President's Report 2009

This is the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Couta Boat Association, and marks my 3rd year as President.  It has been a busy year, with couta boats involved in a number of sailing events in Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and even Europe.

 

The Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club as usual had a comprehensive sailing programme for the past sailing season, and has again ably conducted the Couta Boat National Titles in December 2008, the Portsea Cup in January 2009, the Queenscliff Regatta in February 2009, and the Couta Boat State Titles in March 2009.  We value this collaboration for the Association sailing events.  The Couta Boat Association has also supported the Cup Regatta on Melbourne Cup Weekend in November 2008; this event is organised by the Classic Yacht Association of Australia and the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and is attended by New Zealand crews who seem to be particularly attracted to our lovely couta boats.  The biannual Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart in early-February 2009 was attended by a large number of Couta Boat Association members, some of whom show-cased their boats at this wonderful venue, and the Association was able to provide small grants to assist in getting some of the boats to this important Australian boating event.  The Association social get-together at Hobart during the Festival was again well attended.  We also collaborated with one boat owner who took his couta boat to the international melting pot of maritime history and who carried the Couta Boat Association Flag on his boat at Brest in France in July 2008.  Details of this will be in the next issue of 'Scoop'.

 

With the help of past and current Committee members and their professional publishing  prowess (Coolwise Creative and Furphy Media Group), we have produced the Couta Boat Association newsletter 'Scoop', and my thanks go to the numerous contributors to this publication.  Keep the interesting stories coming ...

 

We have continued to provide a website and our Association email address is cba@coutaboatclub.com.au.  We are in the process of updating information on the electronic Boat Register.  It is our intention to only publish boat and sail measurements that have been certified by the Couta Boat Association Class Measurers, and I am pleased to announce that we have been able to secure the help of two very capable individuals to try and accomplish this task, they are Ray Eades and Wayne Johnstone.  Their contact details are on www.coutaboatclub.com.au – then click on CBA COMMITTEE.  I hope that you will be able to avail yourselves of their services which we are currently provided to our membership free of charge, and I appreciate your cooperation to establish this important data base.  It is also time to review the Race Register to make sure that boats included on it are compliant with our Rules.

 

The Couta Boat Association was fortunate to be involved in conjunction with Tall Ships Victoria with the visit to RYCV in Williamstown of the replica Cornish lugger, Spirit of Mystery, which recreated the epic voyage of a Cornish family 143 years ago.  Cornish sailor and adventurer Pete Goss was intrigued by the story of this amazing journey and undertook to repeat the voyage with three of his family members.  This simple working boat attracted a great deal of interest, and many people were able to come on board and talk to some of the crew while she was moored at Sorrento and Queenscliff.  Ongoing updates on this project can be followed on www.petegoss.com.

 

The Couta Boat Association is keen to foster the contact with the Williamstown-based Classic Yacht Association of Australia, and we are looking for two boats which will take up the challenge to compete in a match race with two of the classic yachts as part of the Melbourne Cup Regatta 09 programme.  We also had received an invitation from the Classic Yacht Association of New Zealand to participate in their Classic Yacht Regatta in late-January, 2010 thus providing the opportunity for a Trans-Tasman relationship with like-minded wooden boat enthusiasts - though finding the time during our own peak sailing season is a challenge.

 

The Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney is developing a Register of Historic Vessels in conjunction with the Sydney Heritage Fleet and is seeking listings from couta boat owners.  Boats older than 50 years are acceptable and there are currently four couta boats listed.  I have had word that there is particular interest in boats built by Lacco and Hansen, and I encourage boat owners of those types of couta boats to list their boats by contacting the ARHV Project Officer, David Payne on arhv@anmm.gov.au.

 

We often don't seem to value the special things we are privileged to enjoy, and sadly their importance is time and again recognised after they are gone.  Commercial pressures had made the sailing couta boat obsolete more than 50 years ago.  However, there is no doubt that the couta boat now has a cherished place in the wooden boat scene, both here in Australia and also overseas.  Through the considerable efforts of many individuals, this boat has achieved iconic status for Australia and therefore deserves and needs continued protection.  This simple working boat which is seaworthy enough to ply the waters of Bass Strait has been recognised for its race qualities and physical attractiveness.  While a good number of old boats were found in the early-1980's and restored over the years, the appeal of the boat soon began to outstrip availability of original working boats.  This led to the building of new boats and the creation of class rules which attempt to limit modernisation and development for the sake of achieving better race performance, thus attempting to establish a level playing field between old and new boats.   There are sadly several examples around the world where less care was taken to preserve the integrity and heritage of similar boats by allowing relentless improvements in materials and design to achieve higher boat speeds for the purpose of personal gratification.  I guess it might seem like a big ask to put one's ego aside and to try and understand the special status of these boats, and clearly, if this is not what you seek and value, then having a couta boat may not be your thing.  I personally have never really felt that I 'own' my couta boat, but rather that I am 'looking after it' for the next generations.

 

I feel fortunate to have had the input and assistance of my fellow Committee members during the past year.  In particular, I would like to thank Tim Phillips for his dedication and enthusiasm in promoting the boats and for providing the corporate memory that assures that an appropriate perspective is maintained.

 

 

 

Carmen Bell