we check each other’s navigation and trip
planning. It has definitely saved us from the
odd unplanned character building moment;
two heads are better than one, no Tasmanian
pun intended.
A recent addition to our sailing crew is our
kelpie-sized RSPCA rescue dog Freya. The dog
has settled in fine, she is taken ashore twice
a day to do what dogs do, but also loves the
inf latable paddle board. Occasionally she willjump off the boat to chase fish and turtles
around the bay. This can be a bit disconcerting
at 4:00am if you are trying to head back to the
ramp early to catch the tide.
All in all the dog is happy and she will curl up
and sleep on the cockpit f loor if we are leaning
over too far.
Cath and I are only the third owners of Small
Hotel, the boat has always been well looked after
and is still going strong despite her 40 years.
While the boat is fine, the original trailer
failed to make the 40 year mark, we pretty much
killed it during the drive up from Tasmania. The
old trailer has now been replaced with a new one
that has breakaway brakes so we are legal to tow
anywhere in Australia.
Looking forward, we can see a time in the
not too distant future when we move aboard abigger boat full time, we also want to sail further
afield so the Small Hotel will be passed onto its
next owner.
You cannot look at Small Hotel and not
notice the stripes, these are original. The
boat was built in the 70s, maybe people were
a bit more f lamboyant with their boat colour
schemes back then. But she is definitely easy
to find in busy anchorages when surrounded
by white boats.
Back in 2004, when we first bought the boat,
the name Small Hotel puzzled me and I wanted
to change it; then I was told the following story.
Small Hotel was a demonstration boat for the
original builder who used to keep a well-stocked
bar down below.
The apparent sales strategy used on
prospective customers was to take them out
sailing on Port Phillip Bay and keep the drinks
coming until they decided to pull out the cheque
book. This may or may not be exactly how it
happened back then but it was a good enough
story to convince me to keep the name. ≈20
Cruising Helmsman July 2018MYBOAT
SMALL HOTEL
Dave Derrick started sailing dinghies at a
young age in Queensland. He met his partner
Catherine in Tasmania and the pair spent many years
windsurfing and crewing on other people’s yachts. After
starting a family they bought their first trailer sailer a
Court 650 which they sailed for 3 years and then sold to
purchase Small Hotel. Currently based in Townsville their
next move will be to find the right cruising boat and move
onboard fulltime, with a view to cruising the Queensland
Coast, before heading further afield.DAVID DERRICK
“WE CAN TOW THE BOAT TO A POPULAR
CRUISING AREA, ENJOY THE HIGHLIGHTS
THEN TOW THE BOAT HOME.”
Navigating South Zoe Bay inlet, Hinchinbrook.