Southern Woodys at Motueka
Earlier in the month, Kenny West was visiting the South Island for the Lake Rotoiti 2023 Antique & Classic Boat Show and ventured up to Motueka and had a mooch around the marina. The above two woodys caught his eye and today we get to share them.
THE BIGGEST LOAD OF HORSE MANURE HAPPENING ON YOUR WATERFRONT
By now I’m sure most of you will have caught up with the ‘developments’ taking place at what these days is known as ’The Landing’ on Aucklands Waterfront. One of our cities few remaining marine haul out / hard stand areas, will be closed and bulldozed. I encourage you to read the ‘STUFF” article that appeared in the weekends newspaper. You would think it was about a project in Colombia, thats how underhand things are. Link Below https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300820274/bulldozed-boatyard-yachties-face-off-with-wealthy-club-over-axing-of-public-hardstand
Sadly I think its too late to change things but lets record our frustration with the people that supported the project. Firstly the commodore and committee at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club should hang their heads in shame. On the RAYC website there is no individual contact details but they do have a Facebook page – so please go on there and record your anger – link below
https://www.facebook.com/royalakarana
Lastly one of driving forces from the Auckland Council / Local Board is a weasel named – Scott Milne, his DNA is all over this project. FB link below, record your anger and promise not to vote for him again if he is in your local board (Orakei). Now if he has blocked new comments, just add you comment to one of his exisiting unrelated stories 😉
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007006489029
Or try email scott.milne@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Lastly the Spencer family (Howard Spencer) – a bad smell will follow you around for a long time after this – lets vote with our wallet and not support their new haul out venture – Tamaki Maine Park in Mt Wellington.
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily 
Yasawa is owned by Ken Eccles, Commodore of the Motueka Yacht and Cruising Club.
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I’m not finished. I found some old photos in post WW2 Weekly News of photos of my father with his yacht ‘Gloriana’ on the hard, in his well worn old battle dress uniform and beret, supervising the painting of the waterline. Yachts were parked closely together. A good number of ex servicemen looking after their boats. Then, after the day’s work was done it was off to the Green Shed. Who remembers that fine establishment? Those who live up on Parasite Drive have no understanding what Okahu Bay has played in the story of our harbour and boating families.
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This is only going to continue in Auckland. Especially in a place like that. Money wins every time.
There are only a couple of options: be very wealthy, and cough up, or find a good old boat club that has good old values ie: working bees, bbqs after…. Yes they do exist, even on Auckland’s outskirts.
All the boats now are wide, long and expensive and they couldn’t care less about a boycott from the working class….
There will no shortage of takers for that new outfit in my view…..
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Akarana recently celebrated the centenary of the M Class, who raced with Richmond and the Squadron for many years. Through the Squadron, I offered to bring along some of the plentiful memorabilia for the function which they were asking people to do. I’m still waiting for a response. In my opinion they’re rude, ignorant people.
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Royal Akarana, once the club that started offshore racing in NZ and Ladies Racing and Winter series racing , Not to mention printing the Coastal Cruising handbook actively promoting the closure of Okahu Hardstand , many will be turning in their graves, the Jewel of a facility where many learnt and was promoted as Easthaven is no more.If the Iwi want it returned to as was, it will have to be dug up and dumped back in Okahu bay -leaving Tamaki Drive very exposed in a North Easter.
Murray – I think the ‘iwi’ associated with this fiasco have very white faces and probably live on the northern slopes and their partners now drive a Hyundai 🙂
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Yeap, nostalgia or almost a sense of grieving. Holding fond memories of the annual haul outs at Okahu Bay with my father and the family launch. Learnt lots and I’m sure if there wasn’t the level of DIY and the free advice from the community there (mostly helpful!) we wouldn’t have had the launch. I’m no tradie but the knowledge from tackling timber work, electrical, mechanical and paint has been useful until the present day. Shame the number of people having the opportunity of being exposed to this opportunity is dropping so rapidly.
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Ahhhhhh, the nostalgia. I remember roaming the waterfront as a lad in the early 1950’s, probably barefoot, chucking rocks at the rats which infested the seawall from Parnell to St Heliers. How we admired all the launches and keelers pulled out for the season at Okahu Bay, including the huge Erewhon which was a fixture there.
No worries about the haze of copper as hulls were scraped, or the odd problem of tools being dropped onto a passerby.
There was obvious social connection between the boat owners,…ordinary chaps, wharfies, railway workers, shopkeepers. The flash end of town had their wonderful, large launches in their private boathouses around the corner in Ngapipi Road.
Many of us kids fantasized about trading our P Class for a modest keeler, or perhaps a mullety.
Those were the days! Spent long summer days swimming at Mission Bay,…just down tide from the outfall of Auckland’s untreated sewerage. We seemed to survive.
Now, as we see from this project, boating is increasingly professionalized; elite sports development for budding Olympic yachts,err …’persons’; hire the team at the marina to clean & restock your fine vessel; etc., etc..
Where next? Like some parts of the world, no anchoring in popular bays, use pre booked and paid moorings only/ all boats registered/water police random testing for alcohol levels/…phew, I am getting old!
Hopefully as per today’s WW post there may be places like Motueka where amateur boaties can still do their thing. Mind you, they may be well advised to post notices…”no jafas past this point” Otherwise risk catching the Auckland disease…”City of Sales”.
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Hey Nath, Out of curiosity, which Emmy drawings do you have? I agree that RAYC is probably not the place to put anything right now. I think I gave mine to the Traditional Boatbuilding school when it was at Hobsonville but where they might be now is anyone’s guess.
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Apathetic people are shocked every day that people with drive for destructive or selfish action win time and time again. Whether historic demolition, loss of facility or probably at the head of things; allowing those people to be voted into the driver’s seat.
Silent opposition, conversational disagreement and downright apathy have no power against people who are in positions of power from getting their ideas accepted, and as a side-dish their agendas qualified.
A few points to consider which are brought up in some articles:
-There is no such thing as ‘returning’ the land to the people… it was reclaimed by mud pumped there for a boat haulout area.
– Why should a facility used traditionally by ALL Aucklanders be under the control of a Local Board?
-Waterfront spaces should not be converted into parking(granted not all but part at least has been sought), that’s some dinosaur thinking right there. If you can afford a sport like that; chances are that you can afford to store a skiff somewhere else.
I have a heap of original Emmy lines drawings which I had been considering giving to the Akarana, but not after this.
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Lovel to see the YASAWA & LADY ELLISON looking so trim & loved. Both great Classics I’ve known since new — KEN R
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