Duchess

Mystery Launch 08-06

Duchess

photo ex Geoff Steven

I was sent the above photo last week & while I know the name of the boat & the identity of the people in the photo, I don’t know the designer/builder/year – so woodys the first one that can correctly name the launch & her designer/builder & year of launch, will win a copy of the publication – ‘The Jack Brooke Story – A celebration of a New Zealand amateur yacht designer’. Published by the Tino Rawa Trust, with input from Harold Kidd & Robert Brooke.

Now some t&c’s
1. Winning entries details will be confirmed by HDK
2. The following are excluded – HDK, Nathan Herbert & Ken Rickets – just to give everyone a better a chance of winning 🙂

Once she has been ID’ed I will post more details on her but very keen to hear about what happened to her in later years & where she is now.

Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 7.31.31 PM

We have a winner , confirmed by HDK – Paul Drake – well done.
It is the Duchess built by Bailey & Lowe in 1920 for R.L. Stewart Sr. Harold commented that funnel puts you off as she looks like steamer but it’s only for her 3 cylinder Twigg petrol engine. I understand she even had a fireplace onboard – my kind of boar 🙂
The photo was sent to me by Geoff Steven whose uncle Graham (Snow) Steven owned her. He lived at BP Bay on Kawau Island and used to do work around the island on her. Geoff recalls that he dragged telegraph poles to the various Gulf islands at times. Graham was well known by boaties in the Gulf. The lads in the bow are Geoff’s brothers & Geoff took the photo.

Update 06-05-2019 – Photo below ex Bob Platt

10 thoughts on “Duchess”

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I think Bob means Countess

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Love to pay my respects to the old girl. Anyone seen her since Bayswater?

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Duchess was parked at Bayswater Marina up until some 2years ago, for several years. She was initially at th outer end of th lineup along the breakwater, looking a bit sad. Then shifted to A pier. She was missing that big chimney. And i dont remember her sporting a fireplace when i went aboard. She was owned by Roland Hilig, a mech engr on Th Shore, taking her out for fishing charters.(i,ve still got his business card “Come fishing with The Countess”, with beautifull colour pic of the old girl.). Roland was interested in us riggin up a mast n sail to help her along n take some of the “deep sea roll” out of her. Ithink he picked her up on Trade Me, from ol Merchant Navy chatacter at Kawau- Steve Hansen.

Photo below added by Alan H

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Oh a divine ship. Yes yes yes, “Duchess”. Happy memories. How come I missed that post originally. I remember her at Kawau in the early ’60s. Everything was right about her. She was running some sort of ferry service. Loved that funnel. She had a big Ford, I think and went like the clappers. No she isn’t the late “Duchess” at Conrad’s, I’m sure, unless some radical surgery was done. So where is she now? Hope no terrible fate that befell her and that she is still just like the photo waiting for me with the original Twigg lying all de=salted in a shed ashore…….. Yeah right, dream on, laddie!

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