~ Gudrun ~

If it hadn’t been for Gudrun’s old jeans, she wouldn’t be here today.

It was the 1960s and German-born Gudrun, her master mariner husband and pet dog set off from the Baltic coast to sail around the world in their custom-built ten-metre yacht, but en route they encountered a cyclone which saw them fighting to keep their boat afloat for 11 interminable days.

“It was a really bad one,” she says. “We noticed the boat was leaking. We knew we were in trouble. My husband said, ‘Look, we’re not in the shipping route. It’s probably going to end up that we’re going to go down and that we’re going to die. So are you prepared for that?’”

Hours after firing their final flare, an 80,000 tonne tanker reached their stricken yacht, the ship’s bosun’s ladder swinging uncontrolled over the dark ocean. Gudrun’s leap of faith paid off, but the yacht’s mast snagged her jeans and tore them from her body. She was now dangling from the pitching tanker in her underwear!

“We stood on the ship's deck watching our boat disappear in the night; all our belongings, no time to rescue anything,” she says. “But if it wasn’t for those old jeans, I wouldn’t be here today! It was actually the adventure of a lifetime. It’s not always about making it, is it?”

~~~

This series features people who have made Tasmania their home since moving from far flung places, each a stranger to me until the day we met to make the images. Each shared with me an amazing life story and it's been an absolute pleasure to spend time listening to their memories, some of which accompany the images here.

Finding Memories #1
Finding Memories #2
Finding Memories #4
Finding Memories #5
Finding Memories #6
Finding Memories #7
Finding Memories #8
Finding Memories #9
Finding Memories #10
Finding Memories #11
Finding Memories #12
Finding Memories #13
Finding Memories #14

The images are deliberately unconstructed and rely solely on available light.

Thank you for looking - all feedback (+/-) gratefully received ...

Susie :o)

Tags: Traditional darkroom Black and white Portraits and people

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