We will have regular segments on seamanship, boat building and repair, safety at sea and boating destinations. We also have a segment we call Nautical Times which features shipwrecks and some incredible maritime history!
We spent a lot of time with Broome’s traditional pearl luggers, hunting in the mangroves of Northern Australia for the remains of what was a massive fleet of several hundred boats at one time, but now sadly numbers no more than 5 operational boats.
Watch the classic Couta boats of Victoria’s southern Port Phillip Bay which today race competitively but were born as hard men’s fishing boats catching barracouta in the Bass Strait for the growing communities of Melbourne and Geelong’s in the late 1800’s.
And what about the paddlesteamers of the Murray River? Tough working boats moving produce like wool between the states of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales that are now filled with tourists looking to experience the grandeur of yesteryear.
There are so many working boats to choose from. We couldn’t ignore the iconic green and yellow Syndey Harbour ferries which have for many years been the lifeblood of Syndey’s commuting public and are familiar to anyone that has ever visited that beautiful harbour. Then there are the humble and rugged little tugboats pushing metal leviathans around in ports all over Australia and New Zealand.
We’ve even included a story on the marlin game fishing boats of Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. It might seem like fun working on these boats, but there is a lot of hard work being done by the boat, the crew and of course the fisherman.
