TACOMA returns to Port Fairy – almost!
27th April 2011
The historically significant 84 ft wooden tuna clipper MFV Tacoma recently attempted to return to Port Fairy, sixty years after it was launched but poor weather and rising seas made the task too difficult. The Tacoma was built by brothers Bill, Alan and Hughie Haldane on the banks of the Moyne River.
The MFV Tacoma intended to call into Port Fairy on its way back to Port Lincoln after spending a week in Hobart as one of the feature vessels in the 2011 Australian Wooden Boat Festival.
The vessel has been restored over the past 3 years by a group of dedicated volunteers, all members of the MFV Tacoma Preservation Society.
“We were disappointed not to be able to return the vessel to Port Fairy as planned however it will happen in the not too distant future. It would have been a nostalgic time for all onboard and when it happens, it will bring back a lot of memories for some of the older residents of Port Fairy to see her again,” Ross Haldane, son of boat builder Bill Haldane and President of the Tacoma Preservation Society said.
