Category Archives: Events

DOCKSIDE WITH THE WOODYS – Auckland’s Wooden Boat Festival 2026

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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

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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 wooden craft 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.

WOODYS GALORE AT AUCKLAND’S WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

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Woodys Galore At Auckland’s Wooden Boat Festival

If you’ve got even a hint of salt in your veins, make your way down to Auckland’s Viaduct (Jellicoe Harbour) this weekend for the Auckland wooden boat festival.

The festival is a true celebration of everything that makes the classic wooden boat community special.

Expect a visual spectacle of beautifully crafted wooden boats both afloat and on display ashore, alongside undercover exhibitions and a series of engaging talks and seminars from people who live and breathe wooden boats.

From elegant launches and yachts to working classics, it’s a weekend that showcases the craftsmanship, heritage, and camaraderie that define the woody boat world.

Best of all — Entry Is Completely FREE.

Check out the full festival programme here:
https://www.aucklandwoodenboatfestival.co.nz/festival-programme

SHOW STARTS FRIDAY 13th > 15th 

FRIDAY 4PM>8PM – SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10AM > 5PM

▽A FESTIVAL MUST DO▽

Regular WW readers will be familiar with my frustration around the plight of the Vos Boat Yard on Aucklands waterfront, well I’m pleased to advice that its now once again a working boatyard and home to the NZ Traditional Boatbuilding School. To celebrate the yard will be open to the public during this weekends Auckland wooden boat festival and the team from NZTBS will give visitors the chance to see traditional clinker construction and repair skills up close, demonstrating a live build of a kauri clinker Frostbite dinghy in the shed.  
DETAILS: Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 March, 10am-5pm  Percy Vos Boat Yard, 34 Hamer Street Wynyard Quarter Auckland CBD Free entry.   Find out more at: https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/percy-vos-boat-shed-open-day

CLASSIC WOODEN CANOE STERN LAUNCH – NAOMI

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CLASSIC WOODEN CANOE STERN LAUNCH – NAOMI

Last week WW was contacted by Graeme Carr concerning a launch named – NAOMI, now back in the day that was a popular name and it pops up several times in the WW archives. In Graeme’s opening correspondence he referred to the launch as NAOMI II, but subsequently came to the view that this name came from his sighting the tender that was being used with the boat when afloat was labeled the NAOMI II. But the likelihood is that the main boat was just named NAOMI and the tender was named NAOMI II, as is the often the case.

Graeme commented that he first encountered NAOMI when it was on the hard located at Daimond Harbour, quite a ways from the sea and in a somewhat sad state, refer photos one and two above (dated c.1995/6).
His intention was to buy the boat and relaunch. There were many conversations with the young owner but no deal as he wished to keep it. Graeme lost touch with it after that only to find that he had planted the seed of its sale and that the owner had sold it to an older gentleman who had repaired and re-floated it. 

Graeme later (2015) came upon it again moored at Cass Bay close to Lyttelton. Refer bottom photo.

Can we learn more about NAOMI, Graeme is aware that there were sister ships built but unfortunately all records were lost in a fire at the boat builders (Bailey Bros.).

LAST WEEKEND AUCKLAND’s CLASSIC YACHTING ENTHUSIAST’S HELD THEIR ANNUAL REGATTA – woody John Dawson sent in a link to a brilliant you tube video filmed and edited by Roger Mills that showcases some of the cities best classic yachts. Enjoy

2026 NEW ZEALAND ANTIQUE & CLASSIC BOAT SHOW

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2026 NEW ZEALAND ANTIQUE & CLASSIC BOAT SHOW

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 🙂

PICTON MARINA CLASSIC WOODY MOOCHING + WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW

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PICTON MARINA CLASSIC WOODY MOOCHING + WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW

Recently Glenn Martin was mooching around Picton on bike and stopped off at the Picton Marina and snapped todays gallery of woodys.

As Glenn commented some have appeared before on WW and some newbies. Always nice to get updates and see who is doing the TLC and who isn’t 🙂

As you read this today I’m in the Bay of Islands , not boating but I’m sure I’ll be waterfront at some stage.

HEADS UP – THE OFF CENTER HARBOR – WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW STARTS TODAY – click here to check it out HERE

There’s a great line up of ‘live’ events to watch 

CLASSIC 1920’S PICNIC BOAT – LADY BETH 

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LADY BETH 2026

CLASSIC 1920’S PICNIC BOAT – LADY BETH 

At the recent 2026 Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat weekend one of the stand out craft was LADY BETH, a 23’ picnic / day boat, builder unknown. I was surprised with her build date as she had a ‘new build’ level of presentation.

Today thanks to the LRC&WB team we get to learn more about LADY BETH’s past and how she ended up my pick of the 2026 parade.

LADY BETH, formerly named HIDDEN AGENDA, was first used in Whakatane as a picnic and tour boat. She then moved to Napier and was used in the same way until she was to be found on Lake Taupo, moving to Lake Rotoiti about 40 years ago. Purchased by the current owners in April 2018, she underwent a major  20 month refit at Alan Craig’s boatyard where she was transformed into the very beautiful classic wooden boat she is today. She is named after Lady Beth Moore, (mother of her co owner), who was born the same year the launch was and loved the lake since coming on her honeymoon in 1942.

Her inboard has been replaced by a 9.9hp outboard in a concealed well.  The glass house is made of teak and a teak bowspit and duckboard were fitted with stainless anchor and remote windlass. During restoration it was noted she originally had 2 portholes each side, not just the 1. So stainless ones were imported from Italy. 

BAY of ISLANDS CLASSIC WOODY – KERIKERI INLET RAID

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BAY of ISLANDS CLASSIC WOODYS – KERIKERI INLET RAID

Last weekend a few of the B.O.I.’s classic launch skippers gathered for a cruise up the Kerikeri Inlet to raft up at the Stone Store for a catch up. The real reason was a session at the Plough & Feather waterfront pub. 

One of the WW cub reporters – Grant Gibbs was aboard KORAWAI to record the event. 

I note from the photos that a couple of ‘visitors from Hawkes Bay’ managed to tag along, but we will turn a blind eye to that.

I’ll comment more on the Bay of Islands woody scene in Mondays upcoming story.

2026 WORLDWIDE CLASSIC BOAT SHOW – All You Need To Know

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Today woodys I want to draw your attention to an upcoming woody event – the Worldwide Classic Boat Show hosted by our friends at the Vblog – Off Centre Harbor. The show has been running annually for several years and just gets better and better – read more below. With the Worldwide Classic Boat Show, the best boats from around the world come to you, wherever you are. You can search and explore hundreds of boats via characteristics like propulsion, era, or size, and see them all on the interactive world map:

HOW TO ATTEND THE SHOW:

Just head to ClassicBoatShow.com for full details on the show and how to get an All Access Pass https://classicboatshow.com/
WHERE & WHEN:
Where: The show is entirely virtual — online at ClassicBoatShow.com You can attend from your favorite lounge chair.
When:  Everything starts on Friday, February 20th: Gates open, boats arrive and presentations begin. 
WHAT’S AT THE SHOW? The Map – Everything in the world related to classic boats is on one interactive map
Live Presentations – Presentations featuring experts on a variety of topics
Boats – Over 1,000 of the world’s best classic boats (with beautiful photos and details)
Organizations – Explore festivals, boatbuilders, clubs, museums, schools, etc.
People – Connect with other attendees anywhere in the world (right there on the map)

For example, say you want to explore the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, and you find this boat – just click on it and you’ll get to see her history and details, ways to learn more about the boat, and see more great photos (and videos if available):

FYI – IIT’s NOT TOO LATE TO INCLUDE YOUR BOAT IN THE SHOW – The team are still looking for and accepting new entries to the Show at this link: https://classicboatshow.com/add-listing/listing/

AND NOW FOR TODAYS WOODY STORY – TAURAKA

There always has to be a woody boat – todays is the launch TAURAKA. While at Lake Rotoiti for the annual classic and wooden boat parade over the weekend I spotted TAURAKA hiding in the willows looking very neglected. She has been on WW below, in fact in March 2022 (link below) we did an SOS story trying to find a new custodian – anyone know the current status. https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/03/19/tauraka-sos/

2026 LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE + PICNIC – Report. 140 photos

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PARADE 🔻

PICNIC 🔻

LADY BETH

2026 LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE + PICNIC – Report. 140 photos

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 🙂