Mothers Day
ALCESTIS
Today is all about mums, past & present + families. What better photo to remind us about family life than the one above taken during the Guthrie family 1931/2 Xmas / NY Northland cruise on their launch Alcestis.
Over the next few days I will post some stunning photos of Alcestis (now Raiona), Lady Margaret & Shenandoah cruising around the far north.
Enjoy today.
special thanks to Graham Guthrie for sharing his grandparents photos
MOVARIE
story & photos ex Russell Ward
Bridgedecker “Movarie” was built for W Macpherson by W & G Lowe St. Marys Bay and launched in 1938. I was told that she was largely the work of Cyril Tercel (Lew’s brother) who was not long out of his time. The Motor Boat and Yachting 17 June 1938 article records that she was built as a “game fishing vessel and was very successful”. It seems that WW2 got in the way of Macpherson’s plans and HDK elicited that he apparently died in 1953 back in England.
We are not sure of the origin of her name –Macpherson’s house in the UK was called “Movarie”. I had always assumed the name was a contraction of the daughters’ names -as were many boats names– but not so. Doubtless Harold will find out in time.
Macpherson sold “Movarie” to Vic and Robbie Sanders not long after launching and they had the wheelhouse lowered and a dodger put aft. It gave her a purposeful, striking and handsome appearance, but IMHO she is not pretty. Her hull is gorgeous though.
“Movarie” was chartered to the navy and served on offshore patrol duties for the duration of the war. The second picture shows her in this role. .
After the war, the Sanders kept her until 1956 and later bought “Lady Crossley”. “Mpvarie” kept her original 40hp Russell Newberry engines until 1960 when they were replaced with Fords. One of them still survives albeit rather rusty. You can still buy them in the UK though very expensively. Lovely engines and easy to live with, popular with the barge people. Despite what you might expect, her shafts were inward turning –outward turning gives maneuverability, inward gives power. Anyway she would handle as a twin-screw boat but just more ponderously. Our RNZN minesweepers “Inverell”, “Kiama”, “Echuca” and “Stawell” had the same arrangement and were a handful too as many captains found.
We owned “Movarie” for five years from 1996 –you will recall that, in another Woodies entry, I blamed my buying a fizz boat on Andrew Johns and “Ruamano”. I was sad that the last surviving Sanders brother had died not long before. His son John said he would have been delighted to talk about her and gave me a lot of information and a few family photos.
Frustrated by her run down state and machinery, I took her out of the water for a couple of months early ’97. I replaced the flogged out Fords with newer ones and took the opportunity to replace the fuel tanks, the tops of which were rusted through. I put new steering gear in, attended to some interior woodwork and generally tidied her up. I also put her back to the original type masts.
She is a magnificent sea boat we enjoyed her company.
09-04-2016 – photo added – Movarie & unknown game fishing boat. Photo ex Hylton Edmonds via Ken R.
Lady Gay – as always looking like the lady she is.
New Photo (Water Gipsy) ex Harold Kidd 16/04/2014
ROBIN GAE (CONNIE V)
CONNIE V was built by Lane Motor Boat Co in 1949 for Valentine of Hamilton and originally had 2 x Chrysler 75hp Ace engines, hopefully the article reproduces well enough to read. The photo shown in the article was taken in 1938 at the long demolished Mechanics Bay wharf.
Harold Kidd Update 16/04/2014
I’ve had a chance since posting the above to review all the above material and to compare images of WATER GIPSY and CONNIE V. Morrie relies heavily on the Register of British Ships and it leads him into a whole bunch of traps because, for various reasons, the information is frequently dodgy. I’ve discussed this with him before. He infers that CONNIE V was built new in 1935 for Valintine, and that’s exactly what I’ve always thought until now.
WATER GIPSY (another image attached) was launched in October 1934 for C. Miller by Cox & Filmer (Speedcraft Boat Co) with dimensions 32ft x 8ft 6in. She was a slightly extended version of a 30 footer built by Cox & Filmer for one Martin (haven’t identified her yet). Miller used WATER GIPSY for a while (eg Marjorie Miller visited yacht LITTLE JIM from her on 2/2/35) and then she “disappears”.
Now, if you compare my image of WATER GIPSY with the image of CONNIE V in Paul Titchener’s highly erroneous article above (I assume whoever posted it had PT’s copyright permission), which was based solely on family anecdote I imagine, as Paul married Valintine’s daughter, you will clearly observe that the two boats are identical back to the aft end of the clerestory.
It is obvious to me that the truth is in the cracks between the various versions.
I think this is what happened.
WATER GIPSY was obviously a bit of a problem, ergonomically. She had no cockpit, had a pair of davits across the counter, and would have been a pain to handle. Valintine bought her in 1937, renamed her CONNIE V after Mrs. V, had her lengthened to her final dimension of 38ft, with the provision of a cockpit, coaming and dodger over…..much more user friendly. The work was undoubtedly done by Lanes who also fitted her with a Chrysler Crown in September 1939. That was after the Kawau petrol fire in January 1939 when Valintine scuttled her by chopping a hole in her hull, saving the boat. It may also have been after he sold her to E.M. Henry (Lambourne bought her from Henry).
She remained in the Lambourne family until 1956 or so but Lambourne obligingly changed her name to ROBYN GAE on 14/11/49 at the time Lanes launched the second CONNIE V for Valintine.
There’s a whiff of assumption in the above which I detest in others………………….
Moanalua
1935 Collings & Bell design / build. To read more about her past & view 40+ photos click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/01/11/moanalua-2/
I930’s movie filmed on & around Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand. 3 girls row to a bay for a picnic but are surprised & captured by pirates. Great footage of the classic motor launch ‘Waitangi’ playing the role of Coastguard rescuer & the motor boat ‘Pelican’ as the pirates boat.
Thanks to Roger Guthrie (brother of CYA member Graham) for forwarding this footage to waitematawoodys.
NANA
She was built by Chas Bailey & Son Ltd in 1934 . She was a 35 footer with a 110hp Redwing Big Chief. She had a side exhaust well above the waterline, on the starboard side, with no cowl over it.
Ken Ricketts has known this boat since 1946, when she was moored in Matiatia & belonged to Mr Fred Allison (the original owner), who owned the Devonport Steam Ferry Ltd & lived at Matiatia, Waiheke Island. Alison got Bailey to build his boats because of the ferry connection. Ken only very recently acquire this photo, ex Harold Kidd. Ken was absolutely thrilled to have it, as he always was fascinated by her. Her hull was painted royal blue with varnished & white combings, — unusual for that time, — & she was always immaculate. used to sit a little high in the water at the tuck waterline, with the boat not sitting in the water until a little below the round of the chine line, but nevertheless, lovely, with the name in gold leaf arched in the middle of the tuck. Not used very much. Ken never actually saw her off the moorings, on the many weekends, he anchored there on his dad’s boat, the JULIANA circa 1946-48.
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