Alma to rise

The restoration of the historic sailing ship Alma Doepel is one step closer to completion.

The Alma Doepel is a 109-year-old topsail schooner, which is being restored by a committed team of volunteers at Shed 2.

Construction of the submersible barge that will raise the ship out of the water is now complete.

Restoration director Peter Harris said it was likely the barge would be raised in the first week of December.

He said it could take a few days to complete the process of raising the ship out of the water.

Once raised, restoration work on the bottom of the ship will be possible.

Mr Harris said it was hard to say how long this work would take but said it would be at least a year.

The barge is set to have a secondary use after the restoration work is completed. Suggested uses for the barge include an events stage or a soundstage.