Skye Ha135

Early Years
Skye was built by Gil Albutt in 1954, in Queenscliff Victoria. At the time, Gil was an apprentice to the Cayzer brothers whose business today is known as Cayzer Boats. The purpose of her build was, presumably, to be a fishing vessel in Port Phillip, however, the name of the original custodian nor the name of the boat at the time of her build, is not known.

During the 1950s, small working fishing vessels were still in demand to meet the growth of the local fishing industry that had expanded beyond Port Phillip to along the southern coastline of Victoria. For a time in the 1960s, Skye was used as a fishing boat in the port of Lorne, where the smaller fishing boats were lifted onto the pier to offload their catch, for overnight protection from the fierce seas of the Southern Ocean – her eye bolts are still intact.

No other details are known about Skye until the 1980s when she was used for fishing off Stony Point on Western Port Bay, Victoria.

Custodian: Unknown; circa 1980s – late 1990s
Skye’s custodian in this period was a dairy farmer of Scottish descent who, in typical maritime tradition, named the boat to honour his Scottish heritage.

In this period, a local named Mick Hubbard inserted a timber centreboard and built a Cuddy cabin to provide shelter under the front bow; he added a bowsprit and mast, and wooden blocks for rigging. A Lister 25hp motor was also fitted.

Custodian: Bruce Bibby; circa 2000 – 2017
Western Port fisherman Bruce Bibby purchased Skye around the year 2000 after he had come across the bare hull of Skye in a boat yard in Hastings, where she had sat for up to 12 months. He instantly knew she was a good design with good bones, describing the 22 footer as narrow in the bow and tapered at the stern.

Bruce had learnt to fish with Tony Mirribella a member of the prominent Hastings fishing family and worked on their vessels; he used Skye for fishing in Western Port Bay, principally catching Pike.

Bruce made some adjustments to the boat, namely, placing marine ply around the centre-case underneath the ballast to ensure that the lead did not rub on the roves and destroy the rivets in the ribs. For a time, he rigged her with a lug sail so he could handle fishing and controlling the boat under a full sail, and over the years he experimented rigging with different sails to suit the conditions of Western Port Bay.

Bruce owned Skye for 22 years and in that time the Lister 25Hp that had been fitted earlier, never failed. He declared,

She was a great little boat to sail. I’d come into the Hastings marina under sail many times against the tide’, right up to my mooring.

Custodians: Chris Adshead & Gil Tucker; circa 2017-2019
Television director Chris Adshead and actor Gil Tucker purchased Skye and set about restoring her. For some years Skye had only been used for fishing, so her sails were rarely used. Halyards, sheets and rigging were all replaced. The boat was repainted with Teal topsides and Venetian Red spars. Sailing was generally from Hastings Yacht Club and many enjoyable trips were had to Rhyll and other areas around Western Port Bay, occasionally running aground in the very tidal shallow waters.

Custodians: Chris Adshead & Peter Villinger; circa 2019-Present
Chef Peter Villinger bought Gil’s share in Skye and he and Chris continued to sail in Western Port. In 2020, Skye was trucked to Port Phillip and now sits on a swing mooring in Williamstown.

In 2024, Skye was featured in an episode of Neighbours, an old fisherman is reunited with his long-lost son.

In 2025, the old Lister was replaced with a new 21HP Nanni engine. The topsides were repainted from Teal to a much lighter colour Island Sea. The lighter colour would not attract the sun and lessen expansion between the Kauri planks. This was on the advice of Dugga Beazley – a well-known early fishing identity and expert in wooden Double-enders and Couta boats.

A group of six keen sailors now regularly put Skye through her paces, generally finding a place to stop and enjoy a fine lunch, and possibly a glass of wine!