WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CLASSIC YACHT – MAY BELLE
Classic wooden boat aficionado Brian Peat sent in the above b/w Winkleman photo of the yacht – MAY BELLE, that Brian understands his great-great grandad once owned.
Brian commented that on page 148 of Ronald Carter’s ‘A Yachtsman’s Memories of Long Ago’ reference is made to May Belle being launched in 1890 and a few years later owned by a couple of grocers in Karangahape Rd – “Peat being one”. My ancestor had a large grocery shop in K Rd and despite the surname spelling inconsistency I have other reasons to believe it was him. During research for my Des Townson book, I heard May Belle was still around, but didn’t hear where it was.
Can we help Brian out to what became of MAY BELLE.
( I took the opportunity of colorising the photo – as below)
INPUT ex HAROLD KIDD – MAY BELLE was always largely in my mind as a child because she was the crack E Class keel yacht raced by “Babs” Webster. My father’s WAKANUI (E34) managed to get the legs of MAY BELLE by 1938 and became scratch in the E Class. Her hull form was very similar to JESSIE LOGAN although a keel yacht. I am pretty sure she was built by Logans as a fishing smack.
After Babs sold her some character put a car roof on as a cabin top. It looked like a mid-thirties Chevrolet. Inevitably it rusted out very soon. I saw her in a house property at northern end of Beach Road Browns Bay and made an unsuccessful attempt to buy her around 1977 and bought LOLOMA (E24) instead. LOLOMA was another boat that my father had connections with through her builder J.J. O’Rorke who lived near us in Westmere in later life.
MAY BELLE was then sold to a chap who took her to Snapper Rock Road in the group of houses on the left towards Kyle Road where she was visible propped up in the front yard. Again there was no interest in selling her.
Her next move was to Pokeno in the old main street to the south of the garage where again she was propped up in a front yard. Her condition was not improving. That’s the last I heard of her, sadly.
My father had huge regard for Webster and MAY BELLE.
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MAY BELLE was always largely in my mind as a child because she was the crack E Class keel yacht raced by “Babs” Webster. My father’s WAKANUI (E34) managed to get the legs of MAY BELLE by 1938 and became scratch in the E Class. Her hull form was very similar to JESSIE LOGAN although a keel yacht. I am pretty sure she was built by Logans as a fishing smack.
After Babs sold her some character put a car roof on as a cabin top. It looked like a mid-thirties Chevrolet. Inevitably it rusted out very soon. I saw her in a house property at northern end of Beach Road Browns Bay and made an unsuccessful attempt to buy her around 1977 and bought LOLOMA (E24) instead. LOLOMA was another boat that my father had connections with through her builder J.J. O’Rorke who lived near us in Westmere in later life.
MAY BELLE was then sold to a chap who took her to Snapper Rock Road in the group of houses on the left towards Kyle Road where she was visible propped up in the front yard. Again there was no interest in selling her.
Her next move was to Pokeno in the old main street to the south of the garage where again she was propped up in a front yard. Her condition was not improving. That’s the last I heard of her, sadly.
My father had huge regard for Webster and MAY BELLE.
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