Stan Phelan's Sailing Adventure

When Dad was aged just 7 months, his own father Stanley would join a group of 'business men' (presumably friends) on a sailing adventure from Melbourne to Sydney. They sailed on the motor launch 'Bona', owned and captained by M Franklin, founder of the Motor Finance Company. Franklin had retired and was making the move to Sydney to take advantage of the greater sailing opportunities there.

Leaving Melbourne on Christmas Day, the Bona was forced to remain inside Port Phillip Bay for several days on account of weather, and when finally leaving the heads on Thursday 30 December they only made it as far as Western Port. The next day they intended to sail as far as Wilsons Promontory but with favourable conditions decided to continue on, sailing through New Year's Eve all the way to Eden off the southern NSW coast, a total of 300 miles and 37 hours at sea.

The party were however in no hurry to get to their destination, and spent Sunday 2 January fishing and relaxing in Eden. Monday saw the crew sail from Eden to Batemans Bay but not without drama: at 2.30 in the afternoon when the Bona was off Baragga Point (just south of Bermagui) and under sail, a sudden southerly sprung up and "blew away the jib and mainsail, breaking the foremast" (Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 6 Jan 1927, p9). Once the wreckage was stowed away, the cruiser was able to continue on without problem.

On Tuesday the Bona travelled from Batemans Bay to Shoalhaven Heads (near Nowra), and making an early start (4am) on Wednesday January 5, the crew were able to reach the heads of Sydney Harbour by early afternoon. From there the Bona made a leisurely sail into the harbour, stopping at locations such as Vaucluse and Rose Bay, before travelling under the partially-built Sydney Harbour Bridge and finally mooring at 2.30pm at McMahons Point.

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Phelan and Atkin Family History

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