THE
STORY OF 'PUP'
On
the 1st June 1935 a young journalist set out on his own from Sydney in a
Putt Putt on a planned 6,000 kilometre journey to Adelaide via Tasmania
and back to Sydney. His name was Gordon Doherty and he had previously paddled
a 16ft canoe with a friend from Albury to Adelaide down the Murray - a trip
of some 2000 kilometres. For this trip he was in an original Putt Putt called
'PUP'. It was a 16ft X 5ft Chapman Standardised launch which had been modified
for his voyage. A false keel, a half cabin. mast and sails were fitted.
However the key component was a tiny 21/2 HP Chapman
engine as the sails were there only for an emergency.
He was accompanied to the Heads by a flotilla of some 30 craft and shortly thereafter was hit by a strong SE squall when he found that the tendency of the boat to roll was excessive. The mast was too tall so modifications were made in Botany Bay and the voyage to Wollongong continued on Friday 7th June. By the 13th June he had arrived in Ulladulla having contended with heavy fog - but having generally good sea conditions up to then
Continuing
south on the 16th for Moruya he ran into massive kelp beds which continually
fouled the propeller. He had to go over the side about 9 times and this combined
with the heavy southerly swell left him short of Moruya in darkness. He
decided to continue to Narooma even though the seas were about 25ft high. Here
he became a casualty of the difficult conditions of a barred entrance. A big
wave put 'PUP' aground on a sand spit on the ocean beach. For the next 4 hours
Doherty tried to save his heavily laden boat and,as it was lashed by waves,
he desperately kept the engine going. Eventually he lost control and 'PUP' rolled
over and the engine went under. However with the help of a dredge crew nearby
they managed to get the boat to safety in calmer water and then ashore on the
bank. Fortunately an inspection next morning revealed the damage to be fairly
minor - a broken plank, salt water in the engine, some equipment damaged beyond
repair and wet clothing charts and books. By Friday the 21st all was ready for
a resumption and, with a benign bar, Doherty set off. He was in Eden on the
22nd.
As he continued south the weather became worse as the seas got bigger and gale
conditions prevailed. He had to anchor in the lee of Gabo Island until the seas
abated sufficiently for him to continue and on the 1st July he arrived in Lakes
Entrance after a non stop 5-day ordeal. Stepping ashore there he was barely
able to stand unaided on the wharf.
Port Franklin on Wilson's Promontory was the last stop before he launched across
Bass Strait to Tasmania. Bad weather forced a delay so that he eventually set
out for Deal Island on the 22nd July. After 4 days there he went on to Flinders
Island where he reported his arrival at Whitemark on the 29th. Two days later
on the way to Lady Barren Island he rescued 4 people off a 30ft cruiser with
serious engine trouble. Despite the bad conditions and the now grossly overloaded
'PUP', Doherty managed to get to Vansittart Island where he stayed until the
7th August with the boat hauled out of the water because of the gale force conditions.
By
Monday 12th August he arrived in Tasmania at St Helens - having called at Cape
Barren and Swan Islands on route. The barred entrance here caused some anxiety
but he crossed without incident. After a few days he set off on the final legs
to Hobart where he arrived on the 22nd August.The interest generated by Doherty
and 'PUP' was so great that the boat was hauled out and put on exhibition in
the showrooms of F. S. Beauchamp Pty. Ltd.who were the Tasmanian agents for
Chapman marine engines. Doherty may have found it hard to leave Hobart where
he was feted for over a fortnight but on Sunday September 9th he finally left
to continue around Tasmania.Strahan was his next major port of call where he
arrived on the 24th September. However by this time Doherty was not well and
he was encouraged to call a halt by the executives of the Chapman & Sherack
organisation.
While
resting in Strahan trying to recover his health disaster struck. Doherty
was entertaining a group of 5 friends on board on a short pleasure cruise
around Macquarie Harbour. He had allowed the passengers to stand on the roof
of the cabin and, during a turn, the boat capsized. Only three were saved.
Doherty was drowned while trying to save a boy who had attempted to swim to
shore. This was a cruel fate for an adventurer who had survived the Bass Strait
weather only to be drowned in calm water just 50 metres from shore.
