owned by a local fisherman called Garry Kerr who has a passion for Maritime history. His interest has led him to produce a series of DVD's including one focused on the Couta Boat. 

 

The gift that will keep giving. Thank you Noel!

Within a day of arriving in Portland we met Noel Waugh on the jetty with his video camera and it turns out that Noel is responsible for much of the camera footage on the Garry Kerr DVD series. This we learned over a couple of cuppas aboard Zofia and during our road trip with Noel out to Bridgewater Bay and Cape Nelson. Outstandingly generous, Noel gave us copies of several of these DVD's which are fabulous and give further meaning to all the little Ports that we have been visiting. Our understanding of their maritime and commercial context over the past 200 years has been enriched. I doubt that Noel could have found more excited and appreciative recipients.

  The Bloke and Noel

This is 'Tuna'. A Port Fairy example of the brand.

Usually under a boom tent, I was lucky to be passing 'Tuna' during some maintenance.

They are hugely popular now and a newly built timber one will set you back $120,000 including sails. We found this out because there is a timber boat workshop adjacent to our dock here in Port Fairy. Legend is Garry the boat builder's boat and by coincidence, it's just in front of us!

'Legend'

'Legend' in front of 'Zofia'.