Huon Pine in the build are the Macrocarpa pine thwart
knees, and the ‘logger head’ aft.
The whale boat has been completed now and has
been taken to another shed where the group are
completing the oiling subsequent to launching and
naming it.
Garry completed his apprenticeship with his father,
Ron Stewart, in Port Fairy, early acquiring there a full
appreciation of the aesthetics of working with the best
timbers and resources, and in particular the beautiful
water resistant, strong and light pine from Tasmania.
This in fact has proved an enduring love for Garry and
his timber of choice to this day.
Today Garry’s yard is kept busy
with maintenance and Survey
work and serving the needs of the
marine community in Port Fairy
when he is not engaged on building
major vessels; he is also about
to launch a new boat and is, as
always busy.
There are several other whale
boats in the area including the
Sir Fletcher Jones stationed at
Port Fairy and two sister vessels,
all built by Garry in 1988, plus
another similar, at Flagstaff Hill in
Warrnambool.
There has been a long-established
tradition of racing them annually
and recently, against stiff
opposition, it was a whale boat,
City of Warrnambool that won the
hotly contested ‘2017 South West
Regatta’, against even the beautiful
Ian Oughtred designed Saint Ayles
skiffs.
The 2017 regatta also saw the
welcome rebirth of the ‘Australian
Whale Boat Championships’
which had been held there in
previous years from 1988 but
which languished for a few years
until 2007, when the boats were
reconditioned and it ran until 2016,
and is thankfully now revived.
We were subsequently shown
over the very impressive 1857
built wooden vessel Port Fairy,
restored by Garry Stewart in 1997,
the oldest operational self-righting
lifeboat in Australia. The lifeboatleft from toP:
Garry Stewart himself.
Image Jonathan Wallis
Garry’s latest launch. Image Garry Stewart
For’d section plus mast step.
Image Jonathan Wallis