LAST week a gala luncheon was held in the Docklands, Melbourne to celebrate the progress of the restoration of the tall ship Alma Doepel and to launch a new foundation that will ensure the vessel will be ready for her role in offering a voyage of a lifetime for young people.
The Waypoint Foundation will facilitate sailing voyages on the Alma Doepel for youth experiencing a range of life challenges, a role which the ship undertook in the 1980s and 1990s. For the non-navigators amongst us, a Waypoint is an intermediate point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point or point at which the course is changed. We hope that the Alma will facilitate positive changes in the lives of the young people that sail on her in the future by delivering life-changing programs on building leadership, resilience, empathy, self-esteem, tolerance and understanding.
The Alma Doepel is three-masted wooden topsail schooner built in northern New South Wales in the early 20th Century. She sailed around the Australian coast, carrying timber, wheat and jam and was used in World War II as a supply vessel for troops in Papua New Guinea. In the 1960s and 1970s, she was used to carry limestone, before being sold for the scrap value of her engines.
She was later restored and led the Parade of Sail in Sydney Harbour in January 1988 and was used for sail training, youth leadership and education programs for young people. She ended up in disrepair and in 2010 a program to restore her to her former glory was commenced.
The vessel is currently well advanced in her restoration phase after being re-floated late last year after an extensive refit of the hull. The deck is currently nearing completion, after which the stepping and securing of the masts and rigging will be done. Depending on obtaining the necessary funding, she should be ready to sail once again in 2024.
The luncheon was held to celebrate progress and to thank the many people and the shipping industry who have generously donated their time, service and/or money to the project. So far, more than 90,000 hours have been put in by volunteers. MC Peter Hitchener, newsreader at Channel Nine News in Melbourne, made sure the event ran smoothly and introduced Lord Mayor Sally Capp, who officially launched the Waypoint Foundation and expressed her joy that Alma, with her extensive sails would again be a great contribution to the skyline of the City of Melbourne and the Docklands.
Heart-warming speeches were made by two previous voyagers on the Alma in which they expressed the positive effect it had on their lives. A sumptuous lunch was enjoyed, and a large amount of money was raised by auctioning items donated by numerous organisations associated with the rebuild of the Alma Doepel.
For more information or if you would like to donate to the project, please contact Peter van Duyn: petervanduyn@almadoepel.com.au
Peter van Duyn is director of Sail and Adventure
