
Balmain Regatta; Dusting Off the Couta
27 Oct 2008
At around noon on Sunday the trusty crew of the museum’s much admired “couta boat” Thistle rowed off from the Balmain Sailing Club’s wharf. Although there was much to keep a sailor ashore, with the club house abuzz and an oasis of shaded park land offering a spectrum of activities, with a distinct lack of coffee and continuous offers of ale, it wiser to be out of temptations’ way. Thistle, built circa 1900 requires the full command of one’s brawn to rig and sail safely. Lacking much of the mechanical advantage of a modern pleasure yacht, “ winches are for cheats” could be heard called forth to passing vessels as our apprentice shipwright hauled in on the fore sail sheet.
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