Cheynes II Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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A pleasant walk along the edge of Princess Royal Harbour towards
Camp Quaranup that will take you to a seat overlooking the wreck of
the Cheynes II whale chaser. The cache can be found a short way
past the seat in a shady grove of trees. Due to the heavy tree
cover, the co-ordinates may a few metres out.
The Cheynes II was a Whalecatcher for the Cheynes Beach Whaling
Company. She was a steam driven vessel and currently lying aground
on the east side of Princess Royal Harbour, Albany, Western
Australia.
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The Cheynes II (ex Looma II, ex Thorbryn) is part of the recent
legacy which was left behind when Albany was the site of
Australasia’s last shore based whaling station. The closure
of the station in 1978 bought an end to the 178 years of bay, shore
and pelagic whaling off the south coast of Western Australia.
The Cheynes II was built by the Smith’s Dock Company Ltd. in
Middlesbrough on the east coast of England in 1947. The vessel
measured 47.87 meters long with a width of 8.4 meters, powered by a
three cylinder triple expansion, fuel oil steam engine. The vessel
arrived in Albany, Western Australia at the Cheynes Beach Whaling
Company in 1963. The Cheynes II was purchased from the Tangalooma
Whaling Company in Queensland, Australia after its closure in
1963.
From 1963 to 1978 the Cheynes II was used to capture Sperm Whales
along the Continental Shelf off the southern coast of Western
Australia. After a decline in whale population’s world wide,
an International ban on whaling was enforced. The Cheynes II
returned from her last whale hunt November 21st 1978 the day in
which Australasia’s last shore based whaling station was
closed.
The Cheynes II was acquired by the Hobart Maritime Museum, Tasmania
almost a year after the closure of Cheynes Beach Whaling Company.
She sailed from Albany on the 30th October 1979 to Portland,
Victoria, Australia then down to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. In
1982 she was chartered by a private scientific expedition. After a
few attempts to cruise to Herd Island off the south coast of
Australia, the Cheynes II finally made it. However they experienced
much difficulty along the way, the Cheynes II was consuming more
fuel than had been calculated. The calculations for fuel
consumption were made on the original specifications of the Cheynes
II, when the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company purchased the Cheynes
II, they made alterations to the vessel to fit a Sonar Transducer
in one of the bunkers, this reduced the fuel capacity of the
vessel, therefore the crew did not have the required amount of fuel
for the journey. The Cheynes II made it to the French Antarctic
base on the Kerguelen Islands off the south coast, Australia to
take on water. The Cheynes II was anchored in the harbour and was
blown ashore. The French gave her up as a lost ship, but the crew
aboard the Cheynes II managed to free her using its own
power.
They set sail and reached Herd Island. An unsuccessful expedition
forced the Cheynes II and its crew to head back to mainland
Australia. With very little oil left, the crew salvaged steel bars
from Herd Island and sewn sails for the ship, and sailed their way
through the rough open seas. A former trawler came to meet the
Cheynes II about 600 nautical miles out to sea and towed her in to
the Albany Port. A few miles out of Albany, in order to preserve
the dignity of the Cheynes II, she fired up her engines and used
the last of the remaining solubles on board, steaming in to
Albany.
The Cheynes II returned back to Albany where it was stripped and
sold. An adventurous idea sparked by the Americas Cup was to see
the Cheynes II be transformed into a floating restaurant. However
the restaurateur filed for bankruptcy. The Cheynes II was left at
the jetty in Albany, where the Port Authority towed her up to the
west end of Princess Royal Harbour to a mooring which was clear of
the main shipping channel.
The Cheynes II is now aground on a sand bank on the east side of
Princess Royal Harbour, the bow pointing northwards toward the
township of Albany.
Park at S35.03.428 E117.55.274. This is the entrance to Camp
Quaranup. Walk down the bitumen road until the gravel starts and
follow the trail to the left. The trail right will take you to
“Quarantine Hill (aka Heart Attack Hill)”
Absolutely no bush bashing required. Please replace the
cache as found.
BYO writing stick, no room for swaps or trackables.
This cache has been place with the kind permission of Rob and Jo
Lucas, the managers of Camp Quaranup.
Please do not enter the Camp Site without the
permission of the Managers, especially so when school camps are in
progress.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)