Museum Day

We had a leisurely morning and headed to Fremantle after a quick stop at Vodafone (the SIM card purchased yesterday was still not working).

Fremantle is about 20 minutes from Perth and is home to the Western Australia Museum - Maritime.  The building was built specifically to accommodate the 1983 America's Cup winner - Australia II.   The revolutionary "winged" keel sported by the Australian yacht was a subject of controversy and legal action which failed to disqualify the Australian challenge. The trials in the courtroom and at sea intensified international media attention to the series. Australia II suffered equipment failure in the first two races against the American defender Liberty but came back from 3-1 down to win the last three races and the America's Cup. In winning the seventh and deciding race on 26 September 1983, Australia II became the first successful challenger in 132 years.  Also housed in this museum amongst many sea craft is the sailboat that has circled the earth 4 times with a single sailor at the helm.

We also had a tour of HMAS OWEN - an old submarine...

It was a great day.  We're off to the V8 Supercar races tomorrow (Sat 11/21) and Sun (11/22).