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Posted by David Sexton
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11 March, 2026
A VOYAGE to Queenscliff (Victoria) for the town’s famous maritime festival has helped raise awareness of the tall ship Alma Doepel and ongoing restoration efforts.
The vessel set sail on Thursday 5 March and returned the following Monday, under the command of Captain Matt McDonald, taking a break from chief executive duties at SeaRoad Ferries.
Sail & Adventure Ltd director and Alma Doepel restorer Peter van Duyn said while the ship was still undergoing restoration and was not yet fully rigged, they did raise several sails and successfully used sail in part of their voyage across Port Phillip Bay.
The ship has two new 280hp Cummins diesel engines to help it motor along when sail is not an option.
“To enter the marina ('the Cut') we had to wait for slack tide as the ebb and flood tide can run up to five knots as it empties Swan Bay,” Mr van Duyn said.
The sailing ship has been berthed at North Wharf Docklands for the past 15 years while undergoing restoration.
It left Docklands in January as developers began building apartments nearby, the Port of Melbourne temporarily finding them a home at 34 South Wharf.
“Currently we have eight containers with all our gear, which was stored in the shed at North Wharf and had to be moved to South Wharf under the Bolte Bridge,” Mr van Duyn said.
“We hope that the ship will be more or less ready for our next big trip from Melbourne to Hobart for the Wooden Boat Festival in February 2027.”
It is expected the vessel will eventually undertake youth development and training voyages, a role for which the ship was used in the 1980s and 1990s.
“We have berths down below for 36 voyagers and are capable of taking disabled passengers,” Mr van Duyn said.
“We have work to do, but progress is being made.”
