HMS Fly Build (Amati) 1:64 by Nomad

[DomCee]

A tall ship, a mast, and a birthday gift that couldn't go to waste was all it took to get me up the shrouds and ratlines of the three-masted Southern Swan to the top of the world! The climb was trickier than I expected and the less said about the swaying mast the better, and as a seaman not yet rated able I was quite happy to have my feet back on deck again. Here are some of the pictures from the excursion...

The Southern Swan is a three-masted barquentine built from oak in Denmark in 1922, now operating out of Sydney Harbour...

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Sailing beneath Harbour Bridge...

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Turns out I was the only one mad enough to sign up for the 'mast climb'

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But luckily for me the top mast had been carried away in an earlier incident and my climb was restricted to just the height of the mizzen mast

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The ascent became trickier as the shrouds narrowed towards the top and holding on tightly soon became a white-knuckle affair...

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Heading back to the Campbell Cove wharf with a new-found respect for all those sailors of old who scurried up and down shrouds and ratlines in all sorts of weather conditions

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Now, back to my HMS Fly ...

Thanks for visiting
- Mark

What a great experience - I'm also jealous! All the best, looking forward to seeing progress on HMS fly.

Dom