Classic Wooden Boating at Lake Rotoiti Today
This is the view out the window this morning – nice Maserati & a nice wooden speed boat under cover but that’s about all – the event has been postponed till Sunday so looks like we’ll be off to the shops to buy a pack of cards & a few Pinots 🙂
The day improved weather wise & I got to check out a car that in my youth was top of the list – a 1956 Chev Belair 2 door, pillar- less coupe.
JOCELYN
photos ex Alan Sexton & Alan H, details AS
Both Alan & myself spotted a rather striking launch last weekend at the 2016 Mahurangi Regatta – Jocelyn.
Alan commented that if he recalls correctly she was a Stevenson boat and used to be kept in a Hobson Bay boat shed in the winters, she still has the folding mast. Alan also thinks there was once a Sea Spray magazine feature on her, so woodys dig out the old back issues 😉
From her lines Alan & I would guess she could be a J Hacker (USA) design, built by Lanes & with Cat engines. Alan commented that when she came thru Stockyard Bay last Sunday night she sounded like she may well have been re-engined with a grunty pair.
What do we know about her?
Off to Lake Rotoiti today for the 2016 Classic & Wooden Boat Parade this Saturday (details below) – to use that old Australian saying “I’m as excited as a dog with two dicks” 🙂
http://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/
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Lake Rotoiti Dinghy Day – aka Big Boys Toys Part 2
The Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association are a very active group & run some very cool events for the members. One of the best activities is the annual Dinghy Day which is a mix of serious – Seagull Outboard race & pure fun e.g. the ‘put you motor on something odd class’. There was even an entrant using the fuel tanks off an old 1950’s airplane as their vessel & grandmothers couch from the 1960’s made an appearance.
Above are a few of the photos from the day, enjoy, they all did 🙂
Big Boys Toys
Auckland’s Anniversary Day Regatta attracts a huge fleet of vessels from sailing dinghies to tall ships & is one of the biggest one day sailing regattas in the world. One of the most popular events with the spectators is the Tug (work) Boat race. The race sees 20+ tugboats tearing around the harbour in very close combat. The skippers are some of the best seaman on the harbour & they need to be with the almost ‘bumper-to-bumper’ racing.
This year was no different 🙂 in the photos above we see two of the Classic Yacht Association launch fleet, Ferro & Sterling almost dwarfed by modern day tugboats.
To view more of the tugboat action & more CYA classic boats competing – click this link http://buggeritweareoff.com/
Now in the last photo above I bet the bloke on the helm of the yacht is asking himself – “what the hell am I doing here?” 🙂
Very Cool Video from the Race
Yesterdays Mahurangi Regatta post on WW broke all the records in terms of visitors & viewing numbers, over 14,000 in the first 24 hours. Thanks should go out to all the boat owners that make the effort to attend the event & spend all the time & effort prepping their pride & joy.
The classic of the regatta in my eyes would be Tasman, the 1927 Colin Wild launch. She is one of those boats that no matter what angle you look at her she is just perfect & a credit to owners D O’Callahan & A Tyler.
Mahurangi Regatta Weekend 2016
There are many magic things about classic boats, one of them is their ability to attract great weather. Classic wooden boaties have just had another stunning long weekend at Mahurangi. While the number of yachts racing in the regatta maybe by down on previous years, the number of boats in the harbour was amazing -& I would say that in terms of genuine wooden classics there were more motorboats than yachts in the harbour.
The below is not an attempt to capture ever classic there, it’s just a photo essay of the event. If I missed your boat, sorry, but access & time were not my friend. You’ll see lots of woodys, a little FG (pretty ones) & some photos to show you the mojo of the weekend. It has a motorboat slant, but that’s the way I hang 😉 The classic launch parade saw a record turn out of 21 classics.
Lastly, not all are 100% in focus & sometimes the sun was working against me but at the end of the day, its all about the boats.
Enjoy 🙂
ps remember to follow the St Ayles Skiff Raid over the next week – details here http://nzcoastalrowing.org/
As always – click photos to enlarge
LAUNCH PARADE
REGATTA
ST AYLES SKIFF RAID
John Dory & Little Tawera
PRETTY BOATS
R&R
PRIZE GIVING (aka the Wairiki / Jason Prew show)
176th AUCKLAND ANNIVERSARY DAY REGATTA
Today’s photo is from the Mac Taylor collection & shows what I suspect is one of the Colin Wild ‘3 sisters’ my pick is Lady Gay, I’ll need help with the two yachts 🙂
Hopefully the weather gods will smile today & there will be some exciting racing to watch.
One of the real hoots of the day is the Tug Boat Race – it starts at 10.00am off Princess Wharf – course chart below + viewing points map.
Recent WW Posts – Sorry if some of the recent posts have appeared at ‘odd’ times but the platform that WW runs on has been upgraded & I have been having a few teething issues.
Just returned from the Mahurangi Regatta – amazing number of classic woodys in residence for the weekend – a big WW post on Tuesday 😉
Full details here http://www.regatta.org.nz/for-spectators/
A collection of photos ex Martin Turnwald on the day, taken from North Head.
Onehunga Beach 1954 – Sailing Sunday
photo ex A. Turnbull Library via Historic NZ photos
This Whites Aviation photo from Feb 1954 shows an unidentified beach in Onehunga with Mangere Mountain in the background.
Given the number of young children playing in the water & the low number of adults I wonder if there was something else happening on the day e.g. group picnic etc.
Remember Folks Tomorrow is Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, so dust off the boat & get out there. No boat? make your way to one of the many excellent harbour side vantage points across this city.
More details here http://www.regatta.org.nz/
02-02-2016 Input from Bruce Pullan
The beach in this photo was further west than the beach that Ken has referred to. The beach in the photo was accessed from a drive off Beachcroft Ave near where Arthur Street and Pleasant Streets join onto Beachcroft (the towns gas tanks where near here also). The houses to the right of the trees in the photo were on Seacliff Ave, some of these houses were taken as well as the beach for the motorway. The MY&MBC had a marker bouy out from this beach it was referred to in the yacht club course sheets as Mill Bay. When the MY&MBC racing was moved to Mangere and before the new club house was built the patrol boats were moored here and layed up for winter with chocks on the beach where the children are swimming in this photo.
Auckland 100th Ann Regatta 1950
photo ex A. Turnbull via Historic NZ photos
Today’s photo by Whites Aviation shows a classic bridge-decker with a crowd of spectators on board watching the 1950 (100th) Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta. Bastion Point on left in the background.
At first glance I thought the launch was Valsan but its not, so what say the woodys?
It’s a big call given what we can see but anyone want to take a punt on ID’ing the other bridge-decker?
Big day today at Mahurangi for the annual classic regatta – lots of photos next week 😉
Remember Monday is Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta. More details here http://www.regatta.org.nz/
Remember Shelly Beach ?
photo by W.A. Price ex Historic NZ Photos ex A Turnbull Library
Shelly Beach, Ponsonby/Herne Bay, was a casualty of the Auckland Harbour bridge/motorway development. Back in 1914 it was the site of the New Years Day Regatta.
Any clever woodys able to ID the motor launch & any yachts?
SORCERESS – Sailing Sunday
Photos ex Lynn Berquist & Steve Horsley. Details Hugh Gladwell
Many of you will be aware of the death of Peter Bailey on 30 December 2015. Peter was a founder of the Mahurangi Cruising Club and revived the racing of yachts as part of the Mahurangi Regatta.
His family have asked the MCC to assist with the sale of his yacht Sorceress which has been on the hard at the old Cement Works in Warkworth for the last few years. Sorceress is a 46 ft Laurent Giles design which Peter had built in Tauranga in the 1970’s. It would be hard to imagine a more imposing or statuesque vessel. Her sister ship Dyarchy is a legendary English yacht and was described at length in Eric Hiscocks book Cruising Under Sail.
Sorceress is triple skinned and was hauled out to have her topsides taken back to bare wood and glassed. This work has been done but the glass needs to be filled and faired then painted.
She may from the above photos look a handful to sail but Peter often cruised in her singlehanded.
Peter and his boat were an absolute item and the MCC will greatly miss his maniacal laugh, the roaring bow wave and the bowsprit pointing to the sky.
The club would love her to remain part of the Mahurangi scene and the family seek expressions of interest.
To view or for further details call Hugh Gladwell 021 606 409
MAHURANGI CRUISING CLUB YEARBOOK – 2015
The latest edition of this annual publication is now out & about. The 2016 issue (88 pages) is stunning – its a great visual insight into the regatta weekend & a cracker of a read, in the past the stories have been a bit ‘hairy’ but this year they are very cool. (excuse my crappy iphone photos)
I would suggest to grab a copy asap as this one will sell out, which it will at only $15
.
Where from you ask? Any of the below.
1. Boat Books – 22 Westhaven Drive, Freemans Bay – 09 358 5691 or online http://www.boatbooks.co.nz/
2. From the MCC – c/o of P.O.Box 555, Warkworth.
3. On the day at the regatta – but you may miss out 😦
ps nice to see the motorboats featured again 😉
CLASSIC WOODY WEEKEND
Remember : Circle Jan 29 > Feb 5th on the calendar is a great classic boating weekend – 2 regattas (Mahurangi & Auckland) + loads of wooden boating activities – both on-the-water & ashore – details below:
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