MARLIN (M7) Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan H & Nick Davenport
Today’s photos are from last weekends 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Center Board Cup & focus on the M-Class Marlin. Nick was out on the water & took some stunning racing photos, below – remember to click on the photos to enlarge 😉
If you missed last Mondays ww post on the regatta – click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/20/whats-the-coolest-yacht-club-10-minutes-from-queen-st/
Whats Happening Here?
photo ex Barry Davis
Ok woodys, by now you should have recovered from yesterdays 3rd serving of Christmas ham & pudding, so time to test the brain.
Whats the reason for the above flotilla – (1) reason/occasion (2) the date (3) can we ID any of the launches?
The answer via an update from Brian Davis
The photo (+ another added) are from the Weekly News of 15 May 1924, being the occasion of the arrival of the battlecruisers HMS Hood and Repulse and light cruiser Delhi.
Brian thinks the 2 masted launch may be the Lady Eva and the dark painted one ahead looks like either the Ionaero or Ionoto of Blue Boat origin. Some of them are certainly overloaded by todays standards.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & a wonderful New Year ahead.
I hope all your boating dreams & wishes are fulfilled in the coming year. More importantly during this season of giving & celebrating, make sure you take some time to slow down & remember that life is all about family & friends & enjoying the simple things.
I hope you enjoyed ww this last year, the people that we have rubbed up against & their stories just get better & better. The audience keeps growing everyday so we must be doing something right 🙂
While Christmas can be an amazing time, for some it can be a little dark & lonely – if you have a neighbour or work mate that’s alone during this period – say hi & maybe drop off a piece of Christmas cake. Believe me it will be the best 10 minutes of your day.
The ww tee-shirts were a smash hit & an amazing number of you will be flying the ww ‘flag’ out & about in 2016. Thanks for that.
In the spirit of giving 😉 I’ll find a cool something to give to the woody that e-mails in the best holiday photo featuring a ww tee-shirt.
Safe boating & web permitting ww posts will continue over the holiday period.
Cheers Alan Houghton
ps remember to pack the camera & if you see a woody out there, take a photo & send it in so we can share it.
pps to the thousands of ww followers overseas, this xmas post will be a little early, so enjoy today with us kiwis & we will with you tomorrow.
I’ll sign off with a line from Dr Seuss
WAITETE
photo ex Dean Wright
Dean was bringing his launch Arethusa back from Ashby’s boatyard, Opua, yesterday & spotted the launch Waitete on a mooring off Russell. Nice old game fishing boat with a lovely big cockpit.
The porthole is an unusual placement but in my eye works.
Do we know anything more about her?
ALMITRA
photos ex Ken Ricketts
Todays post is almost a mystery boat, we know her name but that’s where it stops. Almitra was recently hauled out at Gulf Harbour & Ken wa able to observe that she has twin shafts / props , so one could safely assume she is powered by twin engines. The interesting thing, which just might be a ‘Ken-erism’ is that she appears to have only a single mast exhaust .
So woodys, someone must know more about her?
Photo ex Russell Ward
PHOEBE (IMP)
photos & details ex Michael O’Dwyer
Todays launch is named Phoebe & is currently hauled out in Napier getting some TLC. She has been in Napier for approx. 12 years. Prior to this its believed she was based in Auckland.
According to a name plate on board she was originally called Imp & built by Collings and Bell in 1952. Her length is 24′.
Her current owner is Stan Escourt (Napier) & he told Mike that the cabin top was added by Lanes and built over the original canvas covering the fore cabin. It’s still in place inside but hidden by synthetic carpet.
Phoebe is powered by a Ford 2711 E 4.15L motor.
So woodys do we know anymore about Phoebe/Imp?
Harold Kidd input
Collings & Bell built an earlier IMP for Frank Pidgeon of the Ace Tyre Company in September 1937. She was a 17ft runabout with a 40hp 4 cyl Lycoming which gave her 28 mph, pretty fast for the time. That IMP replaced (or complemented) an earlier IMP, a 14ft single-step hydroplane “built on anti-trip principles” which Sam Ford built for Frank in November 1936, also with a Lycoming. He raced both boats enthusiastically.
In 1952 Frank Pidgeon would have been only 50 so it’s reasonable to think that he may have commissioned this one too.
23-12-2015 Photos ex Michael O’Dwyer
ROMANCE
photo & details ex Paul Drake
Paul believes today’s photo of his launch Romance (#1) on the left, was taken in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island.
Romance was built by Bailey and Lowe in 1914 and was sold 4 or 5 years later. After that she was in Napier, until 1932 when she went to Lake Taupo. The exact date she went to Napier is not known but it could have been in 1919. Romance has been in the Drake family for over 43 years.
Lots more details on Romance here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/09/22/8829/ and here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/05/10/romance/
Can we ID the other launches? the little dinghy is very salty, love the fenders 🙂
22-12-2015 Photo below ex Harold Kidd of the launch Pirate that can be seen on the right of Romance & the dinghy.
Whats The Coolest Yacht Club 10 Minutes From Queen St? Sailing Sunday
Its not the rnzys or ponsonby cc or even the dyc (ferry ride) – its the Herne Bay Cruising Club (HBCC) & yesterday they hosted the 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Centerboard Cup. I dropped in for what I thought would be 5>10 minutes to take a few photos & ended up staying 90 minutes, the Santa shopping list got pushed out a day 🙂
The HBCC club rooms & its location would have to be one of the best kept secrets in the city, located off Marine Parade & tucked away amongst a stand of pohutukawas its a magic spot to sit on the grass & watch some good-old-fashioned kiwi boating. The kids were even selling home-made lemonade & coconut ice 🙂
Its also rather special – its got major boating provenance – the club rooms were built in 1913 as the Richmond Yacht Club & was a hub of wooden boating activity prior to RCC moving to the Westhaven area.
The location sort of (as in impossible) makes it hard to launch a biggish boat there so its mainly centerboard stuff but there is a very cool membership feature – the club as a few boats that members can use e.g. a couple of Lasers, a Spiral & a dinghy for rowing & fishing + storage for who wish to kept their boat at the club.
Conditions yesterday were ‘very fresh’ as in SW 20>25 knots with 35 knot gusts – this scared a few city boys & girls off but as always the mullet boat’s fronted up + one Idle Along (IA12)
The photos below are from the pre-start & start, I left after that but driving over the Harbour Bridge I could see them stonking down the Harbour, I might be wrong but I think I caught a glimpse of the IA getting into a spot of trouble.
If anyone has the results – email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com & I’ll add them to this post.
Photo below shows Gypsy (L) & Waione (R) hauled out c.1939 at Sloanes Beach. Click this link to read, view more about the club.
21-12-2015 Results ex W. Muir
Yes it was a great day, thanks for the photos. Mullet boat results were 1st on line, and on handicap,Orion. 2nd on handicap TaoToo, 3rd Rangi Manu. The IA broke her tiller while screaming down the harbour with her spinnaker up, she did a spectacular wipe out and was towed back by the PCC Rescue boat.
You missed another fab part of the day, music from jazz combo Hopetown Brown.
Looking forward to next year ( and a little less wind )
24-12-2015 On the water racing photos ex Nick Davenport – remember to click on any photo to enlarge. Also the M Class Marlin will be featured this coming Sunday on ww- lots more photos to see then 😉
NORTH STAR
photo & details ex Ray Morey
Ray sent me the above photo of North Star which was built in the 1950’s for an uncle of Ray’s wife, Joe Harris of Pahia. She was kept on a pile mooring at the Waitangi River for many years.
Ray recalls that North Star was the subject of discussion on the CYA website a year or more back (I have been unable to find the discussion, but the sites search mode is a tad lacking), I thought also that she had appeared on www but again can not find any reference.
Ray is keen to learn more about the vessel, he says that he always believed that she was built by Brian Lane at Totara North – can any of the woodys shed some light on her past & where she is today?
Quay St Launch Landings
photo ex Lindsay McMorran
According to the caption on the above photo – the photos shows the recently completed ‘Fine Launch Landings’ in Quay St. on Auckland’s waterfront.
How many of the launches (L>R) can we name?
Slipped away yesterday for a trip up the upper harbour to the Riverhead Hotel for lunch with some good mates. Zero boats, we like that, just lots of people in silly costumes 🙂
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