Wyuna

Wyuna at Beauty Point, Tasmania
Career
Name:	Wyuna
Owner:	Port Philip Sea Pilots (1953–1979) Australian Maritime College (1979–2004) Mineralogy Pty Ltd of Brisbane (2004) Classic Wyuna Ltd (2006) (2013 - Present) Western Port Oberon Association Inc., Crib Point Victoria.
Port of registry:	Melbourne
Builder:	Ferguson Shipbuilders, Glasgow, Scotland
Launched:	16 April 1953
Notes:	Architect: Charles Stewart Mackinnon (Born 1895 Gorbals, Glasgow)
General characteristics
Type:	Pilot Tender
Tonnage:	1304 GRT
Length:	63.58m
Beam:	11.91m
Draught:	4.57m
Propulsion:	3 x English Electric 380 kW diesel generators 400 Vdc connected to 2 electric motors each 700shp

Wyuna is a former Port Phillip Pilot tender and Australian Maritime College training vessel which is now at Beauty Point.

History

The ship was built in 1953 by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow, Scotland^[1] for the Port Phillip Sea Pilots organisation as a pilot cutter. She is propelled by a diesel-electric power plant consisting of diesel generators powering electric motors coupled to the propeller shafts. Consequently she may use the ship prefix "de" and be referred to as de Wyuna.^[1] Her role as a pilot cutter was to sail with pilots on board to meet ships entering Port Phillip Bay. Pilots would be transferred by the Wyuna's workboat to the vessel requiring pilotage while it was stopped dead in the water, with shelter provided by the vessel itself. In the early 1970s the pilot service started using fast launches to allow pilots to board while ships were still underway, and in 1979 the Wyuna was sold to the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, Tasmania as a training vessel.^[2] She continued in that role until 2004 when sold to Mineralogy Pty Ltd as an accommodation vessel.^[3] She is currently in Tasmania having work done in preparation for her return to Victoria. In September 2013 she was donated to the Western Port Oberon Association for the Victorian Maritime Centre/Museum currently at Crib Point.

References