Early in 2016, my friend Daniel invited me to come and photograph the MV Cape Don at the Balls Head Coal Loader. I said yes.
When we got to the coal loader, the sky opened. I could not get out of the car: heavy rain, lightning, the works. We waited it out, finally got aboard, and made our way through the ship. The old wharf was on its last legs.
We spent roughly two hours on board with Daniel walking us through the ship's history. I had never been inside anything like this before. The engine room was something else.
When it was time to leave, I could not find my car keys. I emptied the camera bag, retraced our steps through the ship, found nothing. After a lift home to grab the spare set and a midnight drive back to the wharf, it turned out the keys had been in the bottom compartment of the camera bag the whole time.
You live, you learn.
"For more than a decade a loyal band of volunteers have been scrambling over the decks of the MV Cape Don to make it shipshape once again. MV Cape Don Society ship keeper Daniel Callender said the retired navigational aids ship, docked at Balls Head Bay, was a treasure that deserved to be saved. 'This ship went around to all the bad and dangerous waters in Australia to deliver lighthouse supplies and help keep sailors safe.'"
Read the original News Local piece at dailytelegraph.com.au.
