Five Short Blasts

In the early morning, when the wind drops, when the waters of Lake Burley Griffin that now submerge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri plain are still, we head out on the water in a small flotilla to listen. Five Short Blasts – the name of the signal known instantly to mariners as an expression of uncertainty or alarm – has surfaced the sounds and stories of oceans, ports and rivers through major festivals in Melbourne, Hamburg, Perth and Prague.