THE BOSUN’S LOCKER

from Tidings Magazine - September 2020

MATILDA

AROUND THE GROUNDS

STORM SURGE: on Monday, 25 June 2020, the Swan and Canning Rivers experienced a significant tidal surge. The surge measured 1.86m at the Barrack Street tide gauge and was the second highest reading from that gauge. The highest was recorded at 1.92m on 16 May 2003.

SWAN-CANNING ESTUARY MUSSEL REEF PROJECT

Our iconic Swan Canning Riverpark is showing the same signs of environmental stress as other waterways around the world. What we do in our own backyard affects our rivers and therefore every Perth resident has an important role to play in helping to protect them.

The Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions manages a program that engages the community on matters relating to the Swan and Canning Rivers.

River Guardians volunteers can take part in skilled volunteering projects, receive training in a number of projects ranging from foreshore restoration sites to being the eyes on our rivers and becoming a Dolphin Watcher.

I recommend to anyone who uses our beautiful river to subscribe to the River Guardian E-newsletter to keep informed on a number of topics, such as:

In July 2019, The Nature Conservancy and partners began working on a three-year project aimed at helping support the ecosystem health of the Swan-Canning Estuary through building native mussel reefs. These important habitats help restore vital ecosystem functions such as water filtration and fish production and provide an overall boost for estuarine biodiversity.

With less than 10% of our natural shellfish reef ecosystems remaining in Australia, this project is part of The Nature Conservancy’s National Reef Building Program to restore and protect 60 shellfish reefs across southern Australia, bringing them back from the brink of extinction for the benefit of people and nature.

ALL THINGS DOLPHINS...

Great news! Introducing the newest resident dolphin after Moon was spotted with a new calf during a survey on 19 July (see photo above).

While Moon and her new calf were happily swimming around, Moon’s previous calf, Djinda (6-yrs old) was showing off her aerial prowess with some spectacular

above: the significant storm surge of 1.86m!

RIVER GUARDIANS

jumps out of the water.

The current estimate of the sub-population of Riverpark dolphins (based on six surveys in 2020) is 21 individuals including: 13 adult/sub adults; three juveniles and five calves. DOLPHIN WATCH TRAINING EVENT

The next Dolphin Watch training event is scheduled to be held in late spring.

Details of the upcoming event are as follows: When: Wednesday, 28 October, 6.00 – 8.00pm (registration and supper from 6:00 and formalities commencing at 6.30pm) Where: Scitech, City West Centre, Sutherland St, West Perth Register: www.riverguardians.com

DOLPHIN VIRUS UPDATE

While the human race is in the midst of a global pandemic as we struggle to deal with the COVID-19 virus, our very own resident dolphins had their own battle with a deadly virus last year. continued on page 47

ASTERN

FROM THE ARCHIVES

left: Bernadene III at typical attitude, time trialling with Bill Dunn and Simon Prosser (Navigator)

CHARACTERS IN THE HISTORY OF RFBYC: William George DUNN, 1915–2000. The records show Bill joined RFBYC in 1960. However, after having been discharged from the army on medical grounds early in WWII he joined the Naval Auxiliary Patrol unit HMAS Leeuwin II which was based at RFBYC.

Some of his exploits on the NAP vessel HMAS Viking are described in Ken Tregonning’s Club history book. This story is as much about his boats as it is about the man himself because the two cannot really be separated.

FIRST THE BOATS…

Three Bernadenes.

I am told that number one was a small speed boat probably with a Holden engine.

Bernadene II: was a small two-cockpit, high speed run-about with a Holden engine.

Bill preferred Holden engines, but he told me they were a bit heavy and the wrong shape for his next boat:

Bernadene III: 28’ twin screw launch built by Stewart Ward and fitted out by Bill. It was launched in 1980.

The hull was fibreglass and timber. Both deck and hull were Dynel coated.

Designed for a top speed around 35 knots and could still reach 30 when we owned her in 1996.

It came with a spare motor, several spare prop shafts and props as well as boxes of all sorts of other stuff. Mounted on the foredeck was a beautifully crafted stainless steel ‘Danforth’ anchor. Unfortunately, Bill didn’t warn me that it was only for show and the metal was really a bit too soft for actual use. Of course, I did use it and it got stuck. When it eventually came up the shaft was bent.

The boat was full of hand-crafted fittings and gismos all made by Bill in his home work shop and electro plated at Dunn Bros so they would never tarnish. (Bill took over from his father in the family electro-plating business. He also had an amazing workshop at home with precision machines & tools).

NOW A BIT ABOUT THE MAN…

Bill Morris wrote a wonderful obituary to his good mate in Tidings – January 2000. It is well worth reading again.

His passions: • Power boats - Bernadene II, Bernadene III • Making stuff out of metal; stainless steel or bronze then getting it electro plated. • Going fast and Time Trialling (with Simon Prosser as Navigator). • Getting involved with helping people and doing things for the Club. He loved taking Huck Scott (Club Coach) out in his boat to coach the juniors. • But most of all, tinkering with the engines on Bernadine III.

Sadly, Mary his wife, never went aboard his boats. “Don’t understand why,” said Bill. “She was a keen surfer and loved the water when we were young but wouldn’t go near the boats or the Yacht Club.” continued overleaf

ASTERN CONTINUED FROM THE ARCHIVES

Mary expressed concern that Bernadene was getting a bit beyond Bill so about 1994 she prevailed on him to put it on the market.

In 1996 Jenny and I decided we were sick of having to lower masts to go under bridges and decided to ‘dip a toe in the water’ to see if we might like power boating (verging on sacrilege). I did not want to spend a lot of money, so we looked around for a cheapish boat. There were a lot around but the prettiest was Bernadene III at our own Club.

I had been on board a couple of times with Bill and Huck Scott who preferred the boat as a ‘stable platform’ to film the kids sailing from the Junior Club in his role as coach.

We knew that Bill was a ‘bit of a petrol head’, and enthusiastic Time Trialler. His boat was his great love and his escape from the gardening chores set by Mary. Just about every day he would say: “Goin down the boat” and disappear just to sit on board, make a cup of coffee, chat to people going by or tinker with the engines or something and write up his Log.

I felt he would be lost without it so we asked him to treat the boat as if he still owned it but to ask us before he spent any money on it. He could still Time Trial, have his cup of coffee, ambush Kerry Davies and so on but should not have any obligation or expense. Also, would he please continue to write up the Log. (This was not what Mary had in mind and she was not impressed.)

From here on Jenny and I became known as ‘The Owners’.

THE LOG

Bill was an inveterate fiddler and nearly everything he did on the boat was recorded in the boat’s Log. This document is a treasure with the grammar and spelling being somewhat freestyle in character.

He loved to tinker with the motors: • “It might run better with bigger jets in the Carbies.”

“Maybe they just need cleaning.” • “Praps I should clean the spark plugs and reset the gaps.”

“Oops! Had a plug out and dropped a spring washer down the hole really buggered things will have to take the whole damned head off to get it out I should have joined a sewing circle.” • “Ran over a floating anchor rope and got it around the two props wound it up on the shafts and pulled the ‘I’ brackets in together so that I ended up with two holes in the bottom of the boat just managed to run it up on the beach at PFSYC before it sank. Hell of a job fixing it all had to get the boat up on the slips take out the shafts to get them straightened then the motors because of water damage then fix the holes and put all the stuff back. And the stupid woman trailing the floating anchor rope said she was just washing it and I should have seen it instead of cutting it all up with my boat.” • “I was out practising for time trials last Wednesday and got in a bit close just around Chidley Point nudged a rock and buggered an ‘I’ bracket, prop and shaft as well as putting a hole in the bottom just made it back to the slips at Freshie before she started to sink had to swap to the spare motor to fix the water damage in the other one.”–Bill was supposedly distracted and actually passed inside the spit post at Chidley Point. • “I am going to join a sewing circle. Yours truly did not titen down two bolts holding the rockers down having run the motor for about 3 hours the two bolts sheered off. I was very puzzled she was only running on 7 cylinders. Today I put a compression test on & found out no 4 was in trouble & that’s what I found.”

This ‘Log’ is to be held in the Edward Keane Room Library as one of the precious documents in the Club.

THE BERNADENE BRANDY BOTTLE

This one is not in the Log.

Bill was always the gentleman. If a lady came aboard, he loved to be able to offer her a drink. So, he built a cocktail cabinet – one bottle

ASTERN CONTINUED FROM THE ARCHIVES

deep - into the bulkhead on the port side where the saloon divides from the aft cockpit. The front door of the cabinet would drop down to form a shelf and display his collection of spirits and fortifieds. Amongst this collection was a shapely bottle of ‘Bernadene’ French Brandy which he proudly showed us the day we inspected the boat. Jenny and I thought it was so special that it just had to stay with the boat so, whenever the level went down a bit we would refill it with whatever brandy we had. On opening the cabinet one day we noticed the bottle was missing and asked Bill what had happened to it. He replied: “Well, it was always full so obviously the owners didn’t want to drink it so I took it home.”

THE SIGNALLING LAMP

Bill was a craftsman and inventor. During WWII the Navy were looking for a new type of hand-held signalling lamp. Bill designed and built a prototype which was accepted so that Dunn Bros was awarded continued from page 44

Cetecean Morbillivirus (CeMV) is the confirmed primary pathogen responsible for the deaths of three Riverpark dolphins in 2019.

There is no effective treatment for CeMV. It is a naturally occurring disease for which there currently is the contract to supply the Australian Navy and many of the Netherlands and US naval ships in Australian waters. This prototype is held by the Club archives in the Edward Keane Room.

THE TRUCK

The days when the Club used to hold ‘Working Bees’ were great for fellowship and ‘bonding’ between members getting dirty and sweaty together followed by a few beers. On the appointed Sunday morning volunteers would turn up with garden tools and gloves. Bill would turn up with his spectacular little Mazda mini truck which he had dressed up to look like a Mack prime mover and drive around picking up the rubbish for transfer to a big skip bin. Better than several wheelbarrows.

THE GUN

After the Replica of HMB Endeavour was completed John Longley let us know that a suitable cash donation could secure a spare gun. A certain well-known benefactor no vaccine available locally, nor is there any effective means of treating affected animals.

Fortunately for our Riverpark dolphin community, we haven’t seen any CeMV related deaths in 2020. of the Club was consulted and we duly acquired two guns. The larger of these (Iron) is emplaced at the base of the flagpole. The second (bronze) is generally displayed in the entrance foyer. This smaller model was designed to be mounted using a swivel trunnion on the rail of the ship. Bill built a carriage for it and sleeved the barrel with a stainless-steel tube. The intention was for it to be fired on ceremonial occasions such as the opening of the Junior Club Sailing Season. The action of firing was generally reserved for the Club General Manager (an ex-army type). However, after singeing his eyebrows on one occasion it seems he has lost the urge.

It would be wonderful to see this superb example of Bill Dunn’s workmanship polished up again and returned to ceremonial duty.

Bill was not a big man physically, but he certainly left a big legacy to the Club he loved and the friends he