The Yacht “Stormbreaker”
“A wonderful 65ft (20m) steel ketch”
West Coast Yacht Charters offers a timeless journey across Macquarie Harbour, from Strahan, into Tasmania’s ancient temperate wilderness of the island’s unspoiled West Coast.
The ocean going yacht “Stormbreaker” has two private double cabins, a large eight bunk cabin (with curtains for privacy), and two bathrooms with hot showers, toilets and hand basins.
She has a large saloon and galley below deck, with great space on deck for dining or relaxing.
It is like being in a hostel, in that passengers share the areas, except the two double cabins. We provide all your linen (sheets and doonas in the double cabin and warm sleeping bags with liners on the bunks). Towels and pillows are also provided.
It’s a great way to meet other travellers and hear of their favourite “Tassie” spots.
History of Stormbreaker
Yacht Stormbreaker has quite a colourful history.
She was designed by Peter Walker to be the ultimate, indestructible, survival yacht, to go to any place on the Globe.
Built by himself, his wife Nance and his engineering company, she was launched on the 26th of January, 1975, at Taren Point, Sydney, N.S.W. This was to coincide with the highest tide of the year as she had to float out across the mud flats from the oyster farm at Taren Point where she was built.
Stormbreaker was designed to explore the most untouched corners of the ocean, while filming the feature film “Stormbreaker – a Quest for Paradise”. The Walkers had previously made another feature film “Adventure Unlimited” which had screened for several years around Australia, and ended up on the Ten TV Network.
After a near drowning on a return crossing in their small boat from New Guinea to Australia, while filming the movie “Adventure Unlimited”, they decided to build an unsinkable, “go anywhere” yacht and that was the concept of “Stormbreaker”.
When first launched, Stormbreaker had accommodation for 23 people and left on her maiden voyage with a full complement. The Walkers spent five years cruising the Pacific Ocean. The family at the time consisted of Pete and Nance, their four children, Rhett, Lara, Shanie, Rachael and Pete’s Dad, Alan.
Upon returning to Sydney, the Walkers put their feature film together and it screened for several years around Australia, at times out performing top Hollywood films that it was competing against.
After all those years at sea, the Walkers decided that they would like some land – not just a little piece of land – but 1,000,000 acres, Nathan River Station, fronting the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory.
Unfortunately, 3 days after moving in, Nathan River Station was hit by “Cyclone Sandy” with devastating property and financial effects.
The Walkers became 6 weeks behind in a quarterly mortgage payment and the bank froze their assets and cashflow, with the consequential effect that they lost everything.
All their millions of dollars worth of assets were sold by the bank for next to nothing, and Peter was declared bankrupt.
And so … Yacht Stormbreaker was sold by the bank for a pittance, changed hands several times, and ended up in the loving care of Trevor and Megs Norton who now run “West Coast Yacht Charters” with her.
To finish the story, the Walker children, through a deal, bought the neighbouring property to Nathan River Station. It is Lorella Springs Station and is run by Pete’s son Rhett, as a cattle and tourist operation.
Perhaps you may like to call in to Lorella sometime and have Rhett tell you about his adventures on Stormbreaker.
