Captain Barnacles is once again setting sail to entertain school children from Coonabarabran to Collarenebri.
Not that long ago, Captain Barnacles, aka Russell Hodge, was running a small but successful tourism business in the area, “Captain Barnacles Motorcycle and Sidecar Tours”. As well as this, Captain Barnacles turned up in schools all over the place with his faithful sidekick Knott’s performing an outrageous and entertaining pirate show.
In 2021 Captain Barnacles came aground very suddenly and his ship was sunk so to speak, when a serious motorbike accident near Wyangala Dam resulted in a written off bike and nearly a written off Captain and a written off business. He sustained a broken leg, 11 broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a cracked vertebra.
It may be good to mention at this point Russell has only one leg, so having his one leg broken is a big deal. After this incident, the town of Canowindra rallied and there were many who supported both Russell and his wife Sue in the recovery process.
Now recovered, the Captain is pleased to announce he is sailing again. It may not be on a Harley and sidecar but, for the end of term three, Captain Barnacles will be performing “The Outrageous Adventures of Pirate Captain Rusty Barnacles” in up to seven schools from Coonabarabran to Collarenebri.
But wait there’s more! This time there’s a third member of the crew in the performance. Captain Barnacles has trained his Hahn Macaw to entertain the children. Jackey Bird loads and cleans the canon, scrubs the deck, puts treasure in the treasure chest and climbs the rigging to capture the flag. It’s quite something to see. He also joins the Captain and Knott in singing a sea shanty.
Sue and Russell wish to express their heart felt appreciation to all those who supported them when times were challenging and wish to share their excitement in this renewed venture. This time they will be sailing quite differently. A car, 12-foot caravan, bird and dog. If you’re lucky the Captain may sail into a port near you!