 Ena on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Tryphena Dibbs, wife of the first owner |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | W M Ford Boatbuilders,Berrys Bay |
| Cost | A£5,800 |
| Laid down | 1900 |
| Launched | 8 December 1900 |
| Completed | 1901 |
| Identification | Official Number 112529 |
| Status | Active as of 2021 |
 Australia | |
| Name | HMASSleuth |
| Commissioned | 13 January 1917 |
| Decommissioned | 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam yacht |
| Tonnage | 65 GT; 44 NT |
| Length | 88 ft (27 m) (minusbowsprit) |
| Beam | 16.5 ft (5.0 m) |
| Depth | 8.1 ft (2.5 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Armament | QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss gun (RAN service only) |
Thesteam yachtEna is asteam yacht that was built in 1900 for Thomas Dibbs, the commodore of theRoyal Sydney Yacht Squadron. It was used as his private vessel for entertaining guests on Sydney Harbour and Pittwater until the beginning of World War I. In 1917 the yacht was purchased by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and used as the auxiliary patrol vesselHMASSleuth in the waters around the Torres Strait and Thursday Island, before later being used as a training ship tender based in Sydney.
In early 1920, the RAN disposed of the yacht and it returned to private use until later in the early 1930s when it was sold to Tasmania. Based in Hobart and under different owners SYEna was used for a number of purposes including transportation of produce and fishing. It was converted to diesel power in the mid-1940s and renamedAurore.
After sinking in the early 1980s, the yacht was refloated and eventually restored as a steam yacht close to its original configuration. SYEna subsequently circumnavigated Australia, as part of a visit to Western Australia during the 1987 America's Cup and then served as a private charter vessel.
SYEna is now based in Sydney at theAustralian National Maritime Museum where it is part of the National Maritime Collection, and is also listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.
Built in 1900,Ena was commissioned by Thomas Dibbs, commodore of theRoyal Sydney Yacht Squadron, as a replacement for his existing yacht of the same name.[1][2] The vessel was designed byWalter Reeks (1861–1925) a Sydney naval architect based in Pitt St, who had come out from the UK in 1885. It was constructed by Walter McFarlane Ford Jnr ofW M Ford Boatbuilders atBerrys Bay, Sydney, and designed and built to the high standards maintained by both Reeks and Ford.[3] Its elegance and construction were recognised in a 1906 (American) Rudder magazine story on the vessel, and looking at it in retrospect, the steam yacht shows that Australian designers and shipbuilders could build luxury craft to the same quality and standards as in Europe or North America[1] in this period of classic yachts.
The vessel, as built, had a length (not includingbowsprit) of 88 feet (27 m), a beam of 16.5 feet (5.0 m), and a depth of 8.1 feet (2.5 m).[2] Tonnage ratings were 65 tons gross and 44 tons net.[2] Propulsion was provided by a 25-horsepower (19 kW) two-cylinder compound steam engine.[2] The hull was built of Australian timbers with the exception of the NZ kauri topsodes planking. The superstructure was teak. The yacht was launched on 8 December 1900, and like Dibbs' previous yacht, was namedEna after his wife, Tryphena.[1] The steam yacht cost A£5,800.[2]
SYEna was purchased by theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN) in January 1917 for A£1,000, and converted for use as an auxiliary patrol vessel around theTorres Strait andThursday Island, armed with aQF 3 pounder Hotchkiss gun on the foredeck.[1][2] The yacht was commissioned on 13 January 1917 as HMASSleuth.[2] It proved unsuited for tropical patrol work, andSleuth was later deployed along the Queensland coast, then relocated back to Sydney and assigned as a tender to the immobilised training shipTingira.[2] One of the yacht's roles was to take recruits out to sea to "show them what being seasick felt like".[4]
After the war, HMASSleuth was sold by the RAN for A£1,350,[2] and eventually put back into recreational use. It changed ownership a couple of times but under one ownerWilliam Longworth, it often travelled between Sydney and Newcastle. In the early 1930s it was sold to Tasmania and taken to Hobart. The new owner usedEna to transport apples from Tasmania to the Australian mainland.[1] Shortly after commencing this work, the yacht was impounded by creditors.[1] It was later purchased in 1940 by the Roche brothers, renamedAurore, and over the next few years was modified for trawling and scallop fishing. The stem was reduced, a diesel engine was installed in 1945, and facilities for keeping fish (including refrigerated storage and a wet well) were fitted.[1][2] The Roches soldAurore in 1974.[1]
In 1981,Aurore sank in theD'Entrecasteaux Channel after hitting an unidentified object.[1] The vessel was raised by a syndicate funded by Sydney businessman Pat Burke, stockbrokerRene Rivkin, and Rivkin's solicitor, David Baffksy.[1] The wreck was restored by shipwright Nick Masterman close to her original condition, and an 80-horsepower (60 kW) compound steam engine recovered and restored from the former Derwent River ferryExcella was used to replace the diesel engine.[1][2] The yacht resumed operation in 1986 under theEna name.[1] During 1987 and 1988,Ena circumnavigated Australia, as part of a planned visit to Western Australia for the1987 America's Cup.[1][2] On return to Sydney,Ena was used for private charter cruises until being seized a second time by creditors.[1] It was sold to new owners in 1991,[1] and seen on the harbour occasionally. In 2014Ena was relocated by new owner Jonathan Turner to Melbourne, where the yacht was re-registered asEna III and was operated on theYarra River and inPort Phillip Bay.[5][a][7] In early 2016 the yacht returned to Sydney, where it was later bought by a new private owner. In mid-2017Ena was donated to theAustralian National Maritime Museum, where it is part of the operating fleet and National Maritime Collection.[8]
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Media related toSY Ena at Wikimedia Commons
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1981 | |
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