S2 Ep 11: Australian Special - 'Hit the Brakes, and He'll Fly Right By' with Dr. CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg

It's 1986, and cinemas are obsessed with speed. Jets scream across the screen, engines roar, and pilots push their machines to the limit. Top Gun becomes one of the defining films of the decade, turning fighter jets into cultural icons. Forty years on, it's back on the big screen - and that tells us something. We love old machines. Aircraft, ships, trains, cars. We photograph them, film them and build museums around them. But keeping the real thing alive is far harder. So can technology give historic machines a second life? Can a ship that no longer sails, or no longer exists at all, still show us how it worked and what life on board was like? In this special episode, filmed on location in Australia, Sarah sits down with Dr. CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg, Chair of Sea Heritage Foundation Australia and First Officer of the MV Cape Don. They trace CJ's journey from airfields and lounge-room war films to maritime preservation, Indigenous inclusion and the launch of The Ghost Fleet - a bold plan to create digital twins of historic, and even vanished, vessels. Highlights: 00:00 The cultural power of old machines from Top Gun to maritime icons 00:50 Why preservation is hard: corrosion, skills gaps and rising costs 01:23 Meet Dr. CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg and the story of the MV Cape Don 06:13 Creating a memorial for forgotten heroes 11:18 The end (and afterlife) of the Naval Historical Flight 16:01 Buying the MV Cape Don 23:02 How old, simple technology sometimes still works best 23:29 The disappearing link between people, machinery and repair skills 28:37 Why lighthouses are still vital in a world of GPS and electronics 32:27 Where did all the maritime jobs go? 34:43 Why the Cape Don is more than a museum 38:00 Reinventing maritime training 42:44 Paid apprenticeships and challenging elitism in history work 44:00 History is not a jar of specimens; it's the story and meaning of now 55:04 Why we need spectacle and "wow" from Top Gun to Ghost Fleet 01:00:15 Cape Don as flagship for a new kind of living maritime heritage 01:07:16 Launching the Ghost Fleet 01:09:04 Everything's impossible until it isn't 01:12:06 Dry-docking dreams, and the practical work of ship-saving 01:12:33 Why the people that save ships matter About Dr CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg: Dr CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg is a highly respected maritime professional, educator and social impact leader with three decades of service. He joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1996, later serving in the Australian Army Reserve on operational, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions across the Asia-Pacific. As Chairman of the Sea Heritage Foundation, he has pioneered Indigenous maritime training with a 99% completion rate, and is leading the development of its Maritime Academy for Indigenous Australians and veterans. About Sarah Dowd: I’m Sarah Dowd - writer, speaker, heritage and arts consultant, producer, and all-around nerd - here to share the stories of our past that make us laugh, gasp, and mutter: It’s History… For F***k’s Sake. For 25+ years I’ve created immersive, inclusive experiences that bring history alive, from rallying Second World War convoys through London to staging performances between Pearly Kings and Gen Z creatives. My work spans museums, cathedral crypts, pop-up theatres, global brands, and community projects across the UK and beyond. As a Canadian living between the UK and France (with a late ADHD diagnosis that fuels my curiosity and creativity), I zigzag through culture, history, and big ideas, but never boring ones. Every week on HistoryFFS, we explore how history echoes through today, make sure you are following the show so you don’t miss an episode. Connect with Sarah: Website: www.historyffs.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdowd/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/historyffs-pod/ Substack: @historyffs YouTube: @HistoryFFSPod Instagram: @historyFFSPod TikTok: @historyffspod X: @HistoryFFSPod Bluesky: @historyffs.bsky.social