The cruise of the Francois 1928 The Last Supper 13th to 14th June 1928 With only two days left before the end of their journey, they continued through the night and passed Double Island Light in the early hours of the morning. In the darkness before the dawn, the gentle sea attracted a warm NW breeze so they set all sails to help the engine. By daylight the wind dropped and they took in the sail. Although the sea continued smooth, it began to rain incessantly, making life bitterly cold and miserable. The drizzle ceased as they neared the boat passage to the Brisbane River. It was too wet to clean the yacht so they played cards. The last dinner on board was a celebration banquet and they toasted the health of their captain, George Kerr. The final day of the trip arrived with a ‘whale of a gale’ blowing from WNW. They described it as the strongest wind they had ever had to sail on the Brisbane River. Nevertheless, they still had to scrub the decks and clean the ship ready for her arrival in Brisbane. On Thursday 14th June, after a journey lasting 42 days, the Francois  completed the final leg of her journey, mooring at the Government Wharf near the Ferry at Kangaroo Point. Mac had proved his boat to be everything he had in mind when he designed and built it with such trips in view. Barrington Waters summed up the feelings of all of those on board when he wrote – © Copyright 2011  Julianne Dodds Did You Know? The Rescue Yacht Francois was sold in 1931, sailed to  Singapore and her name was changed to  ‘White Swan’. During the Japanese  invasion in February 1942 the yacht  fled Singapore carrying evacuees.  White Swan was apprehended by the  Japanese in the Sunda Straits and  ordered to Bantam Bay in Indonesia.  It  is possible she may have been scuttled  but to this day the demise of this  beautiful yacht remains a mystery.  Mac Williams brings his yacht home to Brisbane in 1928. Williams Collection. “We have had a holiday unique in charm and interest and  health-giving properties. We have proved that eleven people, if  rightly chose, though confined in necessarily close quarters,  often under irritating physical conditions, can pursue six  weeks of communal enjoyment without a disturbing ripple on  the sea of friendship on which we have sailed so pleasantly.” Sixteen months after his adventurous trip on Francois, Joseph Barrington Waters died. A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Barrie had studied for a barrister but ill-health forced him to look for another occupation so he was lured into the theatrical profession. In 1918 he opened the Empire Theatre in Brisbane for Fullers. He was manager of the Empire until shortly before he died. Barrie was a also a writer and accomplished pianist.  In early 1929 he suffered ill health and returned to New Zealand with his wife to see his mother. Barrie’s narrative of his trip on the Francois appeared as a four part series in the Evening Telegraph between 11th to 14th July 1928. Thanks to his posthumous contribution, this story is now complete.