PORT Phillip Sea Pilots have bid farewell to the Mavis III, the pilotage vessel that has serviced Port Phillip Bay and The Heads for the past 26 years.
Beginning operations in 1994, the vessel was one of the last to be built in house at Queenscliff by past and present crew.
The pilots have donated PV Mavis III to the Queenscliff Maritime Museum and is to spend retirement entertaining children who will get to explore a real-life pilot boat.
“Donating the vessel seemed like the right choice for both the environment and to preserve our history in the local area,” PPSP said in a statement.
Among those on hand to bid farewell too Mavis III was veteran ship wright Jack Beazley, the 93-year-old having worked with PPSP for just under half a century and has seen the progression from clinker boats that used to transfer pilots from cutters to the fast launches used today.
