Lady Hopetoun heads out on one of her popular cruises to view the James Craig while Protex passes by servicing the Sail Expo shuttle run. Sunday 25th March 2001.
The weekend of 24th / 25th March saw the Lady Hopetoun participate in another new adventure for the AHF.
It was the first AHF Shipyard Open Weekend. We opened the gates of our Rozelle site up to the public in conjunction with Sail Expo 2001, which was being held next door on the Waterways site.
Lady Hopetoun ran seven 45 minute round trips on each day for the public. These trips gave the passengers a bird's eye view of the James Craig around at No.7 Pyrmont, along with our Rozelle site from the water. Each trip was booked out all weekend.
Protex, Berrima and Harman operated shuttle trips between the AHF and Sail Expo sites in Rozelle. This service was also well patronised, saving many the long walk along the wharf to get back to the main entrance or vice versa!
Our shipyard was visited by over 1200 people during the weekend and we gained excellent publicity and exposure from all our activities. A number of new volunteers have joined our ranks as a result and we welcome them all.
Brett Smith and Andy Munns would like to thank all those who assisted with this great event. Many people, regular and new faces, volunteered their time to help make the weekend a huge success.
WELL DONE ALL !
Videos Videos Videos
The Lady Hopetoun ~ Wisemans 2000 video is now complete and ready for purchase. Alan Lynn and Leo Henry of the Northside Camcorder Club have put together an excellent production, capturing the very essence of last year’s trip up north. There is plenty of fantastic high quality footage in this 50 minute video, along with an excellent commentary and musical background.
Whether you were involved with the trip or not, this video is well worth owning as a piece of SHF history.
-LADY H ~ WISEMANS 2000 : $ 30.00
The club also has in stock copies of Waratah’s trip to Newcastle, and as a special offer we have put together a combined video with Lady H, Waratah, and the docking of the John Oxley.
-Waratah ~ Newcastle Trip : $30.00
-Combined Video ~ Lady Hopetoun +
Waratah and John Oxley : $ 40.00
Place your orders with Brett Smith ORDER NOW ~ DON’T MISS OUT! Email Brett
Lake Macquarie Heritage Afloat
Another excellent effort in increasing public awareness for our organisation occurred over the Easter Weekend. Protex and Kookaburra achieved a top speed of 110km/hr on the F3, being trucked to Toronto for the Lake Macquarie Heritage Afloat! Both vessels operated over the 2 days and were real crowd pleasers. Passengers were booking hours ahead to get a ride on either of these historic boats. Unfortunately Kooka developed gearbox trouble on the 2nd day, however all will be fixed soon.
Imagine the interest if we could get Lady Hopetoun up there!
Protex prepares to take on another load at the Toronto public wharf, Easter Sunday. As can be seen, large crowds were always in attendance around our vessels and the AHF information stall located at the top of picture did a roaring trade !
Lady Hopetoun receives some well needed attention on the slipway from volunteer shipwright Mitch Spooner. Mitch was able to fix the offending seams in just a few hours. Well done mate !
Monday 19th February 2001
To SLIP or not to SLIP ?
She made up her own mind !
Someone was definitely looking after our Lady when a Waratah trip was booked on Friday 16th February, because had that cruise not been on the cards we would have been in for a rude shock the following morning. Lady H had sprung a very serious leak sometime that day. When we turned up to take Waratah out that afternoon Lady H was very low in the water and was only hours away from going to the bottom!
Fast work by the crew along with a speedy response from the Sydney Water Police and their portable pump saw the situation brought under control and the vessel saved.
She went to Noakes slipway the following Monday where the offending leak was fully repaired.
Special thanks to Burnie Norrington, Mitch Spooner, Bill Hardiman, Wes Mallit, Geoff Atterton, Ian Boddy, and everyone else involved for their assistance and dedication over that rather exciting weekend!
Brett Smith
The Lady Needs You
As many of you are aware, maintaining a vessel is an ongoing task. Work is always going on to keep the old girl presentable for each and every trip we do.
If anybody out there would like to join the Lady Hopetoun team you would be more than welcome. From painting, to polishing, bunkering, and of course the end result - crewing! The benefits are many.
Meet new friends and enjoy the fun spirit that exists aboard the Lady!
Captain's Comments
A Very Romantic Lady
They say that there is nothing more romantic than a twilight cruise on Sydney Harbour. This is definitely true when it comes to our Lady. Lady Hopetoun has played host to a number of weddings afloat this season. She certainly is the perfect venue.
Friday 2nd February saw Ngaire and myself crewing aboard Lady H for one of these weddings. As the night moved on, the passengers kept asking us when we were going to tie the knot! I think they must have wanted to see another wedding that night. One was not enough for them!!! I kept replying that we had not yet made any plans but you never know what may eventuate!
The night came to an end, and we all went home. Something was definitely playing on my mind though!
The following afternoon I took Waratah out on a charter with Ngaire aboard as hostess. Lady H was also out that evening under the command of my good friend Rob Gawthorne. Towards the end of our cruise I rang Rob up and asked him to get the Lady back to Rozelle spot on time cause I had decided to do the unthinkable, and I needed Lady H as the setting. Ngaire and I first met aboard Lady H back in October 1998, thus the vessel has an extra special place in our hearts!
BRETT and NGAIRE aboard the Lady Hopetoun the day before that question was asked!!!
When we berthed I was able to stall Ngaire until Lady H came in. I gathered the crews on the aft deck of the Lady and told Ngaire I needed to see her there. When she arrived I then popped the question!
Thankfully she said yes !!!!!!!!!
I could not think of a nicer way to get engaged, surrounded by our friends at the AHF, aboard our very beautiful old Lady!
Lady Hopetoun certainly is a very
romantic woman. She captured the two of us, as I am sure she will do many more in the future !
Brett Smith
Special points of interest:
Lady Hopetoun centenary celebrations are in the planning stages. If you have any ideas or would like to help out in any way please contact Brett Smith ASAP.
Classic and Wooden Boat Festival is back on this year. Stay tuned for more information.
Lady Hopetoun is now in Lay Up for winter refit. If you can help with maintenance please contact Brett Smith.
Lady Hopetoun Wisemans 2000 T-Shirts still being planned. More to follow.
NEWSLETTER OF THE STEAM LAUNCH 'LADY HOPETOUN'
Produced and edited by:
Brett R. Smith
Master - S L Lady Hopetoun Email Brett
