A fundraiser has been launched for the MV Goondooloo after the vessel sank in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel last week while en route to the Wooden Boat Festival.
Tasmania Police assisted the owners in abandoning ship after the vessel experienced engine failure and began taking on water.
Close to $2,000 has already been donated to support the salvage and recovery operation for expenses not covered by insurance.
Co-owner Deb Ludeke described the ordeal the following day, saying that the engine was running smoothly before suddenly failing, leaving them knee-deep in water.
“The generator was pumping water in from the side of the boat. We just couldn’t contain the flow,” she said.
The 67-year-old vessel, built in 1958, had been undergoing loving restoration by its Tasmanian owners, who say they “fell in love with her from the moment they first boarded her” in 2020.
The MV Goondooloo, an Aboriginal name for ‘Southern Cross’, holds historical significance as the first of three pilot cutters built by the Maritime Services Board of NSW at Goat Island.
It is the last of the trio that remains unrestored and was recently saved from a watery grave on the Tamar River.
A coordinated salvage operation is now being planned with multiple organisations, including MAST, the Environmental Protection Authority and the insurance company.
