Boat Folk – Westward

Westward, was originally designed and built to be a recreational fishing yacht, by Jock Muir, Battery Point boat builder. George Gibson purchased her nearing completion and decided she’d be more suited to a racing yacht, with a few modifications. On she went to win Maria Island Races and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races, the only vessel with a fishing wet will to ever win a Sydney to Hobart!

As a relatively small timber boat from Tassie, Westward has travelled a fair few nautical miles since launching in 1947. 
Since 2010, she has been in the very capable hands of the Maritime Museum of Tasmania. The Maritime Museum of Tasmania’s volunteers lovingly care for and maintain Westward and often having working bees to keep her shipshape. Our friends at TasPorts also contribute, as they sponsor the berthing of the vessel in Hobart’s stunning Constitution Dock.

Back in February 2021, when the usual AWBF would have been held, AWBF were forced to cancel due to covid. So they decided why not encourage all wooden boats in the area to come out for a leisurely sail, just like our usual Parade of Sail event. The AWBF were then given permission from TasPorts to bring 10 boats back to Con Dock for the night, to film our Boat Folk series. We are now coming to the end of the series and are looking for more sponsors to help us do Boat Folk 2.0.

If you’re interested in pitching in, to document beautiful maritime histories behind these stunning boats, check out our website.

Westward will be attending the Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2023, and will be part of the Australian National Maritime Museum Boat Builders of Australia display, as a Jock Muir designed and built vessel.
Stay tuned for more information on how to get a guided tour of a designer or builder during the 2023 AWBF!

Our latest Boat Folk film will share the story of WESTWARD with you.