On Wednesday, 22 January, the MV SIGNA finally set off for Hobart after three years of restoration effort led by John Hansen. Three days later, it safely arrived in Bermagui, but the voyage was not without its drama.

The historic MV SIGNA and its crew, led by John Hansen, left early on Wednesday morning, and for the first few hours, it seemed like smooth sailing. However, trouble soon began.

On social media, John’s wife, Sandra Hansen, said, “The starboard engine began to overheat at around 10:30 am which meant backing off from 1700 rpm to around 1400 to ensure the engine didn’t overheat.”

This slowed the boat and crew considerably as they faced 3-3.5 metre swells and a 47 km/h southerly wind. Despite the setbacks, they reached Batemans Bay Marina by 4:30 pm.

Upon further inspection, they found the cause of the overheating was a blockage in the heat exchanger on top of the gearbox, caused by debris collected from the water. To clear the blockage, they had to stay another night in Batemans Bay.

On 24 January, they were able to leave Batemans Bay Marina and arrive in Bermagui by 12:30 pm.

Sandra says, “The highlight was their first marlin sighting. They had rods and lures out - the marlin chased one and they sighted his fin about 12 inches out of the water.”

In an interview with Nick Rheinberger on ABC, John said of the SIGNA, “The fella who designed the boat should be proud because the boat just performed magnificently.”

The plan is to reach Eden on Sunday, 26 January, where they will meet with the Marine Police and Marine Rescue to discuss the best way to navigate Bass Strait.

The Bugle will continue to provide updates on the rest of the SIGNA's journey to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart.

The crew had initially set a goal to raise $10,000 to fund the voyage but are still a bit short of their target. If you’d like to contribute, you can make a last-minute donation by calling The Bugle at 0412 415 101 during business hours (9 AM - 5 PM, Monday to Friday).