[ColinT54]

Hi All
My name is Colin and I am researching my family's shipping history. They first went to sea in 1861 in Tasmania, Australia. Of 9 brothers 8 went to sea and held masters certificates. Five of them owned ships, mainly ketches and schooners with one brother owning a brig, a barque and a number of barquentines, mainly carrying timber from Tasmania to the Australian mainland as well as some trading to New Zealand. Six of their sons were also master mariners though unfortunately 2 were lost at sea without trace with the "Handa Isle" (1918) and the "Lialeeta" (1925). Other family members were at sea through to the 1990's as shipwrights and A.B.'s. In all, over 130 years of continuous service on over 200 ships ranging from 15-ton register cutters through to large tankers.
Colin