PS Curlip's history making voyage to a new home.
16 Oct 2016
Paddlesteamer Curlip II left Marlo for the last time today and headed for its new home at Paynesville. John Munns watched her enter the Lakes.
Sunday 16th October 2016 will stand as a history making day for the P.S. Curlip as she made her way from the Snowy River east along the coast on a 7 hour journey to enter Lakes Entrance Bar at about 3pm today. The organisers of this sea journey could not have picked a better day as the sea was almost a flat calm when Curlip approached the bar crossing a little before 3pm. She was escorted by both the Coastguard from Marlo and Lakes Entrance and was assisted through the entrance by the Paynesville based Water Police and escorted by a small flotilla of private craft. Hundreds lined the vantage points of Bullock Island and the look-outs up Kalimna Hill on the Princes Highway to witness this, probably the last time, this vessel will make passage through the entrance.
The old sailor’s lookout at Jemmy’s Point was also packed with onlookers as the tow lines were adjusted between the Curlip and the Water police vessel in order for her to proceed against the water flow out of the lakes system. It was a low tide and almost slack water but the recent rains had obviously made their way through the catchments to provide a considerable outward flow of water against which the Curlip was unable to make way without assistance. A number of manoeuvres were made by both the Water Police vessel and the Curlip before finally the prop wash and wake from the Police boat indicated that it was full steam ahead for the Curlip to make the entrance. The hopper dredge “Pelican”, currently on station at Lakes Entrance, had conveniently left her station at the west side of the entrance to make a clear passage for the vessels. Without fanfare, but with good speed and a steady course the flotilla made their way into the relative safety of the Gippsland Lakes.
Having made her way safely through the entrance and past the hundreds of onlookers at Bullock Island she finally whistled her arrival, now having the spare head of steam to “waste” on a number of long loud blasts, the onlookers responded with waves and cheers. She made her way, still under tow, to Kalimna jetty where she moored and the crew who had managed her on the journey were seen to be congratulating each other on a safe journey. The skipper was obviously a very relieved man as he stood behind the wheel having closed down the motors and berthed the vessel.
PS Curlip is due to be moved and berthed at Paynesville for a period of at least six months at “Squatters Row” where a berth has been arranged and a hard standing to enable the hull to be re-planked and corked to repair the vessel from the ravages of an evasive worm. A number of other environmentally friendly changes are also planned for the vessel including the fitting of solar panels to power the galley and other electrical devices and a number of water condensers to enable the re-use of steam made water for the vessels boiler and save the taking on of large quantities of water which reduces the endurance of the paddle steamer. In time it is planned to berth on the Mitchell River and operate within that area once all the repairs and upgrades have been completed.
So once more the Gippsland Lakes will be home to a paddle steamer. The P.S Curlip is a replica of an original of the same name which plied the Snowy River in the timber cutting days and has a rich and interesting history Story and photos by John Munns, October 2016.
Editor's note: After a pause at Kalimna the Curlip arrived safely in Paynesville on Sunday night.
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