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Alan saves old lady of the sea

IT could have been the end of the Isabell May if it wasn’t for the love and determination of a Tasman Peninsula fisherman.

Built in Scotland in 1947 and shipped out to Tasmania by legendary seafarer Bern Cuthbertson in 1952, the 35-tonne trawler that had fished under a lot of captains across a lot of seas, was rescued by Sloping Main man Alan Hull.

But when Alan, 62, saw her in Kettering in March this year, he says he was a bit taken aback by her sad appearance.

He had been looking for a bigger boat to buy and saw the Isabell May advertised on Gumtree.

“I had no idea about anything about the boat, where she came from,’’ Alan says.

“She didn’t look like anything that was on Gumtree…. she looked pretty in the advertising.”

Soon Alan wasn’t really listening to the owner’s sales pitch; he was so enthralled by the bare bones of the boat.

“I couldn’t get over how it was built inside. Everything was big, she was made for the North Sea.

“I was leaning into the wheelhouse and looking up on the bow of her and I think to myself – ‘I know there’s a bit to do here but I’m going to have this one’.”

The external planks of the 15m long vessel are Siberian larch with the hull supported by 1.8m by 1.8m English oak frame ribs set .3m apart. She is almost 5m wide and draws 1.8m of water.

A farmer and shearer, fishing is also in Alan’s blood, the Isabell May is his fifth boat, his grandfather and father fished, and his Uncle David Hull drowned while solo sailing a trawler in Marion Bay in 1966.

The big day came when Alan and Parsons Bay slip owner Byron Stacey towed the old trawler behind Byron’s much smaller boat the Fairwind to her new home.

The journey across a windless Storm Bay towing the 35 tonnes vessel from Kettering was not without incident when Alan stepped onto the stairs into the well of the Isabell May, and they collapsed.

“I ended up on my back after a five-foot fall to concrete, so that made it a tough day, but I survived it all.”

The boat was on the slip for five weeks.

“It was too long for a wooden boat to be out of water, she took on some water when she went back in but after a couple of weeks she steadied up.

“It was amazing to watch leaking like little creeks and within an hour she slowed up quite a bit.”

The Scottish built trawler that had spent years crayfishing on the West Coast, fishing out of Dunalley, and scalloping up the East Coast attracted a curious crowd of wooden boat lovers while she was on the slip.

“When they heard about it, they came from everywhere around the state. Three of the previous owners that give up on her came for a look.”

Alan has spent a lot of time and money and injured himself in his quest to restore the Isabell May.

But her hard-working days as a fishing boat are over, he says.

“I’d like to use her as a pleasure craft and sail right up the east coast of Australia once she’s fully repaired.

Meanwhile the work continues, replacing rails and planks and minor leaks.

He said the four owners who had attempted to restore the Isabell May over the last 11 years had one thing in common.

“They all gave up on her. I’m not going to do that.”

Yes, Saffire really is a gem

BUCKET list: must experience Saffire at Freycinet before marking a significant milestone. Tick!

Last month as a special treat I stayed at Saffire to experience what the experts say is one of the best boutique hotels in the world. And they have the awards to prove it.

With that in mind – and friends telling us it was exceptional – we had to manage our high expectation for fear of being underwhelmed by the reality.

Note to self. Didn’t need to worry about that. Not that it was perfect, what is, but it was an experience I will remember forever, unlike the very enjoyable but forgettable getaways to non-descript destinations.

Planned six months ahead, anticipation was strong, with each of us emailing weekly with an updated countdown to “S Day’’.

The day arrived. Just a week after the terrifying fires which burned so much of the Friendly Beaches and Coles Bay Road area.

Signs and smell of the fire were still evident and the roadside bush in the drive in was charred by the early spring bushfire.

As we turned off Coles Bay Road into the Saffire entrance the signs were quite adamant. Guests Only. Do not enter if not a guest.

Ha, ha, ha. We are guests…. take that!

We had arrived. And as we exited the car Mel, our guest manager, arrived almost magically to welcome us and explain we just needed to walk in and leave everything behind. Our luggage would be delivered to our room and the car secured. And it was seamlessly.

Saffire is now 13 years old but it still is in very good shape, good maintenance is obvious. But for those who have an aversion to water features (yes you know who you are) beware, the sound of waterfall is pronounced and given the generous hospitality (think alcohol) the water feature edges are an accident waiting to happen and a workplace safety managers nightmare.

As requested, when we booked, a dry martini with olives was offered on arrival. Oh how fancy and luxurious.

Editor Martine haley enjoying a wine with her pristine room view

A few sips and Mel was keen to show us the layout. What could go wrong? Steep steps, water features, walkways with exposed ponds either side?

But timing is everything. As we approached the steps with martini in hand one of the excellent chefs emerged from the kitchen and offered (very kindly) to hold my martini as I descended the steps.

Emergency averted.

And martini was retrieved at the base of the stairs.

On to our room. I’m not sure how they did it but the architects of this 20-room hotel managed to ensure every room fully captures the Hazards in the large window at the front of our luxury home for the next two days.

And as promised all our luggage was installed. Plus, a bottle of Arras in an ice bucket.

At dinner we decide to choose the degustation menu. We also dress up. Not something any of our fellow guests choose to do.

Now here is the disclaimer. After a martini and a bottle of Arras our taste buds may have been wanting. So I will not comment on the first night’s menu as I suspect it was wonderful, but to me it tasted a little like a menu offerings on a cruise ship.

First morning and the breakfast was fabulous, who thought to add broad beans to smashed avocado and sourdough? (How is the mortgage deposit going?).

Next on the agenda was a fascial and massage. Saffire staff you should be proud. It was extraordinary. I would recommend you every day of the week.

There are several activities included for guests, archery, welcome to country and a Tasmanian devil experience. For us shucking oysters at a nearby marine farm was the only choice. And a good one.

Our guide, an Australian from New South Wales originally, was very engaging and informative. I now know more about the life cycle of an oyster than many. And yes, it’s interesting.

We waded out into the bay and enjoyed freshly shucked oysters straight from the water on a table with white tablecloth, sparkling wine, tabasco, wasabi and ponzu.

Our guide is something of a free spirit who has spent his last 20 years travelling the world and guiding in some of the most remote places in the world. Think Patagonia, Africa, the Himalayas and much more. A fascinating person who loves his job.

He also said the staff accommodation at Saffire was the best in the world. One of the pluses for working at Saffire. And at a time when it’s hard to get staff, that’s a drawcard.

With the oysters shucked and consumed it was time to return to Saffire. A pre-dinner cocktail and dinner. This time we went al a carte. And it was wonderful, predominately Tasmanian sourced. We chose Robbins island wagyu beef tartare, blue eye, chicken with poached Four Mile mushrooms, tarragon butter and more.

Our bed and room were comfortable, but a chess board and desk chair for work presumably seemed redundant to us. A stock of classic novels (think Bronte, Dickens, etc seemed a little pretentious).

The modular couch was narrow and while there was a coffee table, eating breakfast at it as opposed to a dining table, a delicate balancing act.

The lighting in the bathroom was not light enough and I risked clown like make-up. Oh the horror.

The last morning arrived quickly. Like our arrival the departure was seamless … or so I thought.

On my return home I discovered I had left my fitbit charger and a necklace at Saffire.

I phoned and Mel answered and said she would go to the room immediately and see what she could find.

Sure enough the lost items were located, put in an express post pack and addressed to me. That express post took a week to get from Saffire to Hobart had nothing to do with Saffire, more Australia Post!

*The author paid her own way.

Island ire as Rex cancels flights

A pilot shortage blamed on Qantas has resulted in several Rex Airlines flights being cancelled at the last-minute leaving passengers stranded at King Island Airport.

Over the last few weeks, several flights meant to be leaving King Island Airport have been cancelled while passengers have been checked in and ready to board.

King Island Tourism president Adam Hely said the instances of cancelled flights were frustrating.

Mr Hely said islanders had not received any reason why the flights were cancelled and is concerned that reliability and confidence with air connections are threatened, which are essential when coming to a remote location.

“Everyone is losing their confidence, especially people flying off the island who have to get to connecting flights.

[Additionally]”If we want to go over to Hobart, we’ve got to get over to Melbourne for a connecting flight unless we go to Launceston and drive.

“People are losing confidence in being able to rely on Rex”, he told Tasmanian media.

Cancelled flights mean that visitors often need to organise overnight accommodation and hire cars and similarly residents returning home from interstate need to do the same.

The problems of delayed or cancelled Rex flights have not only been felt on King Island.

Checked-in passengers at the Rex boarding gates in Melbourne were dismayed last week, to see listed board flights to other regional centres with lengthy delays.

Staff appeared to be unaware of the flight disruptions at the main check-in counters. Boarding gate counter staff advised waiting passengers that the cause was pilot replacement and flights needed to wait until they landed in Melbourne.

Mr Hely urged Rex Airlines to improve its communication with passengers catching flights to and from King Island.

“So the island can operate smoothly and we can give our tourists the best trip we can, we’ve got to have a more reliable service that we can depend on.”

Rex has regularly commented in the media about its pilot shortages and told media this week, “Unfortunately, the aviation industry worldwide has been hit hard by a shortage of pilots and Rex, like so many airlines, has also had to confront this problem post-Covid”.

“The recent cancellations were due to circumstances beyond our control, leaving us unable to crew our services at the last minute.”

Despite pilot shortages, this week REX announced new connections on key routes with an inaugural route from Brisbane to Adelaide, has added flights to existing connections to Melbourne and Sydney and added flights from Brisbane flights to Cairns, Townsville and Moranbah.

The company has also expanded its capacity to service the mining, construction and resources sector.

Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said that REX, through its stake in National Jet Express acquired last year, would look closely at the viability of flying to more major Queensland coastal cities and major tourist destinations.

Picture: Josh Withers

On the hairy snail trail

There was a buzz around the King Island Town Hall in Currie last Sunday when young and old and in between came to meet with the Bush Blitz scientists to show them their unusual finds or to find out what the scientists had found while surveying the island – including a hairy snail.

Bush Blitz is Australia’s largest nature discovery program. It is a unique multi-million dollar partnership between the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Parks Australia, BHP and Earthwatch Australia to document plants and animals across Australia.

The scientists mentioned the King Island weather – changeable every five minutes, but said it did not deter them, and they were excited with their finds. The botanists found a small herbaceous daisy-like species (Lagenophora).

This little daisy will be sent to Paris to replace the plant collected 100 years ago which among other Australian plants was inadvertently destroyed when on loan.

“It has been a wonderful trip, our spider man Honorary Research Associate with the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, John Douglas is fairly confident that we have possibly found a new trap door spider species up at Yellow Rock and possibly a new jumping spider and weevil,” Bush Blitz Manager Jo Harding said.

“There are possibly more than five new species we’ve identified. Zoe Blochse from Uni NSW has identified a few new Sundew True bugs and Dr Cathy Byrne Senior Curator (Zoology) from Tasmania Museum and Art has set light traps each night and she also thinks she has found a couple of new species of moths and we think there’s a new species of hairy snail – and yes, they are hairy.

“The guys from the Tasmanian Herbarium are also excited as there is little known about the lichens. The students at Big Lake were so engaged.

“We were able to live stream back into classrooms around Australia, mainly in NSW and Victoria and that involved about 400 students who all know about King Island.

“It’s really good for students to see scientists in the field and not in a lab wearing a white coat. Students get to find out about the opportunities in science and jobs that can take them around the world,” she said.

The botantists are keen to return to King Island. There is a long process that needs to be followed before the scientists’ finds can be called a new species and named and this includes notifying scientists worldwide.

“If anyone is interested in continuing the search, I recommend the inaturalist app.

“It has AI imbedded so it can identify what a citizen scientist might have found, but it also links automatically into the Atlas of Living Australia which scientists also use and it has both images and audio to help with identifications,” Ms Harding said.

Dig in for a cause, Lions roar

Your tomatoes will take off like a rocket ship, your roses will be bloomin’ marvellous and if you rubbed it on a bald head who knows what would happen!

The Perth Lions Club members reckon their composted cow manure can grow anything, and being odour-free, weed-free and organic it’s a must for every home gardener.

Club president Butch Leighton has been leading a weekly bunch of baggers preparing the poo for delivery as their club’s major fundraiser of the year.

They willingly and at their own expense deliver the compost in the Northern Midlands and Launceston area for free for any orders of five bags or more. Cost is $7 per bag.

“What a lot of people do is organise with a friend or neighbour to share an order so that it’s delivered to the door,” Butch said.

“Every cent from every bag sold goes into community projects such as to provide bursaries for schools in Evandale, Perth, Longford and Campbell Town, to put on a Christmas party for kids at the Train Park in Perth and to give a hand to anyone when they come to us in need,” he said.

Perth Lions Club members are also well regarded for their work looking after the gates at Campbell Town Show and providing a Santa for the Eskleigh Christmas barbecue.

Recently they commissioned a stunning metal silhouette that has been erected on Gibbett’s Hill near Perth.

With the black gold in huge demand and spring gardens being prepared the best tip is get in quick by placing an order with Carol on 0488 184 147.

Cressy hotel owners out to raise the bar

If the walls of the Ringwood Hotel could talk – there would be a lot of worried Cressy locals!

They would also dictate a new chapter in the long list of licensees since it was established in 1857 by James Ringwood.

Banjos Longford owner Damien Benson and his partner Lewis Jellick have taken on the pub in what they dub “another adventure”.

“I’ve been at Banjos for 23 years and my business partner is more than capable of running that so this is a great challenge and something we’re both wanted to do for a while,” Damien said.

Just a few weeks on the job have seen the couple grow familiar with the patrons and note what they would like their local watering hole to look like.

“More live music was some of the feedback, so we had Ben Castles here on the weekend and plan to get more favourite musicians to entertain,” Damien said.

“Free bar snacks on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights is a bonus for patrons and we should have Keno up and running in about six weeks and we’ll then get stuck into a dining room overhaul.

“We’re grateful for the assistance and smooth transition from former licensee Mike Langridge – it’s really helped us.”

Chef Debbie Lucas remains in charge of the kitchen with the hotel’s reputation for a great counter meal spreading far and wide and Kaylee Hodge ensures the smoothing running of the front of house and bar.

In the meantime Damien and Lewis are working on their beer-pulling skills and welcome anyone to call in for a coldie or a meal.

POLITICALLY TRAITOROUS MPS SHOULD WALK THE PLANK

It’s often said that if you want a friend in politics, get a dog. I don’t know how many dogs Premier Jeremy Rockliff currently owns, but based on the experience of the last year he might be soon needing to get a kennel licence.

During the past six months, an unprecedented three members of his Government have decided that their political genius is such that they are better off sitting as in Parliament as independents, rather than Liberals.

Fortunately, the most recent of them, Elise Archer, eventually did the right thing and resigned from Parliament altogether, allowing a Liberal (Simon Behrakis) to take her seat on a countback. But not before she had forced the Government to the very edge of an early election, along the way fancifully accusing the Premier of breaking the law, and laughably claiming (apparently with a straight face) that she got elected in spite of the Liberal Party, not because of it.

Meanwhile, the original political traitors, John Tucker and Lara Alexander, continue to sit in the Parliament in seats they have stolen from the Liberal Party. And while they claim to want to provide political stability and certainty, it’s clear that the pledge they have both made in writing to provide the Liberals with confidence and supply is not worth the paper it’s written on. Indeed, it seems that every other week they are publicly musing about whether they will support Labor’s latest no confidence motion.

The Liberal Party was elected in 2014 (51.5 per cent of the primary vote), 2018 (50.2 per cent) and 2021 (48.7 per cent), each time with a clear mandate and enough seats to form a majority government. The only reason that the Government is now in minority and seemingly perpetual instability is because of the defections of Ms Alexander and Mr Tucker, and the short-lived defection of Ms Archer.

The minority government that they have brought about is not the will of the voters, it is nothing more than their own short-term selfishness.

And yet, extraordinarily, Ms Alexander and Mr Tucker – and indeed some within the Liberal Party who should know better – are actively contemplating a return to the Liberal fold.

You’ve got to wonder at their chutzpah and lack of self-awareness that they could think that they can throw the government into disarray, publicly attack and criticise the Premier on an almost daily basis, and haul a former colleague in Guy Barnett off the Privileges Committee, and still expect that at some point they’ll be welcomed home with open arms.

To the extent that this option is viable (and to be clear I’ll tear up my own Liberal membership card if it does happen) it is entirely due to the belief of some that it would restore stability to the Government. Unfortunately, the Liberals contemplating this strategy foolishly think that rewarding disloyalty and appeasement is a price worth paying.

Now consider the alternative. Our Hare-Clark electoral system has many flaws, but one of its benefits is that if a member resigns, there is no need for a by-election. Rather, a countback is held and because the resigning member is elected almost exclusively on their political brand rather than their own personal popularity, almost without fail a member of their former political party is elected to replace them. We saw this graphically demonstrated after Elise Archer’s resignation, when nearly 90 per cent of her number 2 two votes were for fellow Liberal candidates.

Requiring MPs to resign their seat if they switch team mid-stream would certainly come with its own complications. But what it would do is ensure that voters continue to get the Government they voted for, regardless of individual MPs egos. At the very least, it would give them pause for thought before wilfully thumbing their nose at voters as Ms Alexander, Mr Tucker and (briefly) Ms Archer have all done.

In January this column caused some consternation within Government when I pleaded with them to “stop doing stupid things” in the year ahead. One of those stupid things was to cave to pressure from the Treasury bureaucrats and change the way in which Tasmania’s fire levy is collected.

Unfortunately, the Minister chose to ignore my free advice and recently released two proposed alternative models for consultation. In political terms it’s hard to tell the difference between the two, so let’s just call them the “frying pan” and the “fire”. The “fire” model hits households with increases in the fire tax of up to 300 per cent, commercial around 800 per cent and farmer up to 1,000 per cen. The “frying pan” model reduces the hit on households to “only” around 200 per cent, but makes up for it by stinging the commercial and farming sectors even harder.

At this point, the changes are opposed by the Local Government Association of Tasmania, individual mayors, the Property Council, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tasmanian Small Business Council, and the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association. Not to mention voters.

On top of that, Liberal renegade John Tucker has publicly opposed the changes, meaning they’ll almost certainly fail to pass the Parliament.

It really does take a special sort of political genius on the part of Minister Ellis to upset pretty much everyone with a change no one asked for, except for a few faceless bureaucrats.

As has been suggested, if more money is needed for our fire and emergency services, why not simply fund it out of the budget, like pretty much every other government service. After all, that’s what people already pay their taxes for.

Disclosure: Font PR was recently professionally engaged to assist the Minister in seeing the light on this matter.

Summer’s tourism promise

Last Wednesday’s gathering at the Boathouse was a resounding success, drawing a diverse group of industry operators and stakeholders.

The event, hosted by West by North West (WxNW), King Island’s regional tourism organisation, served as an opportunity to reconnect with the local tourism sector, assessing business performance, forward bookings, and the outlook for the approaching summer season.

Initial reports suggest a promising and prosperous summer ahead for King Island’s tourism businesses.

“I always love coming to King Island,” WxNW CEO Gabriella Conti said.

“The fantastic people, produce and lifestyle offered here are so unique and truly unparalleled and hold a special place in my heart.

“Engaging with the passionate tourism industry on this island is an absolute delight,” she said.

Producers ponder the beef industry

King Island beef producers came together at the King Island Club for the 26th annual Beef Day and dinner. Farmers gathered to gain insights and listened to new ideas.

This year’s theme was “Fine Tuning Beef Production.”

“The annual event is really good considering that we have island-specific issues which we can share on a day like this,“ Beef Producers Group president Nick Lyttle said.

Around 70 farmers converged on the King Island Club for the conference day and 40 attended the dinner that followed.

There were five guest speakers.

“You first think it may be difficult to find guest speakers, but as we have built a network, we have found it easy to attract specialists to the island,” Mr Lyttle said.

“We had Adam Coffey, Director Cattle Australia and beef producer talking about methane emissions and how it’s misaccounted for in CO2 emissions, which is important and how do we get from climate neutral to carbon neutral; Jen Alexopoulos introduced an economic comparison of fixed time AI and natural mating in Angus beef heifers; Peter McGilchrist who has conducted research on King Island for five years, spoke on breeding and feeding to produce better beef; Marek Matuszek of AgLogic discussed the weather stations that have been placed on King Island and drainage mapping; and the day finished with Roger Clemons providing an FPA update,” Mr Lyttle said.

“Transport is still one of our challenges. Anywhere else you have a feed budget for winter, because you know when the cattle are gone at a certain date. We do run into trouble in autumn now and again when we get ship delays. Usually, we don’t have long delays but this winter we have.

“Beef prices are down. Fortunately, in Tassie we have enough grass to back it up.

“However, prices are set in NSW and Queensland where it is a lot drier. Although we can still get the kilos on the animals, as in production, we lose out on the price. We are in a time when you have to look at the price of production rather than the price you receive,” he added.

King Island gets race ready

HORSE racing fans have thanked TasRacing for sending over four of their maintenance crew for a couple of days to help King Island Racing Club Inc volunteers get some of the race ready bigger jobs done.

We certainly enjoyed being out in the beautiful weather and sunshine with hardly a breath of wind.

Thank you to our local boys for getting everything ready to go –Warren Fisher, Shane Grave, Wayne Hamer, Jim Taylor and thanks to Rod McGarvie for helping and for lending his tractor and to Steve Helbig for donation of gravel and sand for mixing of concrete.

At least 70 holes were dug and reinfored around the bases of the running rail.

The rail was hanging in too much due to the strong winds over the past years since erecting in 2019.

Other works included helping with our irrigation, mowing the track and painting of the rails in the mounting yard. Thanks to Jim Taylor for getting old paint off with his pressure washer.

Wayne Hamer has led the way for the last couple of days, and the Racing Club still needs to erect the rail that’s down, more painting, more mowing and whipper snipping before our official trial day on Saturday, November 18.

Heather Archer is well under way with memberships and sponsorship.

Anyone wanting a membership or who would like to sponsor a race or donate some money please contact Heather or myself. Email kingislandracingclub@gmail.com. We looking forward to another safe and successful season. First Race Day is Ladies’ Day, get your outfits ready and come along and have a ball.

PICTURE: TasRacing crew who came to the island to assist with some of the bigger jobs that needed to be done before the King Island Racing season commences.