Mahurangi Regatta – Sailing Sunday
I was sent a great collection of photos form the 2017 Mahurangi Regatta by Bernie Power who was aboard Shane Anderson’s classic launch Waimiga. Lots & lots of great photos, above is just a selection of the yachts, which I tend to miss as I’m pointing my camera at the beautiful boats i.e. the classic launches 🙂
Enjoy.
J
Feb 1940 – Whats The Event?
Rather an impressive collection of woodys in the above photo, the image is dated Feb 1940 & is from the NZ Herald / Auckland Library collection via Harold Kidd via Lew Redwood.
Harold commented that with that date, the wartime reporting numbers on display would have been recently issued & given the ‘families’ on board there must have still been petrol readily available.
Lew’s thoughts were that gathering could possibly have been to welcome HMS Achilles home.
So woodys can we confirm the event & ID the boats? – some will be easy & some not – to help I have posted a photo below with each boat numbered 1>9.
QUEST – Sailing Sunday
Mid-week we were lucky to have a peep at some of Peter Midgley’s fathers photo collection, that show the launch Kenya & the Joe Slattery boat shed. I asked Peter if he could share with us anymore of Eric Midgley’s photos & today we have the yacht Quest, built at the Vos yard for a Mr Wood of Devonport.
The top photo shows the launching on 10 December 1936, Peter commented that this photo of the exact moment a lady christens Quest has always fascinated him as a great moment frozen in time. Eric is third from the left with his arms folded. The man in uniform far left appears to be a St Johns person, did they have then at launchings in case of accidents? The man next to him with pen & paper in hand is perhaps a reporter for the “Star” or “Herald”. Then a lady in a heavy overcoat & umbrella, looks like a wet day in December.
Then the man far right also with umbrella “Photo Bombing” the photo.
Unfortunately the lady doing the honours, is blocking our view of the man holding the sledge hammer, Peter has an identical one in his dad’s toolbox.
Then the real character of this photo, the lady with a piece of paper in her hand having just read some words, with an expression of surprise as liquid sprays back towards her. Perhaps she is the wife of the owner – Mr Woods?
You have to love the way two planks of wood balancing on two saw horses is sufficient for the lady to stand on, no health & safety in those days!
The bottom photo of Quest moored presumably after launching.
As a footnote in the Percy Vos book, ‘Launching Dreams’, it states Eric Midgley worked at the Vos yard from 1937 to 1938 & only worked on the ‘Korea’ but Peter thinks he was there in 1936 working on the Quest. He went on to work at the Devonport Dockyard throughout the war & built the sailing dinghy ‘Kiwi’ in 1947, the NZ Navys gift to Princess Elizabeth & Prince Phillip for their wedding. Link here
It would be great if any woodys could identify people in this photo.
Input from Harold Kidd
QUEST was a design by Dr. Harrison Butler (he of the metacentric shelf) built by Percy Vos (with one S) in December 1936 for L.M. (Milton) Wood of Devonport. His brother Lincoln had the Butler-designed 22 footer MEMORY built by Fred Mann in 1930. She’s very English in her lines (and all the better for that).
As to the people my guess is, from left, A St John’s “Zambuck” who used to be present at Rugby matches (and possibly launchings if they were yachties, as many were), W.A. (Wilkie) Wilkinson of the Auckland Star, Vos employee, the matriarch Mrs Sarah Wood, Milton and his wife/fiancee not sure when they married), Lincoln being silly. There was a multitude of Wood brothers and sisters, so the latter could any one of the other brothers.
MALOLO
I have been invited to some very swish boat launchings over the years but the best invite award would have to go to Max Cumming & R Tangaroa for the invite to the re-splash of their c.1929 speed boat Malaolo.
Malolo was originally built in Russell, Bay of Island by Francis ‘Nipper’ Arlidge & that is where she will be officially re-launched after a 5 year restoration. The work looks amazing & she has already won the Jens Hansen trophy for best vessel overall at the 2017 NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti, South Island.
The 5.7m Malolo was originally built to act as a ‘water taxi’ for game fishermen in the B.O.I. There are no photos of the original boat, so the restoration was based on the memories of four old boaties who could remember going out on Malolo.
So woodys has anyone got an old photo album / collection from the B.O.I. that might contain a photo of Malolo?
Well done guys & good luck with the big day. Make sure someone has a camera handy & snaps some photos to share with the woodys.
CYA Classic Yacht Regatta Oops
If you ever thought classic yacht racing was a little ‘soft’ i.e. “let them thru, they are nice chaps” think again, its serious racing – proof? During race one of last weeks regatta the 1898 Arch Logan Rainbow was involved in a wee incident that resulted in her samson post snapping, it takes a lot of force to break a 5” square piece of kauri. The main player in the incident was the bowsprit that compressed under impact and combined with the ‘dead’ force of the backside from the deck, something had to give & fortunately the Samson post took all the load. Effectively became a safety valve, and halted any collateral damage to the deck or bowsprit.
End of the race for Rainbow & potentially end of the regatta – but in steps master boatbuilder Paul Tingey who worked around the clock and did an outstanding job, gluing up, turning and re-installing the new Samson post to get Rainbow on the start line for Sundays racing.
Ngatiawa
Ngatiawa, below, is a A class keeler that was owned by Nathan Ross for many years, from the 1940s on wards. Later ownership passed to his son Clive, a school mate & young R.A.Y.C. associate of Ken Ricketts .
Ken’s photo was taken at Christmas 1952 in Mansion House. Do any of the woodys know more about Ngatiawa – designer / builder / year of launch & what became of her?
H28 Classic Wooden Ketch 4sale
Maroro was professionally built in 1957 in Whangarei & proved herself by winning the 1961 Trans Tasman race and is featured in the NZ book ‘proper NZ yachts’ by Richard Endean.
Maroro is a traditional sailing man or woman’s boat, set up with jib and staysail self furling + spinnaker. She has a near new Yanmar 10hp engine with 60 hours on clock & F & R gearbox. Three berths, toilet in separate compartment. Force 10 diesel heater. Simon Lawrence anchor winch. All ground tackle. Her mooring at Mahurangi is also available long term.
Owner Russell Ward commented that at the asking price of $18,500 she is would provide a lot of fun for a real sailor.
A Woody Parade & Pub Cruise
The last 3 days have seen the running of the 2017 CYA Classic Regatta, the main event being the sailing but this year we had a parade of classic wooden launches.To be confirmed but on my count 22 classics took part & it was an impressive sight – I hope someone videoed it from the RNZYS as we motored past.
The photos below are a little low in colour as the day started very overcasts but as the day went on the weather just got better & better.
The day was acually in 2 parts – starting with the parade, then a cruise to the Riverhead Hotel for lunch. Given the number of vessels (several more joined in on-route) anchoring at the hotel end was always going to be interesting…………………….. A couple of ‘oops I’m aground’ but all sort out & the photos /names stayed in the camera.
The photo gallery form is a mix of my camera & Pauline Evill (guest on Raindance). Enjoy 🙂
THE WINNER OF THE CYA LAUNCH TROPHY FOR BEST PRESENT LAUNCH & CREW WENT TO MARGO & JAMIE HUDSON – LADY CROSSLEY
07-03-2017 Additional Photos ex Jason Prew
Jeunesse
Castaway
Lady Crossley
Trinidad
07-03-2017 – A short movie below, ex Pauline Evill, of Lady Crossley, Castaway & Lady Margaret arriving at the Riverhead Hotel.
07-03-2017 photo below taken from RNZYS at the start of the parade (sent in by Chris Leech)
Mystery Launch 03-03-2017
Anyone able to help ID the above launch?, her trademe listing says she was built in the 1960”s by ‘Lange’.
36′, kauri planked & powered by a 130hp 6 cylinder Perkins that pushes her along at a comfortable 8 knots. She is Westhaven based, so someone must be able to shed some light.
And woody launch owners – remember the CYA classic launch parade & Riverhead Hotel lunch cruise this Sunday at 10.00am – details below, click to enlarge. All woody classic launches welcome 🙂
A Big Woody Weekend – A message for all classic woody owners.
Next weekend has the potential to be one of those moments when come Monday when you read ww, you go bugger – I should have made the effort to do that 🙂 So don’t make that mistake – go down to the boat this weekend – fuel up, run the hose over her, a little bit of TLC – then ring a few friends & invite them to have a woody experience next Sunday.
This coming Friday > Saturday > Sunday the Classic Yacht Association NZ is hosting its annual Classic Yacht Regatta & its a great opportunity for all woodys to rub shoulders & celebrate your shared passion.
If you have not experienced the regatta before or if you have been AWOL for a few years, things have kicked up a level – Regatta HQ is now the RNZYS so plenty of parking & opportunities to get up close to the race fleet – pre & post sailing.
In 2017 the Regatta Committee have included a launch event & introduced a parade for the classic launches (you do not need to be a CYA member to take part) on Sunday morning & as a bonus the gods have smiled & given us an early afternoon high tide (1:42pm + a biggie @ 3.3m) – the significance of that is we can slide up to the Riverhead Hotel for lunch while the yachts race. Details are below in the event flyer. I will post a reminder on ww with the meet times etc later next week, but for now – there are just 2 things you need to do:-
1. Put a circle in the diary for Sunday 5th March.
2. Email CYA Launch Captain Angus Rogers (link below) with a quick heads re your attendance (include your boat name & approx. crew numbers)
RSVP EMAIL LINK
As a bonus for registering early & if you attend the Sunday prize giving (no charge for attendance) to will participate in the amazing spot prize draw – includes a Emirates Airline Holiday Package, Takacat Inflatable, Explore Group ‘Bay of Islands Package’, Steiner Binoculars, Yamaha Outboard, Kiwi Feather Props, Coast NZ product, Mt Gay Rum and more……but you need to be there. And the CYA Launch Trophy is being put up as a prize for the best presented Launch on the day – I’m the judge 😉 I’m a fan of Amisfield Pinot Noir 2014 😉
And woodys everyone is welcome at Race HQ at anytime over the weekend – grab a coffee in the morning & check out the boats or later in the day grab a beer/wine & catch up with old/new friends. Each day there are meals available. And let me kill off one of the oldest fallacies on the Kiwi boating scene – the RNZYS is one of the coolest, friendliest boating scenes in NZ – you can wear almost anything, maybe not a singlet & jandals 🙂 & prices are on par with most venues around town. Come down & have a look, you will not be disappointed 😉
Time to get back to today’s photo* – who can ID the launch that high & dry?
*ex Paperspasr via Nathan Herbert
2017 Australian Wooden Boat Festival – Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Today’s post is a photo gallery from last weekends wooden boat extravaganza in Hobart. The photos are from the camera of David Smith & sent in by Simon Smith.
Chatting with CYA Chairman, Peter Mence, on Friday night at the Vos Shed for the launch of the late Peter Peal’s magnificent book ‘Thoughts On Clinker Lapstrake Dinghy Construction’ – Pete Mence was singing the shows praises having just returned from the Hobart. I must move it up my bucket list 🙂
At the book launch, I heard some positive talk about the future of the Vos Shed from the pollys & their hanger-ons, lets hope they stay true to the cause.
GREYHOUND
Greyhound was an ex WWII 40′ high speed launch .Ex Air Force out of Hobsonville. One of four launches built in the late 1930’s >early 1940′, as Waitemata chase boats for the Catalinas. They were W44; W45; W46; and W88 (now in Wigram Museum). Greyhound is thought to be W45. She is a sister ship to Jaguar, already featured on woodys (16.8.2014). The above photo are ex John Bullivant & the present owner, Mark Allen (trademe) via Ken Ricketts.
Allen bought the boat in December 2014 in Tutukaka & motored it down the coast to Whangerei and then took it by road to Helensville, where it resides today. It was out of the water for 6 months being re-glassed & repainted.
During the war it had two engines and would do between 30 and 40 knots, plane over the water. These days she is powered by a 120hp Ford diesel(12 knots), that is currently undergoing repair. If you are looking for a project with some history, I understand the vessel is for sale.
Input from John Bullivant – “below is a photo of Jaguar I took in the 70s. She is on the ramp at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club having just been hauled out. The Hansens who owned her had an engineering business in Harp of Erin producing grease guns amongst other products ( I still have one of their grease guns). Jaguar definitely had two stroke diesels at the time this photo was taken (used to love the sound of them). She was moored at little Bucklands beach, pretty much straight out from the owners house for years. I lived on The Parade at Bucklands for many years and saw many well known boats come and go up and down the river including Imatra, Jaguar, Golden Lotus (Alan Harnish and later Rick Irvine who put the cabin on her for diving use) Tarapunga, Alert, Carroma, Jane Gifford, Romo, Rainbow and Rainbow ii and hundreds more. Fleetwing Junior (with cabin) was moored almost in front of our place (belonged to a school friends parents at the time)
Coincidentally there was a plywood yacht of around 45ft named Fleetwood moored about 200ft from her as well.
It was a great place to live in the 60s and 70s and 80s as the river was like Queen st most weekends, but as the price of gas went up there seemed to be fewer launches going out regularly. I’ve noticed a big drop off in weekend boating in the last 20 yrs (maybe it’s just me) but I’ve been out sailing on a few perfect days between Browns Bay and Rangi and been all on my own with not a boat in sight. The first time that happened I thought I was missing something – like a Tsunami warning, a very odd feeling to be out there on your own on a perfect day, would not have been like that in the 70s as the whole area would have been populated with boats of all types.”
The Johnny Wray & Ngataki Story – On TV Tonight (Sat 18th)
Just a quick heads up that Television NZ will be screening tonight (Sat 18th) the latest series of ‘Te Radars Chequered Past’ on TVOne at 8:05pm. In the opening episode Radar retells the story of Johnny Wray & Ngataki’s creation. I’m told its a cracker & not to be missed – but if you do miss it, in this wonder digital world, you will be able to view it later ‘OnDemand’ link below.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/te-radars-chequered-past
Enjoy 🙂
36′ Grand Banks – ‘NO SALT’ – Must Be Sold – Offers over $50,000 will buy her
Check out the trademe link http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-1258171194.htm
Owner contactable on 021 025 46184
