Numerous Cal 14s were made commercially and sold to become great training boats for sailors, and a prized possession for lucky teenagers. These boats were a little too small inside for older people to camp in comfortably, but they were well made, with the result that many of them are still sailing today.
Pictures:
1. shows me, David Kidd, with my Cal 14 sitting on its trailer, in front of the garage at my Maryborough home.
2. shows the boat in the Mary river, tied up at Maryborough's public wharf. In the background the building that looks like a factory is actually the Brolga theatre. This picture was taken early one morning at the start of a trip that was to take several days following the Mary river as far as possible upstream. This trip followed interior modifications to the boat that started by removing a fibreglass internal lining to gain more space, then fitting more flotation material. A swing-down boarding ladder was added to the transom, and can be seen in the photographs as the white angular contraption alongside the outboard engine. A set of storage racks and a battery to power navigation lights completed the job. The first trip I ever made downriver to River Heads at night was made in this boat.
3. Sam Heidenreich leans against Cal 14 aground in the middle of the Mary river! This is a part of the river well upstream of Maryborough, where dredging for sand and gravel has been in progress. The dredge can be seen in the far distance, to the left of Cal 14 in this picture. Apparently after separating the sand and fine gravel they want, the dredge operators have dumped unwanted larger rocks and pebbles in the middle of the river here. At low tide the pile of rocks is exposed, but when we first came along they were covered by 15 or so cm of water, hiding them until they were revealed by Cal 14 running aground.
4. As far upstream as it is possible to sail, Cal 14 is shown here at a place we camped at the foot of the Mary river barrage. The barrage is a dam wall kind of structure built to separate the tidal, salt water downstream from the fresher water upstream. This part of the river is designated as a fish sanctuary for fish, intended as a breeding ground, and home to plentiful large fish. Official proclamation of a sanctuary does not prevent locals from fishing here however, as we observed in the dark of night. We were lucky enough to be given a nice mullett for breakfast.
5. On a later camping trip in Hervey Bay, Tom Cameron is seen here leading Cal 14 ashore at a beach on Big Woody Island. The boat has a swing-up/down keel, which allows it to be safely beached anywhere we wanted to stop. Most of the coast of Big Woody Island is rocky and inhospitable, but towards the north east end of it there are some nice beaches with good camping spots. We had survived a near capsize to get here, when a rain squall accompanied by strong winds caught us by surprise in open waters.
6. The white cliffs of Fraser Island in the vicinity of Kingfisher resort provided another camping spot for us on our Hervey Bay trip. I had camped here earlier in a smaller open dinghy, compared with which Cal 14 provided luxurious accommodation! Sleeping in the boat is better than sleeping under the stars on Fraser Island's sheltered beaches, as mosquitoes and dingoes are less likely to attack you.
Cal 14 was not getting much use after Nova Vida joined the fleet, so it has now been sold to a good home in northern NSW.
