CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LORNA – WHAT BECAME OF HER
Back in Oct 2025 WW was contacted by John Vague in regard to a a launch name the LORNA that when John was very young was owned by his uncle R.W. Hutchinson.It was on one of the five moorings at St Hellers Bay., Auckland, approx. year 1948. John recalls she was about 28’ long. Back on Oct John was hoping one of the WW readers would be able to supply more intel on the vessel. I was for some photos and John took on the task of tracking some down.
Fast forward to this week and John advised the son of Reg Hutchinson uncovered and sent in the two photos above. So woodys can we help John out.
The first report from the woody armada out cruising over the summer holidays is from Angus Rogers on his 42’ 1967 Bailey & Son built launch – CENTAURUS.
Angus was overnighting in Man ‘o’ War Bay, Waiheke Island and was sharing the anchorage with the 233’ majestic CLASSIC super yacht – HAIDA, built in 1929 (originally steam powered). Rumour has it these days owned by another billionaire from Hong Kong.
Also sharing the bay was Peter Loughlin’s 42’ 1927 Colin Wild build launch – LADY MARGARET, see below.
She’s recently been hauled out on Waiheke Island, her new home, for some tidy-up work after a few stern fasteners decided to call it quits. The owner was full of praise for a talented young boatbuilder based on Waiheke who took on the transom rebuild — great to hear skilled hands are still out there keeping these classics alive.
With the heavy lifting underway, the owners rolled up their sleeves and treated her underside to a well-deserved birthday.
As the black-and-white photo below (ex Nathan Herbert) shows, MAITAI has made it close to 100 years without suffering at the hands of the dreaded wood-butchers. Long may that continue.
Very rarely woodys will you see the above words together, but today they perfectly described the classic 29’ yacht – AOTEAROA.
Let me explain – Affordable # because the asking price is only $14,750 and that includes the trailer, which is probably worth more than the yacht # no marina fees, keep at home or in low cost out-of-water storage
High Performance – # the Dragon classic yacht is a pure racing thoroughbred with the added bonus of drop dead good looks thanks to her sleek, graceful lines and its generous overhangs. # Her powerful rig delivers supreme on-the-water performance.
Classic Sailing – # built in 1967 AOTEAROA is registered with the NZ Classic Yacht fleet and regularly outperforms many larger classic keelers of a similar era, regardless of their size.
AOTEAROA IS COMPLETE AND READY TO BE SAILING THIS SUMMER HOLIDAYS – Treat yourself or the family this Christmas. Whist it would be nice to see AOTEAROA back on the Waitemata Harbour she would be a very cool sight on Lake Taupo.
For a copy of the maintenance history, race results and inventory – contact Tim Hooson on 021 623 225 or via email thooson@outlook.co.nz
2025 KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH REGATTA – A WOODY WEEKEND TO REMEMBER – 50+ PHOTOS
Pleased to report that the long weekend’s woody action at Kawau Island was an absolute triumph. Now in its second year, the Spring Splash Regatta — a joint venture between the Kawau Boating Club, Ponsonby Cruising Club, and Waitematawoodys — continues to grow in both size and spirit.
It’s still early days for what’s shaping up to be a great annual tradition, but this year’s event had an unmistakably upbeat, jaunty vibe. Everywhere you looked, people were smiling, swapping yarns, and clearly having a great time afloat and ashore.
I’ll apologise up front for being light on the yacht racing and prize-giving coverage — for reasons I won’t bore you with — but rest assured, the competition and camaraderie were both in full swing.
Sunday’s Woodys Classic Parade was the visual highlight of the weekend, showcasing a handsome flotilla of 17 classic launches for all those anchored in Bon Accord Harbour and watching from waterfront properties. Aside from a brief 10-minute burst of H₂O at the start, the weather came right and the parade looked spectacular.
A big thank you to the classic skippers and crews who took part — your efforts made for a great show.
Helming a boat among moored craft while trying to take photos is a fine line between “challenging” and “slightly reckless,” so I’m especially grateful to Dean Watchlin, Murray Deeble and Richard Bicknell for sharing their superb photos from the weekend.
Enjoy today’s gallery — loosely divided into two parts: the weekend’s happenings and the Sunday Parade. Sorry if the cameras missed your boat – some joined the parade midway and some departed midway. The crew of KAIKOURA below, correctly attired for the occasion 🙂
Not often I start with an apology– yesterday at Kawau was a wee bit of a cock up. I missed the prize giving. I’ll be polite and say things got ‘Lost In Translation’.
I was working on intel supplied eg prize giving was according to the notice of regatta was Sunday but it was held on Saturday……. Never mind 😄 sorry to the woodys that turned up 😢
During the week WW was contacted by Karl Reynolds the owner of the 1927 Dick Lang built 31’ classic wooden launch – IRENE. IRENE last appeared on WW back in April 2016, link here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/04/27/irene-2/
Karl purchased the vessel in March 2025 and has been undertaking a refit, The work started with a good clean in the hull and then Karl and his father managed to complete the following in the 15 days they had IRENE hauled out.
• New larger hatch to remove engine through and lifted height to give me head room at helm
• Bulk heads installed to add support to hull and cut out to reduce visual impact
• New Ford engine with heat exchanger sitting on its mounts awaiting gearbox and alignment
• Closed in stern to keep birds out
If you are undertaking a woody project , please share the work with WW, readers love seeing word-in-progress.
Earlier in the week WW was contacted by Graeme Holloway regarding the classic wooden launch – CHLOE – I’ll hand over to Graeme to tell todays story –
“I happened to stumble upon a photo Below) you had posted and recognised it as a launch my Dad owned back in the 1980’s. CHLOE was a Bill Cauldrey design, and the hull and topsides were built for Joe and Edna Gaunt and Joe finished off the interior. She was launched in 1967 and the hull was originally painted green. She had no port holes and also had a mast on the foredeck. Joe and Edna were members of the Devonport Yacht Club and for many years she was moored just out from the club in Devonport. She was 30ft long and the original motor was a 55 horse BMC Commander. She cruised at 8 knots. My parents, Ian and Marion Holloway purchased CHLOE in 1983 and kept her moored in Westhaven. My Dad put the port holes in and painted her hull white. They too were members of the Devonport Yacht Club and over the winter months she would be pulled up on the hard in front of the clubhouse for maintenance. She was sold in 1993 and was moored in Whakatakataka for a period of time and then disappeared.”
Graeme commented the photos with the green hull show her out from Motuihe Island c.1983. In the last photo of CHLOE we see her with the white hull and new port holes. Is being slipped up next to the clubhouse at the Devonport Yacht Club c.1986, and was published in the Metro Magazine relating to an article that was written about Devonport. I recognise a few of the ‘helpers’ faces 🙂
WOODEN CLASSICS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT THE 2025 WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL
Early Saturday morning I pointed the car north and arrived in Whangārei just in time to catch the soft early light — perfect for photography and well before the dockside crowds arrived.
Whangārei’s Town Basin really is the ideal setting for a maritime festival — easy dock access, great viewing angles, and plenty of nearby cafés and attractions. Add in the buzz of the Saturday markets and you’ve got all the ingredients for a standout event.
Wooden boat numbers were a little down on last year, but a few visiting commercial vessels — including Customs, Pilot boats, fishing craft and a pair of Waka — helped round out the fleet. From a public point of view, it was still an impressive line-up. Given the number of classic boats that have migrated north in recent years, it would be great to see more of the region’s wooden heritage on display next time around.
It was great to catch up with so many familiar faces — clearly the new highway was busy with Aucklanders heading north for the weekend.
All up, a thoroughly enjoyable day. Hopefully today’s photo gallery will inspire a few more of you to make the trip in 2026.
And there is always a few foody pix – hands down the best two seafood fritters ever – one mussel and the star – one whitebait. And a free KOWHAI coffee because she liked my WW t-shirt.
FYI – when I’m at an event I point the camera at what catches my eye , sometimes I miss a few boats but I like to think the photos are more like someone strolling the docks rather than someone trying to capture the whole caboodle 🙂
Todays classic wooden launch first appeared on WW back in December 2017, link below. Jason Prew and Nathan Herbert were mooching around the Whangarei town basin area and spotted the launch – at the time we never learnt her name but Nathan did comment that he believed the launch started life as a Les Coulthard sedan. https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/12/08/mystery-launch-08-12-2017/
After 7 years of radio silence the photo above pops up on a Maurice Sharp fb post. Maurice commented that at the time she was owned by Gilbert Deeming and the photo of her on the hard was taken c.1960s by Chris Deeming.
Ray Anderson also commented that his father bought NAUTILUS off Gilbert Deeming. Nathan H confirmed she was in fact a standard design by Les Coulthard and was 26>28’ in length.
Can we learn more about what became of NAUTILUS in the late 1960’s > 2017 period. (2017 photos below)
REFLECTIONS ON THE 2025 PORT TOWNSEND WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL– 80+ Photos / Videos
One of the bucket list classic wooden boating events is the annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. From all reports the 2025 event was outstanding. While its easy to go on-line and find a link to a professional overview, in my eye there is something special about viewing a festival attendees collection of boats – sure the light or camera angle isn’t alway perfect but you get a raw edge, which appeals.
Today thanks to kiwi John Oates we get to share what appealed to John’s eye.
One of the festival features that sets it apart from a lot of events is the ability to go aboard the boats and talk to the owners. There is something for everyone – food & drink, live music, kids activities, movie screening and lots of opportunities to get on the water.
One of this years ket themes was tagged – ‘A Gathering of Maritime Legends: Celebrating Shipwrights’. The festival brought together shipwrights from some of the world’s most iconic maritime institutions—craftspeople who keep the art of wooden boatbuilding alive with skill, heart, and tradition.Via a mix of talks, presentations and hands on gatherings where the public were able to rub up against the legends.
Enjoy the gallery – I did. As always click on photos to enlarge ;-
Ps John has promised another photo report featuring more classic sail boats ✔️
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