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THE STORY OF 'PUP'
     On the 1st June 1935 a young journalist set out on his own from Sydney in a Putt Putt on a planned 6,000 kilometre journey to Adelaide via Tasmania and back to Sydney. His name was Gordon Doherty and he had previously paddled a 16ft canoe with a friend from Albury to Adelaide down the Murray - a trip of some 2000 kilometres. For this trip he was in an original Putt Putt called 'PUP'. It was a 16ft X 5ft Chapman Standardised launch which had been modified for his voyage. A false keel, a half cabin. mast and sails were fitted. However the key component was a tiny 21/2 HP Chapman engine as the sails were there only for an emergency.

     He was accompanied to the Heads by a flotilla of some 30 craft and shortly thereafter was hit by a strong SE squall when he found that the tendency of the boat to roll was excessive. The mast was too tall so modifications were made in Botany Bay and the voyage to Wollongong continued on Friday 7th June. By the 13th June he had arrived in Ulladulla having contended with heavy fog - but having generally good sea conditions up to then
     Continuing south on the 16th for Moruya he ran into massive kelp beds which continually fouled the propeller. He had to go over the side about 9 times and this combined with the heavy southerly swell left him short of Moruya in darkness.   He decided to continue to Narooma even though the seas were about 25ft high. Here he became a casualty of the difficult conditions of a barred entrance. A big wave put 'PUP' aground on a sand spit on the ocean beach. For the next 4 hours Doherty tried to save his heavily laden boat and,as it was lashed by waves, he desperately kept the engine going. Eventually he lost control and 'PUP' rolled over and the engine went under. However with the help of a dredge crew nearby they managed to get the boat to safety in calmer water and then ashore on the bank. Fortunately an inspection next morning revealed the damage to be fairly minor - a broken plank, salt water in the engine, some equipment damaged beyond repair and wet clothing charts and books. By Friday the 21st all was ready for a resumption and, with a benign bar, Doherty set off. He was in Eden on the 22nd.
      As he continued south the weather became worse as the seas got bigger and gale conditions prevailed. He had to anchor in the lee of Gabo Island until the seas abated sufficiently for him to continue and on the 1st July he arrived in Lakes Entrance after a non stop 5-day ordeal. Stepping ashore there he was barely able to stand unaided on the wharf.  
     Port Franklin on Wilson's Promontory was the last stop before he launched across Bass Strait to Tasmania. Bad weather forced a delay so that he eventually set out for Deal Island on the 22nd July. After 4 days there he went on to Flinders Island where he reported his arrival at Whitemark on the 29th. Two days later on the way to Lady Barren Island he rescued 4 people off a 30ft cruiser with serious engine trouble. Despite the bad conditions and the now grossly overloaded 'PUP', Doherty managed to get to Vansittart Island where he stayed until the 7th August with the boat hauled out of the water because of the gale force conditions.
   By Monday 12th August he arrived in Tasmania at St Helens - having called at Cape Barren and Swan Islands on route. The barred entrance here caused some anxiety but he crossed without incident. After a few days he set off on the final legs to Hobart where he arrived on the 22nd August.The interest generated by Doherty and 'PUP' was so great that the boat was hauled out and put on exhibition in the showrooms of F. S. Beauchamp Pty. Ltd.who were the Tasmanian agents
for Chapman marine engines. Doherty may have found it hard to leave Hobart where he was feted for over a fortnight but on Sunday September 9th he finally left to continue around Tasmania.Strahan was his next major port of call where he arrived on the 24th September. However by this time Doherty was not well and he was encouraged to call a halt by the executives of the Chapman & Sherack organisation. While resting in Strahan trying to recover his health disaster struck.
     Doherty was entertaining a group of 5 friends on board on a short pleasure cruise around Macquarie Harbour. He had allowed the passengers to stand on the roof of the cabin and, during a turn, the boat capsized. Only three were saved. Doherty was drowned while trying to save a boy who had attempted to swim to shore. This was a cruel fate for an adventurer who had survived the Bass Strait weather only to be drowned in calm water just 50 metres from shore.
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