EASTER ON THE WATER – Classic Wooden Boat Cruising
Just back from three days on RD , Friday was one out of the box, simply stunning. Saturday was another goody and Sunday a tad overcast but still warm. Very happy with the number of classic woodys at Rakino Island over the weekend. I managed to catch up with a lot of the skippers, general consensus was ‘grabbing a few days afloat before winter kicks in’.
The white bridge-decker above was a mystery to me, short 4 letter name – Nathan what say you?
On Saturday I caught up with Bill Brown whose family (Corrine & James Brown) owned my launch in the late 1960’s. Back then she was named LADY GAY. Bill works off shore but keeps a very smart woody yacht (SusanJane) at Westhaven for when back in NZ.
We meet a few years ago via a mutual friend and the WW site, the penny dropped re the boat link and Bill sent me a great album of b/w photos from back in the late 1960’s.
I spend a lot of time matching other people and boats from the past so it was extra special to have an ‘own goal’.
AN UPDATE ON THE SINKING OF CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – SILENS
Firstly apologise for the short story today – I was boating yesterday and the day just slipped by. On the 29 March we reported on the sinking earlier in the week of the 1912 Harvey & Lang built, 38′ classic wooden launch SILENS while moored in Algies Bay, Mahurangi Peninsula.
We received the below note (edited) from her owners –“I’m the owner of Silens and we read the WW article about her very unfortunate sinking last Thursday during the cyclone at Algies Bay.
Good news is that she was salvaged on Saturday and on a dry dock, we have been working tirelessly since to strip her interior and clean her up, an her engine has been preserved thanks to the amazing team at Marine Services Auckland Ltd for salvaging her, Greg at Lees Marine Sandspit, Wayne at Mahurangi Marine and Dan at Northern Marine Electrical for assisting so far. We had arranged for her bilges to be serviced on Monday, 3 days prior to her sinking, everything was in working order and can confirm water ingress was the cause of her going down.
Talking to many locals in Algies Bay since, including boat owners, they advised the have not seen so much rain fall in such a short period of time that hit the area.
We are absolutely devastated and heartbroken, and will do and are doing our best to restore Silens back to her former glory. “ Yesterday I had reason to be at Sandspit Marina and called into Greg Lees yard to view SILENS. I can report that she is structurally in great shape and that the motor has been flushed and running, underway is a complete interior deep clean and thoughts on how to address the electrical areas. I briefly meet her owner and things are still very raw but SILENS couldn’t be in a better place at present.
I’m sure there are things that were damaged or lost in the process so if we can help supplying any items – I will let you know.
SOS – CAN WE SAVE CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LIBERTY – FROM THE LAND FILL – SOS
WW was contacted yesterday by the owner of the 30/33’ classic wooden launch LIBERTY that is moored in Whitianga.
As a result of last weeks storm, she has been taking on water and the Harbour Master has advised the vessel will be removed from her mooring and towed to a ramp and sadly then await a visit from the back-hoe.Note: her engine has been partially submerged.
LIBERTY has appeared on WW several times, links below to those stories. But in a nut-shell built somewhere in the 1919> early 1920’s period, 30>33’ in length, powered by a 35hp BMW engine (only 160hrs). Her provenance differs depending on who you listen to – some say built by Lou Burns and Stu McCallum in Te Papapa Onehunga. Harold Kidd has previously commented that he always thought she was the LIBERTY built by F and S Shaw in Devonport in 1919 when both brothers got back from WW1. She had a 12hp Regal originally. HDK suspected she’s been lengthened as well as had a couple of tophamper additions. L.R. Matthews had her in 1947 when Commodore of PCC and Noel Mitchell owned her in the 1960s.
During the week I was tagged into a Lew Redwood fb post on the classic wooden boat – VANORA.
Lew’s post was captioned ‘Whakatane 1911’ and that woodys was all Lew knew. Thence why WW was tagged.
Well as you know, most of the time WW delivers the goods. A quick search revealed several WW stories with lots of details and photos. The 2018 one with input from Harold Kidd, nails her name and provenance. Click links to discover more.
Last heard she was in a add state at Whangteau – anyone able to update us.
DOCKSIDE WITH THE WOODYS – Auckland’s Wooden Boat Festival 2026
(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)
Yesterday’s WW post focused on the undercover displays and the surrounding shore-side activity (scroll down if you missed it). Today’s instalment is a gallery from two days spent wandering the floating docks. Why two days?
The simple answer — there were just too many woody folk to catch up with for a quick chat. Every few metres another familiar face appeared, and before you knew it ten minutes had disappeared talking boats, projects and plans.
On the weather front the forecasters got it spot-on. Sunday turned out to be the pick of the two-and-a-half day festival, with warm sunshine and a welcome cooling breeze.
Between dockside wanderings I managed to sneak into a couple of the speaking seminars. One featured designer supremo John Welsford, the other Paul Stephanus, director of the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart. Both presentations were knowledgeable, insightful and — most importantly — highly entertaining.
Because Auckland’s greater boating community is spread across a wide geography — marinas, rivers and estuaries scattered from the inner harbour to the outer reaches — the public rarely gets to see our classic wooden boat fleet gathered together in one place. That’s what makes an event like this so special. Seeing so many woodys together is a reminder of just how strong and diverse the fleet really is.
Of course none of it happens without the owners. They put an enormous amount of time — and more than a few dollars — into getting their boats “show ready”. Beyond the camaraderie shared with fellow woody owners, the real reward comes from the reactions of the public. Owners might shrug off the compliments, but the praise, smiles and pats on the back certainly help offset the many hours spent sanding, polishing and crawling around the bilge.
Now, I know it’s not a beauty contest… but if I had to pick a few personal favourites from the docks they would be:
SAIL — RANUI The 1936 ex-workboat designed by Korinius Larsen. Looking at her today, the standard of presentation is closer to a superyacht than a working boat.
MOTOR — REHIA The 1938 Colin Wild designed and built motor launch. Over the last five years she’s been undergoing a rolling restoration, and every time I see her she looks better than the last.
TRAILER BOAT — LADY MAREE A circa-1950 Cresta Craft classic runabout — pure period charm on a trailer.
TRAILER YACHT – I missed the detailers, has the look of a John Welsford design – can someone supply details ✔️ thanks. ‘Mystery’ solved – its a Welsford Navigator ✔️
As mentioned yesterday, events of this size don’t just happen. They require the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, organisers, exhibitors and supporters.
So a big salute to everyone involved in bringing the 2026 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival together. It was an impressive celebration of our classic wooden boating movement.
AUCKLAND’S 2026 WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – Show Tour Part #1
Currently underway down on Auckland’s waterfront is the 2026 Auckland wooden boat festival. The event kicked off late Friday afternoon and runs through until 5pm Sunday.
I dropped down on Friday hoping to grab a few photos before the predicted weather turned sour. Thankfully we were treated to a few welcome bursts of sunshine, which made for some great viewing and photography. As it turns out, today (Sunday) is shaping up as the best day to get along and soak it all in.
Today’s woody story focuses on the undercover displays and surrounding shore-side areas. Tomorrow we’ll bring you Part #2 — a full dockside walk-through featuring the boats afloat.
The festival is a visually stunning showcase, with around 80+ classic woodencraft on display along the docks. In an era where most marinas are locked away from the public 24/7, events like this provide a rare opportunity to get up close to these beautiful wooden boats and chat with the passionate owners and crews who keep them alive.
Pulling together an event of this scale doesn’t happen by accident. It takes hundreds of volunteers, organisers, exhibitors and supporters working behind the scenes to make it all happen.
Hats off to everyone involved — it’s a fantastic celebration of our wooden boating heritage.
In the first weekend of March we have one on NZ’s coolest wooden boating events – the NZ Antique & Classic Boatshow, hosted in Kerr Bay, Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes National Park.
Todays coverage of the event is a perfect example of how the WW community works – I get an email from a friend (John Burland) living in Germany informing me a friend of his (Cam Rodgers) is attending the show this year and would I like some photos – short answer – YES.
So thanks to Cam today we get to have a gander at the show. Looks like the weather gods were smiling.
Remember – click to enlarge photos and enjoy the gallery 🙂
As the photos will quickly confirm, Saturday 7 February delivered near-perfect conditions for the Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association’s annual gathering. While the event unfolds over four days, it’s the Saturday on-the-water get-together that remains the undisputed highlight.
From a photographer’s point of view, wall-to-wall sunshine and tricky angles don’t always play nicely with timber and varnish. So, if I’ve missed your boat or the images aren’t quite showroom-perfect, my apologies — I was doing my best to keep up with a lot of very good-looking boats.
The day naturally divides into two acts: the Parade, followed by the Picnic. A few familiar regulars were absent this year, but they were more than ably replaced by some truly stunning “new” additions to the fleet, making for an impressive and varied lineup on the water.
Sit back, enjoy the gallery, and soak up a little Lake Rotoiti magic. As always click photos to enlarge.
Special thanks to David & Glenys Wilson for the generous loan of a boat for the day 🙂
CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORBOAT RACING ON THE WAITEMATA HARBOUR – Auckland Anniversary Regatta
After the disappointment of a cancelled Mahurangi Regatta weekend I was chafing at the bit to get out on the water.
Being Auckland Anniversary Day yesterday , I secured a spot aboard Jason Prew’s classic launch MY GIRL – WW readers will be aware that MY GIRL holds the title of fastest classic wooden launch on the Waitemata.
So at 11am we were on the start line for the classic launch inner harbour race – start off RNZYS > down to Orakei Bouy > across to Devonport area > back up the harbour to the finish line (aka the start line). Conditions were best described as ok, certainly better than the previous 4 days, overcast, the occasional shower and westerly >20 knots.
This year we were lacking a few of real quick woodys so Mr Prew had the race in hand after 10 seconds. Some close racing with the ‘recently’ re-powered woodies – NGAIO and LUCINDA. Do not have the handicap results but line honours went to MY GIRL / NGAIO / LUCINDA. All serviced at The Slipway Milford yard so a nice trifecta.
Earlier in the morning the tug/workboats put on their normal spectacular performance – see below.
The parade of sail was bolstered by several classic woodys that did not race – parade photos second group above.
Enjoy the photo gallery, light on the winning boat, always is when the bloke with the camera is aboard the favourite 😉
As always – photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
RACE RESULTS – MY GIRL collects line and handicap honours
Following on from the weekends story on the Russell Boating Club’s classic wooden launch parade (link below), today thanks to BOI photographer – Dean Wright we get to enjoy some stunning photos from the race.
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