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About Us
| Your Skipper
John Taylor was born on the shores of what was then the small country town of Busselton, Western Australia.
The family home, nestled in the crook of Geograph Bay, was so close to the sea, when the violent North West storms of the winter months struck, layers of seaweed sometimes washed up in the backyard. And it was the front yard that faced the sea!
John finished school and then spent some years fishing his way around Australia, ultimately moving to Denmark in Western Australia “because of the quality of the fishing”. |
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John's love of the sea, the environment and fishing has grown to the point where he decided to get his Skippers Ticket, buy a Fishing Charter and Eco-tour operator license, and make a living out of it.
As well as holding a Skipper’s Ticket, John has worked as a guide, on whale watching boats, is a member of the Denmark Sea Rescue Service and sits on the Great Southern Regional Recreational Fishing Advisory Board.
John is involved in a fish-tagging program and supports the WA Fisheries Department’s program Fish for the Future.
John is also a builder by trade, active in the local community as Member of the famous Muckrakers Cricket Club and a junior coach with the Denmark Football Club. He has three children Isaac, Bryn & Elsie.
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About the Boat
History of Iona
Around 1964 Greg Taylor, John Taylor’s dad, bought his first boat. It was a 13-foot, wooden, carvel- built Queensland skiff, called Iona. She was a beautiful little sailing boat that sliced through the water better than a hot knife through butter. But like, most wooden boats, Iona was hard work to drag over long beaches to launch.
A couple of years later Greg bought one of the first 12ft aluminium Quintrex dinghies – which still survives to this day with only a few dints – and that became the Iona 2. More fun was had with that little boat than you can poke a stick at.
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In 2000 John’s brother Joe brought another aluminium “tinny” and that became the Iona 3. John, who by this time was catching so many fish he had to buy an even bigger tinny, then named his next boat the Iona 4.
Finally, in 2005 John his first charter boat custom built, the Iona 5.
The Iona V Specifications
- Size: 5.2 metre custom built aluminium hull
- Seating and style: Padded swivel seats for 5. Shade cover, stable and safe. (Nobody as yet has been sea sick.)
- Motors: 80HP Yamaha outboard
- Safety equipment: As specified by State regulation, including equipment for all ages.
Boat Designer: Gavin Mair at Global Marine Design. Gavin was born in Albany but now plies his trade in Perth Western Australia. Boat fabricated by Neville Earnshaw of Western Ali Works. |
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| Sponsors
Albany Rods and Tackle
40 Stirling Hwy
Albany
Ph 98411231
Jack F. Ricketts and Co
22 South Coast Hwy, Denmark
Ph / Fax 98481203
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