The beloved 67-year-old wooden pilot cutter MV Goondooloo has been successfully salvaged from Tasmanian waters, four months after it sank en route to Hobart’s Wooden Boat Festival.
Total Dive Solutions pulled off the complex recovery on Wednesday, carefully lifting the historic vessel from the D’Entrecasteaux Channel where it had been lying since February.
The 20-metre timber boat went down near Whale Boat Rock on February 5 after suffering engine failure while sailing from Port Huon to Hobart to take part in the Wooden Boat Festival.
Co-owners Deb Ludeke and her partner Craig were forced to abandon ship when water began flooding the engine room faster than they could pump it out.
“It’s great to assist and play a part in helping this vessel live on, we know how much it means to the owners to have her back,” Total Dive Solutions’ Brock Males said.
“We all know wooden boats like the Goondooloo are an important part of our maritime history here in Tasmania.”
Before the lift, the team had already dived the wreck to safely remove fuel and oils.
Built in 1958 by the Maritime Services Board of NSW at Goat Island, the Goondooloo is one of just three pilot cutters of its kind still in existence.
The 66-foot vessel spent 34 years working Sydney and Newcastle harbours before moving to northern Tasmania, where it joined Tamar Sea Rescue and took part in countless missions over more than two decades.
For Ludeke and Craig, who had been lovingly restoring the boat since buying it in 2020, the recovery marks a hopeful new chapter.
A crowdfunding campaign launched soon after the sinking helped cover some of the salvage costs not picked up by insurance.
