CELOX – SOS (Sailing Sunday)
photos from Harold Kidd + historical info. Salvage details ex Pam Cundy
1921 incident reporting ex paperpast
The 26′, 107 year old Logan Bros built classic mullet boat Celox sank last week while sailing from Opua to the Cavalli Islands. She struck rocks off Motukawaiti Island. Luckily her owner was rescued, but unfortunately Celox did not fare as well & while re-floated & dragged ashore, she is now in two pieces, the cabin & the deck have separated from the hull. The mast is intact & has been removed.
The owner shall have assistance with getting her back to Opua, but is feeling defeated at this point is offering her to anyone wanting to restore her.
Some history ex Harold Kidd
CELOX was built by Logan Bros (not by Arch Logan) in November 1908 for Tom Percy of Parnell. She had an illustrious racing history for many years.
Sadly this is not the first time she has sunk, in March 1921 she drove under while carrying her spinnaker sheet to weather (as was the rule at the time) between Motihe and Matiatia. Boatbuilder Dale Spencer owned her at the time. His 8 year old boy was trapped in the cabin and went down with the boat. Two boats were on the scene and sent out dinghies which got to the rest of the crew but, when Dale heard his son had gone, he refused to be hauled aboard the dinghy and sank.
She has been at Matauwhi Bay and thereabouts for 40 years or so.
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I have a sea log for both Celox and Wayward boat my grandfather Allan Jones owned at one time. I’m also looking for Celox info@crowntours co nz if someone can tell where Celox is please?
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Tom Percy, according to my father Noel Percy, bet that he could sail Celox from Kings Wharf (now Bledisloe) to Matiatia in an hour. He waited for a gale and won the bet. Go on, look up the distance.
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I believe the salvaged parts( and mast) are at a quarry site near Opua.I owned Celox (2008- 2011) after Joe Cotton, who took her over from Fuzz Ellis.I sailed on her as a boy, what a boat!!
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Where is the Celox now – my father was a co-owner in the 20s 30s?? Is she still at Opua?
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Thank you Harold. The photos are magic and put me right there in the cockpit with them. I can hear the roar of the wind and hull through the water. It’s very much on the edge if the wind should pick up or a squall go through. Did they get the correct amount of tucks.
The light of the day and the ferry…
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Yes they have taken one or two tucks in but the rig is a typical mullet rig, not a true gaff rig, but very high peaked, almost a gunter. Only a few of the earlier mulletties carried a topsail. In one of the two similar images, obviously taken seconds apart, the staysail has flapped to starboard in the lee of the main.
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Have they taken a reef in, in the top image. The gaff is still standing fairly high though.
And the jib has backed in the other image I think.
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WOW!!! LOOK AT HER GO!!!!! Bugger that!!
You have out done yourself with those photos Harold.
And a terrible tragedy …
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