Category Archives: Events

CLASSIC WORKBOAT MV MILLARM 

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CLASSIC WORKBOAT MV MILLARM 

The MV MILLARM a well known boat around Wellington in the 1970’s,  popped up on social media several months ago in the ‘Cook Strait Gossip & Drama’ fb feed. 
The story goes that in 1982 after a medial event onboard the vessel was run aground in Breaker Bay, Wellington.                                                                                              The motor was salvaged and put into another vessel, the top cabin and deck were removed and taken to Lyall Bay where they sat on the seaward side of a property at the westside of the bay.In previous life worked as a pilot boat.

Can we learn anymore about MV MILLARM.

INPUT ex JOHN WICKS  – Owner was Russ McKay. Memory (that unreliable source) says she was a Roger Carey design and possibly build. She was named for Mill Arm in Greville Harbour, D’Urville Island, a very pretty and sheltered anchorage. She was quite new when tragedy struck her. Interestingly she was built as a private vessel, despite her handsome fishing boat look.

INPUT ex PAUL DRAKE – Built by Miller and Tunnage. Used as a pilot launch for a few weeks when both Wellington’s pilot launches were out of service for reasons I cannot recall. On the day she was wrecked, she had crossed Cook Strait and visited the PACIFIC CHARGER, aground at Baring Head. I remember that there was a big swell running that day. Owner Russell McKay was on his own. Set sail from Baring Head towards Breaker Bay and failed to alter to starboard once the harbour entrance was reached. The unforgiving nature of the shore and the big swell did for MILL ARM. A great shame. Beautifully built in kauri of course. Only a year or so old.

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH MONTEREY RE-LAUNCHED

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MONTEREY ex MY GIRL post launching

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH MONTEREY RE-LAUNCHED

A couple of weeks ago we reported on the work underway on the classic Lidgard built wooden launch MONTEREY at the Slipway Milford yard – link below https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/11/14/classic-lidgard-launch-monterey-gets-a-birthday/

On Friday MONTEREY slipped back into the water looking the best she has in the last 20 years, a tribute to her new owner and the skills of the craftspeople at the Slipway Milford yard.

Still a few projects to be finished off back on her marina, but today we celebrate the ‘homecoming’ of one of the fleets best looking classic wooden launches.

Lots of dockside chat regarding the grey anti-fouling and how it will look with the normal bits hanging off in a few months – time will tell 😉

We will follow up with an interior story in a few weeks.

(Photos ex owner, Jason Prew and Alan H)

WW MERCHANDISE – IF YOU ARE THINKING OF ORDERING – DO IT NOW B4 STOCK RUNS OUT

CLASSIC LAUNCH HITS THE ROCKS AT BROWNS ISLAND – SOS  – CAN WE SAVE SILVER SEA FROM THE CRUSHER

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2016 PHOTO BELOW

CLASSIC LAUNCH HITS THE ROCKS AT BROWNS ISLAND – SOS  – CAN WE SAVE SILVER SEA FROM THE CRUSHER

Back in 2016 we ran a story on the 36′ classic wooden launch – SILVER SEA, at the time the story generated a lot of chat and photos. Link below https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/01/19/silver-sea/

Yesterday afternoon WW was contacted by fellow classic boat owner Mark McLaughlin – details below –
“ I was down at RAYC this afternoon for my son’s Optimist sailing and found Silver Sea being towed in by the Harbourmaster. He told me she went onto rocks today at Brown’s Island and the keel got punched into the hull. She went down to the gunwales at the cockpit but they managed to keep her afloat long enough to get her into Okahu Bay. She was quickly pulled ashore to the old hardstand area (brutally!) and will stay there for 48hrs before disposal by the Harbourmaster unless someone wants to take her on. Sadly the owner is not insured and apparently this was to be his final trip in the boat before selling her. The Harbourmaster said it is unlikely the owner will have the resources or energy to fix her.”

Check out the video below – the haul-out was VERY agricultural……………….
So woodys anyone out they prepared to step up and take on saving SILVER SEA Anyone interested should contact the Harbourmasters Office.

WW MERCHANDISE – IF YOU ARE THINKING OF ORDERING – DO IT NOW B4 STOCK RUNS OUT

SONGBIRD – A SPIRIT OF TRADITION WOODY

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SONGBIRD – A SPIRIT OF TRADITION WOODY

It is pretty rare these days to see the launch of a new wooden boat so Bill Townson’s SONGBIRD gets to make an appearance on WW via the ’spirit of tradition’ umbrella.

Todays photos and comments (below) come to us from Hugh Gladwell.

“Bill Townsons new launch Songbird went overboard at the Warkworth Cement Works on Wednesday. A backyard designed and built wooden launch is a rarity these days. She is 3 skin kauri and Alaskan yellow cedar glassed inside and out with no stringers or ribs. Powered by a Yanmar 110. The standard of finish is impeccable. Bill is now 82 and has been building her with his wife Mona for the last 6 years. Mona explained that she didn’t actually work on the boat but supervised Bill throughout.”

WW MERCHANDISE – IF YOU ARE THINKING OF ORDERING – DO IT NOW – DOWN TO SINGLE DIGIT NUMBERS ON MOST T-SHIRT SIZES AND LESS THAN 12 CAPS IN STOCK 

1930’S CLASSICS HAULED OUT AT JUDGES BAY 

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1930’S CLASSICS HAULED OUT AT JUDGES BAY 

Todays photo pooped up on the time spanner fb and originated from the the Auckland heritage collection.

The caption reads – “Yachts on the shoreline at Judges Bay. Some of the known boats include: Royal Saxton, Royal Falcon, Lady Thelma and Kenya. The rigs have been removed so they could have got under Tamaki Drive to reach Judges Bay”. 1930’s NZ Herald image.

BOAT FIRE ON THE HAURAKI GULF – CAN WE ID THE VESSEL

News reports confirm a launch caught fire near Browns Island yesterday. Both crew on board we rescued.

Can anyone ID the vessel. It appears to be wooden.

CAN WE HELP IDENTIFY THIS RUMPTY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH

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CAN WE HELP IDENTIFY THIS RUMPTY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH

WW was contacted recently by Guilford Bonehill regard todays wooden launch. The vessel is owned by a friend of Guilford’s and has been resting in their yard for 10+ years.

The owner believes it previously came from the Cleveland area, and the Wairoa River.  Although there is no name on the launch, they think it was named PRINCESS ALOHA and built a century ago.

The understatement in Guilford’s note was ‘the condition of the launch is not good’.

Any help in identifying the launch and her past would be most appreciated.

26-11-2025 INPUT EX GUILFORD BONEHILL -Laurie Webster (deceased) had the boat in Pukekohe and for the last 8 years up high n dry near a wool shed in Te Kohanga

CHAD THOMPSON TRIBUTE SPRING RALLY

Yesterday was the start of the CYA – CTT Spring Rally (year 3) Photos below of the start line – entrants were down 50% on last year…………  Reminds me of the Albert Einstein quote: Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results.

2025 KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH REGATTA – A WOODY WEEKEND TO REMEMBER – 50+ PHOTOS

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THERE IS A WOODY HIDING IN THERE – SEE BELOW ⬇️
RAINDANCE
KAIKOURA
CENTAURUS
CALLISTO
HGARUNUI
MARIHI
ST CLAIR
TAREE
MEOLA
RONAKI
VOLANTO
KIWARUA
MOANALUA
TUNA

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 🙂

WOODEN CLASSICS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT THE 2025 WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL – 60+ photos & videos

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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 🙂

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCHES NAMED SPEEDWELL 

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCHES NAMED SPEEDWELL 

I suspect I’m going to get  history lesson today…… The above photo surfaced on a Maurice Sharp’s fb feed and was captioned “The motor launch Speedwell om the Waitemata Harbour – 1920’s – 1930’s” (NZ Herald). Searching WW we get a link to a ROSEMARY M story where Harold Kidd advised the ROSEMARY M had once been named SPEEDWELL – link to that story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/09/07/rosemary-m/

Harold also made reference to his and Robin Elliott’s book – Vintage NZ Launches’where we see another SPEEDWELL, this time one of several launches of the same name owners by WA ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson . To my eye this SPEEDWELL (2nd photo above)  is not the one in Maurice’s fb post.

Can we correctly put a builder / date on this one.

13-10-2025 INPUT ex GREG PHILPOTT – advertisement below appeared c.1920’s Bay of Islands Swordfish Club yearbook.

Off to Whangarei today for the Whangarei Maritime Festical – fingers crossed Monday will be a great story 🙂

KEY INTEL October 11th and 12th 2025

Whangārei Town Basin – Free Entry

More info: www.whangareimaritimefestival.co.nz


CLASSIC WOODEN BOATING LAKE LEGENDS  – Drake Brothers

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CLASSIC WOODEN BOATING LAKE LEGENDS – Drake Brothers

Todays woody story is big on the feel good scale. During the week Taupo woody Shawn Vennell sent me todays photos of the Drake brothers, in the top photo  L>R we have – Micheal – Paul and good friend Monte Jones. The Drake ‘boys’ are a walking encyclopaedia of boating on the central north island lakes and are the WW go-to for any classic wooden boating questions. I have been lucky to meet them at the annual Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parades and have always admired how they present their craft. Genetics is a wonderful thing, I’m told their father was also a legend on the lake. I’m too polite to ask but the combined ages of the brothers would equal an impressive number of years classic boating. 
Have to like the name for SIR FRANCIS’s tender – ‘Love Me Tender’.

The photos were taken by Wendy O’Callaghan for an upcoming show on the history of the Taupo Boat Harbour.

UPDATE FROM PAUL DRAKE – Just a correction – the chap on the right is not Nigel. This is our great friend and vintage outboard expert Monte Jones, who, by the way, built a sixteen foot Hartley cabin boat POLARIS when he was sixteen (he is now in his eighties), and which he still owns and uses.

The occasion in the photo was the trial run of Monte’s recently restored 100 year old  2 hp twin cylinder Johnson outboard. It ran perfectly and pushed SIR FRANCIS along at a couple of knots.  

Missing from the photo are brothers Nigel and Roger – Roger being our engineer, without whom none of our vintage petrol engine powered launches would be running!

Full weekend details in the downloadable PDF file below, which includes the entry (free) form for the sailing events. 

LABOUR WEEKEND SPRING SPLASH (2)Download