Mystery Boat 30/08/2014
photo from snapshot book of H.D.Guthrie.
Roger Guthrie sent in this photo from his Grandfathers collection, the date is approx. 1925 & the location Waiheke Island.
The name of the launch is not known but Rogers suspects it may have been owned by the Lambourne family.
Anyone able to ID the boat?
If you are new to waitematawoodys, when ww first started there were some neat late 1920’s/1930’s old b/w boating movies of Waiheke Island & the Stein Family (Arran Bay) launch Waitangi, the Stein’s owned Waitangi for 20>30 years. Enter ‘Guthrie Family’ in the Search box & enjoy.
Update 31/08/2014
Photo below of Minerva from “Deeds not words” (pp 44) ex Derek Molander
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Harry Jenkins was a good friend of my grandfather H.D.Guthrie.Hence the stories also of Alcestis (Raiona) cruising the north with Shenandoah…So Thora must be the name of the Mystery boat.
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Roger Guthrie
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Mm but as per my prev comment, in Thora Parker’s ‘And Not To Yield’ it was her father H R Jenkins’ boat prior to Shenandoah, named Thora presumably after the author.
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Lambournes owned a house in Arran Bay Waiheke and the north side of Waiheke was a common day trip for the locals of Arran Bay.Of course Cowes Bay is next to Arran Bay and there were a lot of races like dinghy racing and small skiffs etc…The picture was from H.D.Guthrie album and he was a good mate of the Lambounes so it all ties up.
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In this photo she is the Thora, owned by H R Jenkins before Shenandoah
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Yep. That is my pic taken on one of our periodic visits during/after a cruise.
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Spot on Harold,although her correct name (as launched) is THE MINERVA and she is 59′ OA. She was owned at Helensville 1922-45 various owners
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^There is a 1961 photo of the Weiti showing a boat of similar size, central wheelhouse, round counter stern, stepped sheer with 2 portholes etc, and two masts. Is this the KK Minerva?
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I stand corrected, what has been done?
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Minerva is actively worked on every Friday by a band of volunteers in Kerikeri. Turn up on a Friday and John Clode will show you what amazing restoration has been done to date and what the longterm plans are
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Saw a few days ago, not that much ever changes. Still sitting on that empty lot, much of her topsides gone, it just isn’t an active project at all… Expensive of course, but maybe shouldn’t have been taken on? I don’t know much of the politics there but I hear that there are some.
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Negative, but do tell………………
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Have you seen her lately? :(:(
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That’s another MINERVA, built as a 50′ steamer by Chas. Bailey Jr in 1910 for the Clevedon passenger traffic. She’s under restoration (again) right now.
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I saw a “MINERVA” frequently when I went to Helensville in the 1960s to 80s & she was tied to a little pole jetty type landing in the mud, just before you entered the township, with a number of other boats . she as around 40 feet with a counter stern & built up wheelhouse & was mostly painted grey & white as I recall. looked as if she was built in the very early 1900s, & like a very old low deck line Bailey, Logan, or Collings & Bell or similar. She looked fairly unloved & seemed to be there for ever, & never seemed to be out, whenever I went past & stopped to check on her. – She seemed to have a big old grey painted diesel, as far as I could tell looking down at her & through a porthole which was visible from he embankment. She did eventually disappear. – Does anyone else recall seeing her at all? — KEN RICKETTS
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Remotely, is the word.
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Photo of Minerva added
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Thanks Derek. There’s an image of her in the book. Does she look remotely like the launch above?
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Hi Harold. Direct from our copy of “Deeds not Words” Minerva (wartime registration no. 1327) A launch of about 38 feet in length, with a small funnel, she was powered by a Morris Marine petrol/kerosene motor. Believed to have been built for Zane Grey the American writer/game fisherman, she was purchased in 1942 and was later stationed at Waiheke Island during weekends for yacht rescue and ambulance work. She is believed to have been sold, probably about 1947-48 for 500-600 pounds, to a Picton fisherman, Like the No.1 Cutter, her sale was to help pay for the ex-naval ML. She later became a Coastguard auxiliary.
Hope this is helpful.
Cheers
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A.C. Lambourne owned MINERVA built for him by Collings & Bell in 1911, but she was only 22ft loa, although I suspect she was later lengthened, or replaced with another launch renamed MINERVA and sold to the Coastguard in 1942 after Lambourne bought ROBYN/CONNIE V (1) from E.N. Valentine. There is an image of the MINERVA sold to the Coastguard in the Coastguard history “Deeds Not Words” but I can’t find my copy. My recollection is that it looked tlike this launch. Lambourne also owned the speedboat NGAWAI which raced in the 1932 Cowes Regatta.
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Looks like she could be just entering or leaving Garden Cove — KEN RICKETTS
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