Classic Yacht On-Line Magazine Jan/Feb 2015
Latest edition of the on-line USA magazine ‘Classic Yacht’ . Remember in the USA yacht = boat so there is lots of motor-boat related stories. Enjoy 🙂
click link to view http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/ClassicYacht/cym-janfeb2015/2015012001/#0
MISS HELEN
For the last 2 weeks I have had phone calls & emails from ww followers telling me about the ‘new’ classic launch that just appeared at OBC. The words being used are “totally immaculate, like new” / “newly restored and gleaming” etc.
She is visible from Tamaki Drive & is in fact the ex Bay of Islands game fisher – Miss Helen. Built in 1932 by Colin Wild. I have posted restored & ‘old’ photo as a comparison for you – I like the effort that has gone into keeping / making her very original.
So folks – who can supply more info on her? I would love to see the interior & learn a bit about the restoration.
We need her in the CYA launch fleet 🙂
(a big thank you to Mark Edmonds, Nathan Herbert & Lindsay McMorran for photos & details)
Harold Kidd Input
She was built in 1930 by COLIN WILD for L.E. McQueen of Wairiki Road, Mt. Eden as AUDREY M and had a 125hp Lycoming 8 cylinder engine. McQueen had her dodger raised to give 6ft 6in headroom in October 1931 and had fresh water cooling installed. He then sold her to A.L Davenport who renamed her MAHSEER. Davenport sold her to Whittaker in 1934 and he renamed her LADY HELEN. He sold her to L.A. Marquet who sold her to A.E. Fuller of Russell in August 1937. She was altered for gamefishing. In August 1942 she was severely damaged coming ashore in a gale at Russell and substantially rebuilt again. Again she was renamed, MISS HELEN to tie in with the rest of the Fuller fleet, MISS IDA, MISS KNOXIE, MISS RUSSELL etc.
BTW the Register of British Ships says she was built in Russell, which is incorrect, although she was re-built there once or twice.
McQueen, of course, had WILD build WAIRIKI in October 1934.
The Register of British Ships says she was built in 1932, which is also incorrect. The RBS is a very dodgy resource, especially where the vessel was registered well after she was built, as here.
Input from Ken Ricketts
She belongs to Terry Porter of McMullen & Wing. – photo below during during restoration towards the end of last year.
Terry has done an absolutely fabulous job on her, splining, beautiful new interior, the whole bit. She is powered by a brand new 4cly high performance artificially aspirated inter-cooled Cummins Diesel. AH
2015 Auckland Anniversary Regatta Tug Boat Race
Below is a selection of photos from CYA member Brett Evans of Mondays inner harbour Tug Boat race. This looks a lot of fun & great to see so many of the CYA fleet ex work boats competing.
ROMANCE II
As I said on yesterdays post one of the highlights for me personally of attending the 2015 Mahurangi Regatta was getting to see Pauline & Harold Kidd’s 1919 Bailey & Lowe launch Romance II post her restoration under the hands of Marco Scuderi. If you asked Marco he would tell you that Harold was VERY clear in the project brief, in fact I would suspect there has not been a launch that has been so thoroughly researched & documented 😉 The brains trust of classic wooden boats were all over this project, Harold even had Robert Brooke swinging the caulking mallet.
There are still a few projects to be completed but visually the team have nailed it.
Unfortunately I did not manage to get a photo of her at speed, she was just to quick for Raindance. She did look very smart leaving the harbour on Sunday morning at ‘full chat’ (a HDK term).
Harold Update
We took about half a ton of modern excrescences out of her, sink bench, stove/oven and that huge hideous dodger, leaving only coms, stereo, deep freeze and head. Marco repositioned the Morse control so that we can now get full revs (probably 3500) out of the lusty Moon Engines-set up Hino diesel.
Walter Bailey designed her for 17 knots with a 100/150hp Sterling so she has the lines but is much lighter without the Yankee benzine-gobbler.
She now gets up on what passes for a plane earlier than before but we carried out no full power trials and didn’t get anywhere near “full chat” at Mahurangi, just hurried along to catch up with and photograph the lovely JESSIE LOGAN and WAIRIKI heading home on Sunday morning. I reckon she’ll nudge 20 knots when we summon up the courage.
On the other hand, she handled the nasty easterly jobble coming home from Bon Accord early on Monday morning well, ticking over at 1200 rpm and making 8 knots (plus flood tide).
When the Navy did a survey of launches available for patrol purposes in 1927 she had a 100hp Stearns, the “hot” engine of the time. The comment was “good seaboat”. We confirm that.
The Mills family of Devonport, who commissioned her from Bailey & Lowe in 1919, lived in Huia Street where I lived for many years, so there are multiple resonances for us.
2015 Mahurangi Regatta Weekend – 70+ Photo Parade
This is what makes the regatta racing so special – where else do you get sailing like this?
Yes, there were life jackets on-board for everyone
Saturday Night Prize Giving & Dance
Grinners Are Winners
Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta
photo ex Heather & John Lidgard
Today is the 175th Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, for a young country like NZ that is a significant milestone. Out on the water today will be boats of all sizes & ages, from radio controlled pond yachts to the giants of the classic fleet – the A-Class keelers. Now even if you are boat-less today, I encourage you to head down to the harbour & grab a good vantage point.
For classic wooden boat lovers – the key times are:
10.00am for the Tug Boat Race. New inner harbour course this year with the start off Princess Wharf
12.00pm for the A-Class classic fleet start, again off Princes Wharf
Full details on today’s events here http://www.regatta.org.nz/the spectators
Today’s photo from 1946 shows spectators cramming every vantage point they can at Westhaven. The large concrete building looks a ‘little’ more impressive today as the home of the RNZYS. The large launch on the right was Claude Atherton’s Manuwai.
If you do get out, take the camera & send me some photos 🙂
It would be amiss of me if I did not mention some of the people behind today’s regatta – I’ll upset somebody by saying this (but that’s ok) but without the support & effort of this core group of people from the classic boating movement the regatta just would not happen – (in no order) – Bruce Tantrum, John Street, Baden Pascoe, Joyce Talbot, Eric Mahoney & others I’m sure.
Pacific at the 100th Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta
photo ex Nathan Herbert
Given that tomorrow is the 175th running of the regatta, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to post the above stunning photo of the launch Pacific & her crew watching the A-Class fleet compete in the regatta.
From L>R – A18 Tawera / A16 Little Jim / A2 Rawhiti / A14 ? / A15 Prize / A5 Rawene / A9 Moana
Tonight there is a big on-the-water fireworks display in the inner harbour so if you are in & around the city – check it out. Details at the regatta website (link below)
I would encourage you tomorrow to make the effort to find a good viewing point as the regatta is one of Auckland’s truly special days.
More details here http://www.regatta.org.nz/
Mahurangi / Warkworth c.1961
photos ex Ken Ricketts
Todays post show 2 photos taken c1961, most likely at Xmas & show a collection of launches tied up at the wharf at Warkworth. The really neat thing is hat most of these craft are still a float today & in as good, if not better condition.
It would be nice to see some of those varnished coaming again 😉
Several of these launches will be at todays Mahurangi Regatta & weather & numbers interested – maybe making the trip up the river to Warkworth for lunch.
Ken has attempted to ID the launches – see below.
PHOTO 1
Front row Gay Dawn, Ken can’t identify outer 2 boats.
Top left row, tiny bit of bow too small to indentify next to wharf next is
Cherokee & next is Menai. Ken can’t identify outer boat of that group
PHOTO 2
Bottom left Gay Dawn, Ken can’t identify the other 2 boats.
Next row to right is Faye at wharf, next to her is Royal Falcon & next is
Cherokee & then Menai. Ken can’t identify the outer boat.
Far row to right – boat at wharf is Southern Belle, may have been owned by Stan
Blundell, the outer boat next to her is Lady Karita.
Boat at anchor Reelemin II
Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #15 – Kiariki Anniversary Day Regatta 1962
Another Jack Brooke drawing, published on ww thanks to son Robert for making them available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise. Today’s post is the 15th featured – this one features the 1962 Anniversary Day Regatta & show Kiariki, Kiatoa & Jezebel. I see there is a note that Moana broke her spinnaker boom.
Big crew on-board: John Brooke, Elsie Brooke, Mrs Owen Aisher, Howard Wallace, Monty Wallace, Bill Thompson, Richard Purchase & Mary Duder.
For details on this years regatta – the 175th & only 3 days away – refer here http://www.regatta.org.nz/
FELISA
photo & details ex Harold Kidd ex John Blundell
Stan Blundell, of Fisher and Blundell, got his cousin Gerry Lane to design a 32’ x 9’6” motor-sailer for him in 1949. Gerry was then a school teacher but had served his time with Bailey & Lowe who had no job available for him when he came out of his apprenticeship at the beginning of the Depression. He never lost his skills and his love of boat building, however. Harold has heard a claim that the boat was designed by Garth Lane of the Lane Motor Boat Co, but says that’s incorrect.
Stan had her built by Phil Barton in St. Mary’s Bay. She was fitted with a 4 cylinder Ford diesel and, although lightly rigged, the Blundells used her sails to good effect in making passage and could get 8-10 knots under sail alone on a broad reach. Her coamings were teak and kept varnished. Stan named her Felisa as it is the Spanish equivalent of Phyllis, Stan’s wife’s name. Phyllis spent much of her early childhood in Guatemala and grew up bilingual.
The Blundells lived at Lynch Street in Point Chevalier. Felisa was moored off the property and took the mud at low tide.
Stan sold Felisa to Tairua, his son John thinks, around 1959, and she was later stationed at the Barrier. Harold had a report of her in 2000, owned by Callahan.
In one of the photos, she is on the mud off Lynch Street near a 20ft open cockpit hard chine launch designed by Ron Oliver, a design which won a Sea Spray competition. Several were built. The structure in the background is the old quarry on Meola Reef.
John Blundell would very much like to have Felisa’s recent history filled in.
Where is she now?
Update 27/01/2015 – CYA member Mark McLaughlin snapped the photos below of Felisa on her Tamaki Estuary mooring. The motor-sailer rig has been chopped ‘a little’.
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