Migration Help
5th February 2010, 02:22 AM
Abrahaman Ali Abdallah’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship-assisted marine carpentry training will anchor his dream to become a boat-building big wheel in Tanzania.
“Abra” is learning his highly specialised craft in Victoria as training is unavailable in his country.
This includes helping to custom-build a $1 million, 51-foot (15.5m) catamaran, Liquid Desire, using western red cedar, high-density foam and epoxy. It sleeps 10 and will be on the water by March.
Abra will be aboard when the luxury “cat” is launched. He goes home in March to rejoin his family and put his potentially lucrative Australian expertise into practice.
Back on his island of Zanzibar, the carpenter’s newly acquired rare skills will be in demand as he starts his own specialty boat building and repair business.
His mentor is Anthony Turner of Deep Blue Sail, in Warragul near Melbourne, who sponsored him through DIAC’s Occupational Trainee Processing Centre.
The Adelaide centre is a global processing hub for all occupational trainee visa sponsorship, nomination and applications, including those from outside Australia.
Anthony has spent half his life living Abra’s dream, in and out of Africa, building and repairing boats and sailing on super yachts worldwide for years at a time.
Abra is here on an occupational trainee visa, which promotes international goodwill through Australian employers providing workplace-based training.
With Australian grounding in modern marine carpentry, Abra said he aims to be Zanzibar’s go-to man for local and offshore boats needing work and assistance. He will craft new-design boats and build and epoxy-sheath traditional dhows.
“Training in Australia is a turning point in my life,” he said. “I am aware of how fortunate I am and will try to make my family and those who helped me proud.”
Sadly, his father died suddenly in November. Abra was unable to be there for the funeral, which was to be held the next day in accordance with religious custom.
Anthony said the “cat” they are building in his Warragul workshop is a mixture of ideas gleaned from his travels, and will be a prototype for a futuristic new design.
“This project, in which Abra has a hands-on role, is the result of 20 years’ cruising and racing experience and 100 000 nautical miles on the world’s oceans,” he said.
At age 22, Anthony went to Africa, including Tanzania, spending three years inland. Then came island hopping in the Whitsundays and a 2000 nautical mile, 18-month trip to Thursday Island.
Having bought a live-aboard sailboat, he cruised to Broome over two years. From there, he went on a friend’s boat to Africa. Returning home, he built another boat. Within 15 months, he was off again . . . on an eight-year voyage of self-discovery.
It included teaching boatbuilding to young Northern Territory Aborigines and starting a boatyard in Papua New Guinea, in between charters and skippering.
He later worked in the super yacht industry in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.
“Back in Australia, I found a designer who let me put down my own lines and plans for Liquid Desire, that Abra and I are now finishing,” Anthony said.
SOURCE - DIAC Media Newsroom
MH
“Abra” is learning his highly specialised craft in Victoria as training is unavailable in his country.
This includes helping to custom-build a $1 million, 51-foot (15.5m) catamaran, Liquid Desire, using western red cedar, high-density foam and epoxy. It sleeps 10 and will be on the water by March.
Abra will be aboard when the luxury “cat” is launched. He goes home in March to rejoin his family and put his potentially lucrative Australian expertise into practice.
Back on his island of Zanzibar, the carpenter’s newly acquired rare skills will be in demand as he starts his own specialty boat building and repair business.
His mentor is Anthony Turner of Deep Blue Sail, in Warragul near Melbourne, who sponsored him through DIAC’s Occupational Trainee Processing Centre.
The Adelaide centre is a global processing hub for all occupational trainee visa sponsorship, nomination and applications, including those from outside Australia.
Anthony has spent half his life living Abra’s dream, in and out of Africa, building and repairing boats and sailing on super yachts worldwide for years at a time.
Abra is here on an occupational trainee visa, which promotes international goodwill through Australian employers providing workplace-based training.
With Australian grounding in modern marine carpentry, Abra said he aims to be Zanzibar’s go-to man for local and offshore boats needing work and assistance. He will craft new-design boats and build and epoxy-sheath traditional dhows.
“Training in Australia is a turning point in my life,” he said. “I am aware of how fortunate I am and will try to make my family and those who helped me proud.”
Sadly, his father died suddenly in November. Abra was unable to be there for the funeral, which was to be held the next day in accordance with religious custom.
Anthony said the “cat” they are building in his Warragul workshop is a mixture of ideas gleaned from his travels, and will be a prototype for a futuristic new design.
“This project, in which Abra has a hands-on role, is the result of 20 years’ cruising and racing experience and 100 000 nautical miles on the world’s oceans,” he said.
At age 22, Anthony went to Africa, including Tanzania, spending three years inland. Then came island hopping in the Whitsundays and a 2000 nautical mile, 18-month trip to Thursday Island.
Having bought a live-aboard sailboat, he cruised to Broome over two years. From there, he went on a friend’s boat to Africa. Returning home, he built another boat. Within 15 months, he was off again . . . on an eight-year voyage of self-discovery.
It included teaching boatbuilding to young Northern Territory Aborigines and starting a boatyard in Papua New Guinea, in between charters and skippering.
He later worked in the super yacht industry in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.
“Back in Australia, I found a designer who let me put down my own lines and plans for Liquid Desire, that Abra and I are now finishing,” Anthony said.
SOURCE - DIAC Media Newsroom
MH