Baragoola Week Ending 25th September ‘11 In attendance: Nick, Gary, Ernie, Lance, Peter C, Peter H, Glenn, Bill, David, Geoff E, Geoff L, Luke and Mark Visitors: Many! Don’t forget that all donations over $2 are now tax deductible – why not do what some of our donors have and set up an automatic payment once a week, fortnight or month ? Coming up: On the 1st of October the boat will again be closed as we will be holding a lunch for all volunteers past and present to say “thank you” for the immense amount of work that has been done so far – a monumental effort has been put in by our dedicated team and Baragoola is certainly looking the better for it – no longer can she be given the derelict tag and she is certainly shaping up to being a gem of the harbour. Volunteers must let me know if you are coming. We’re still chasing a fairly hefty fundraising target (you can see it on our main webpage) but are inching closer every week. With our tax deductible gift status there’s no reason now to hold off on donations! Last week we had outgoings of $0 and we made $500. I haven’t included yesterdays takings as these haven’t been banked yet – they’ll show up in next week’s total. Later this year we are also booked for a BBQ at Bunnings Belrose, we have a couple of our members who have volunteered to assist with this event but still need a further four – if you can assist please let us know. This week’s anniversaries: Brightside burns out in 1908 (Wednesday) – Brightside was an ex Brisbane ferry originally named Emu Baragoola ordered 1920 (Friday) – last Sydney built Manly ferry On Saturday we held our open day and it was very successful. Much work was done during the week to prepare the boat for her visitors – scrubbed, tidied and cleaned she looked less a work site on more a ferry on the day. A great effort was turned in by all members who assisted – a special mention for Glenn who very kindly donated his time and boat to run people to and from the Baragoola and was kept very busy. The weather gods were kind too – the threatened rain held off until after everyone was gone later in the afternoon. Our onboard display First arrivals turned up at 10am and there was a steady stream of people after that, in total we had nearly fifty people on board – this surpassed our last open day (back in March) when we had around forty or so visitors. A good amount was raised in donations and sales and hopefully we’ll also get a few new members and volunteers as well (we usually do after these events). Tours of the boat were held and a highlight of these were the engine room demonstrations with both Gardners running, the bilge and general service pumps being shown in running order and the no. 1 English Electric being run on several occasions. At midday we gave a talk on the Baragoola, her history and her part in the Manly ferry trade and on the association and our plans for the vessel which was well received. A few special guest aboard as well, in particular some of the guys from Sydney Ferries including Austin Hart, himself a Manly master and son of Goola’s last master, Ron Hart. Ernie takes a group through the generator flat In all, a very good day was had by all. Baragoola is increasingly becoming quite a destination on the harbour; it isn’t unusual to see other boats coming in close for a good look – tourist boats, small ferries, private vessels and even the occasional ferry from Sydney ferries. This week has been no different – on Saturday afternoon a semi-regular visitor tied up, the 1922 built Protest, an ex Stannards and Nicholson rope boat. She’s a pretty little boat and has been beautifully restored by her owner (Michael) and his family. She’s also the same age as our vessel and has most of her original fittings. Sunday morning saw a return visit from Yvonne Goolagong – second time in a week that this ferry has been close up to Goola – we noticed yesterday that one of the RiverCats carrying passengers swung close by as well and a visit was had from the Sydney Heritage Fleet’s Lady Hopetoun about two o’clock on their harbour tour. Much different to 18 months ago when Baragoola, looking run down and decrepit and consigned by the powers that be to the scrap heap! Protest mooring alongside yesterday afternoon Yvonne Goolagong this morning One point that can be made from yesterday and was brought up a few times was that there is still a lot of misinformation about Baragoola out there – that’s she’s worn out, beyond redemption and of little value. Each and every person that we spoke with yesterday went away with a very different view – that Baragoola is in far better condition than has been publicly made out (a lot of damage was done and is still being done by the highly inaccurate and invalid BoatCheck report commissioned by Heritage Branch two years ago). Baragoola’s restoration is proceeding well and much has been accomplished by our very dedicated team – much still remains to be done but parts of the vessel are now approaching completion – for example the main cabin is nearly dome – we aim to have this large area fully completed (apart from repolishing the deck) by the 8th of October. Painting in this area is nearly completed, all light fitting are in place and Gary completed most of the deckhead painting this week. In the next couple of weeks the remaining cable trays will be installed, wiring completed and the existing galley demolished and moved. Once completed this area is being made available for community use and the relevant local councils were this week advised that it is ready for that purpose. Gary painting the deckhead in the main cabin Yesterday afternoon Gary, Nick and Geoff spent some time relocating the remaining existing seating to the correct positions as well; these will be restored in line with some of the others we’ve already done. Investigative work was done to determine what fittings need to go back to allow some of these seats to be replaced. We will also re-manufacture some (but not all) of the missing ones. It’d also be handy to get back some of those, or even perhaps others from other Manly boats that have been broken up. Contact us if you have any fittings from these and would like to donate them to the association. Example of restored seating – this one sill needs the cups for the feet Don’t forget – all donations above two dollars are now tax deductible – see our website for details on how to donate. Also, if you have Google Talk installed you can chat to us if anyone is online and nearby the computer – add [email protected] as a friend. That’s it for this week – don’t forget you can keep up with all the latest on our forums at http://www.savethebaragoola.com/forum/index.php and you can see our old newsletters at http://www.savethebaragoola.com/works.html We have a few new items in our shop – several new mugs. More things (like pens, caps and key rings) will be arriving soon as well. Coming in to summer we’ll be expanding the clothing range with more t- shirts, polos and caps available – watch this space. Next weekend we will not be open for work, we are holding a lunch on board for all past and present volunteers. If you are planning on coming let me know so I can work out catering. Next scheduled work day is on Saturday the 8th of October. Hope t see you all here then! Show your support! We’re pleased to announce some additions to our range of collectable items. All items can be ordered by sending an email to [email protected] with the following details: Your name Postal address Size (for clothing) and quantity Your contact phone number All items will be sent with an invoice payable within 30 days. White T-shirt, printed with Baragoola’s build year and our web address, available in white cotton only in sizes S, M, L, XL & XXL. Price is $22 including delivery. SS Baragoola – Baragoola as built in 1922, white coffee mug. Price $30.80 including delivery – available now. SS Binngarra (class vessel), white coffee mugs. Price $30.80 including delivery – available now. MV Baragoola – Baragoola in the early 1970’s, white coffee mug. Price $30.80 including delivery. MV North Head Price $30.80 including delivery – available now – limited edition only seven available. SS Burra Bra Price $30.80 including delivery – available now. SS Curl Curl Price $30.80 including delivery – available now. .