Olli Silk in blue shorts 
Don Silk on the bow
THE LAUNCHING OF PATSY JEAN
The above gallery of photos ex Lew Redwood ex Te Papa ex Eric Lee-Johnson, show the 1950’s launching of Don Silk’s yacht – Patsy Jean off the beach at Opononi, on the Hokianga Harbour. Given the turnout and attire it must have been a big day in Opononi.
Input from Hylton Edmonds – Born at Whangaroa, Don Silk was the country carrier in the Hokianga, he built Patsy Jean, and set off in 1959 for Rarotonga (c/w with wife and baby daughter), where not long after, with good mate Bob Boyd set up a successful inter island shipping company. Years of great adventure later, Don came ashore to be Harbour Master and Port Safety Officer, sadly he passed away in 2012 aged 84. A born raconteur, he wrote a great book of these days and the shipping company he co-set up, called “From Kauri Trees to Sunlit Seas”, its a great yarn, very humorous, and a very hard book to put down once started!
CLASSIC YACHT EYE CANDY
For those that missed getting a varnish fix at yesterdays CYA NZ regatta, due to races 3 & 4 being cancelled (wind & rain) – the link below to a dockside camera ‘drive-by’ at St Tropez in Dec 2019 comes to us via the Yachting World website.
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Great poost thankyou
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Don was a great bloke. I enjoyed having a beer and a chat with him when in Raro while I was on the island run. Vale Don
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Last I heard, Dons Patsy Jean Woollacott was in Hawaii.
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Born at Whangaroa, Don Silk was the country carrier in the Hokianga, he built Patsy Jean, and set off in 1959 for Rarotonga (c/w with wife and baby daughter), where not long after, with good mate Bob Boyd set up a successful inter island shipping company. Years of great adventure later, Don came ashore to be Harbour Master and Port Safety Officer, sadly he passed away in 2012aged 84.
A born raconteur, he wrote a great book of these days and the shipping company he co-set up, called “From Kauri Trees to Sunlit Seas”, its a great yarn, very humorous, and a very hard book to put down once started!
LikeLiked by 1 person