Category Archives: Events

Whats Hot In Wooden Boating – Coastal Rowing

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Coastal Rowing – The Hot New Wooden Boating Activity

If you have not heard about coastal rowing & the St Ayles skiff movement you need to get out a bit more.


New Zealand’s history is full of coastal rowing journeys and races, many journeys were made out of necessity as basic well founded open rowing boats provided the backbone of transport around the countries many coastal ports, harbours and rivers, transporting all manner of goods, fishing and of course whaling. This lead on to racing and many open rowing boat races are listed in our history including in our Anniversary regattas throughout the country.

The New Zealand Coastal Rowing Association has been formed to promote and encourage the revival of coastal rowing in strong well founded open rowing boats not only for national races between teams fighting it out for victory but also journeys, adventures and exploration of our countries amazing waterways.

Why the St Ayles Skiff?

The NZCRA choose to embrace the international St Ayles skiff rather than a historical New Zealand design for one very simple reason –  the St Ayles skiff has since 2009 has become an international one design rowing boat and with over 100 built around the world it opens up the opportunity of international and trans Tasman racing and comradeship. Already there is a fleet of 10 skiffs in NZ.

For more details on the NZCRA & the NZ St Ayles fleet check out the website http://nzcoastalrowing.org/

ANNOUNCEMENT  – 2016 Kiwi Raid and Regatta – Jan 29th – Feb 12th

New Zealand’s first major coastal rowing event is The Kiwi Raid and Regatta 2016.

Its starts January 29th 2016 at Sandpit, and finishes fifteen days later in Auckland, see route chart below. Along the way there are lots of short adventures for sailors and rowers alike. There will be a two day St Ayles skiff regatta (short rowing races) at Whangaparoa in the middle. The event has attracted teams from around the world & will show case the sport of coastal rowing to New Zealanders. WW encourages woody boaters to take the opportunity to experience coastal rowing up close over this period – plan a day out or overnight to follow the event. More info & contact details here http://raidnz.org/

Whats a Raid ? A sail and oar adventure combining sailing and rowing. It involves a fleet of small boats capable of being rowed and sailed, exploring a coastline or inland waterway over several days, often with some competitive element.

(photos of the 2015 Australian event, courtesy of Nel Tyson)

17-01-2016 Update

‘Saint Helier’ NZ’s latest St Ayles skiff was launched yesterday morning at St Heliers Beach, where else 🙂

FullSizeRender

Malihini + Anniversary Woody Weekend

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MALIHINI + Anniversary Woody Weekend 
photos ex Pam Cundy

Today’s post is a slight mystery – we know the name but that is about all. Pam took the photo in Jan 2016 at Great Barrier Island. Anyone able to enlighten us on her?

19-01-2016 Input from Doug Brown (owner)
Malihini is kept at Gulf Harbour & powered by a 210 hp Cummins and cruises at 14 knots , top speed 19.
She is double diagonal kauri built to a very high standard by Brin Wilson in 1976. The previous owner for 7 years was Roy Patterson.

Q: Where Do You Find The Most Wooden Boats In One Spot On One Day?
A: Auckland’s Anniversary Weekend

So woodys, get the pencil out & put a big circle on the calendar for the weekend of Jan 29th > Feb 1st . Its Auckland’s Anniversary weekend & that means one of the best classic boating periods all year.
For the launches & cruising yachts the weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Mahurangi Regatta & for the keen finishes back in Auckland on the Monday for the Anniversary Day Regatta. For details on the yacht racing & all events see below.

Remember folks the BYO BBQ, band & prize giving  on Saturday night at Scotts Landing (6.30pm>) is the biggest gathering of woodys in one spot this side of the black stump 🙂 All welcome, you do not have to be a CYA member or regatta racer, just rock up with your goodies – BBQ’s provided.

Bugger

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BUGGER

The 1921 classic Arch Logan launch Ngaio got a little close to the eastern end of Flat Island (Gt Barrier) on Monday. She hit just after high tide and given the angle of the ‘dangle’  must have been going at a good pace. I understand the hole(s) were patched and she was floated off on the next tide. She is built like a brick shite house so one can imagine the only major damage would have been a few bruised egos 😉 Click photos to enlarge, sorry crappy photos, mobile phone at a distance.

I for one can not comment – a mooching speed & a big powerful runabout nearby, were my saving grace (different bricks) 🙂

15-01-2016 Owner Report

Luckily Ngaio  was only traveling at 5 knots when she hit and it happened at full high tide. As the tide dropped, Ngaio came to rest almost fully supported along her keel. Salvage operators had her refloated 3 hours before the next high tide. The only damage was to the stem plate which covered the pohutakawa stem underneath, and the sacrificial keel plate. No boards were sprung, no water was taken on, and no other damage. They don’t build boats like that, these days.
The next day she returned to Auckland from Gt Barrier, without missing a beat..

Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing

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Upper Harbour Power Boat Racing
photo ex Historic NZ Photos

I may have posted this before, but do not think so, there are a lot of similar images around from c.1930’s of motorboats moored to watch a power boat regatta held in the upper reaches of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.

Russell Ward commented that the launch on the left is Little Tasman, which given how good-looking she is would have to be correct.

Anyone able to ID the launch on the right & supply some details on the wee racer Peggy?

12-01-2016 Harold Kidd Input

It’s pretty clear to me that this pic was taken at the NZPBA Regatta at the Whau Creek/River on Saturday 18th February 1928. TASMAN was an entrant in the race for “fast cruisers” and PEGGY in the Burns Gold Cup for outboards.
The starters in the fast cruisers race were TARUA (scr), TASMAN (3m), ROMANCE II (5m 45s) and LADY MARGARET (8m40s). TARUA carrying number 18 won from TASMAN carrying 82. I think it’s possible the mystery launch in the above image is TARUA (photo below). While the hull details in the above image generally match, the strake forward is absent and she’s painted quite differently. What do you guys reckon?
If not TARUA then she’s a spectator launch and there’s no record of those for this event.

Tarua

Marlin (M7) Sailing Sunday

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MARLIN (M7) Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan H & Nick Davenport

Today’s photos are from last weekends 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Center Board Cup & focus on the M-Class Marlin. Nick was out on the water & took some stunning racing photos, below – remember to click on the photos to enlarge 😉

If you missed last Mondays ww post on the regatta – click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/20/whats-the-coolest-yacht-club-10-minutes-from-queen-st/

Whats Happening Here?

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Whats Happening Here?
photo ex Barry Davis

Ok woodys, by now you should have recovered from yesterdays 3rd serving of Christmas ham & pudding, so time to test the brain.
Whats the reason for the above flotilla – (1) reason/occasion (2) the date (3) can we ID any of the launches?

The answer via an update from Brian Davis
The photo (+ another added) are from the Weekly News of 15 May 1924, being the occasion of the arrival of the battlecruisers HMS Hood and Repulse and light cruiser Delhi.

Brian thinks the 2 masted launch may be the Lady Eva and the dark painted one ahead looks like either the Ionaero or Ionoto of Blue Boat origin. Some of them are certainly overloaded by todays standards.

Merry Christmas

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Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & a wonderful New Year ahead.

I hope all your boating dreams & wishes are fulfilled in the coming year. More importantly during this season of giving & celebrating, make sure you take some time to slow down & remember that life is all about family & friends & enjoying the simple things.
I hope you enjoyed ww this last year, the people that we have rubbed up against & their stories just get better & better. The audience keeps growing everyday so we must be doing something right 🙂

While Christmas can be an amazing time, for some it can be a little dark & lonely – if you have a neighbour or work mate that’s alone during this period – say hi & maybe drop off a piece of Christmas cake. Believe me it will be the best 10 minutes of your day.

The ww tee-shirts were a smash hit & an amazing number of you will be flying the ww ‘flag’ out & about in 2016. Thanks for that.
In the spirit of giving 😉 I’ll find a cool something to give to the woody that e-mails in the best holiday photo featuring a ww tee-shirt.

Safe boating & web permitting ww posts will continue over the holiday period.

Cheers Alan Houghton

ps remember to pack the camera & if you see a woody out there, take a photo & send it in so we can share it.

pps to the thousands of ww followers overseas, this xmas post will be a little early, so enjoy today with us kiwis & we will with you tomorrow.

I’ll sign off with a line from Dr Seuss

Whats The Coolest Yacht Club 10 Minutes From Queen St?

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That’s just the boat shed
Seriously needs more windows 🙂
Lifejackets ?
Nice neighbours

Whats The Coolest Yacht Club 10 Minutes From Queen St? Sailing Sunday

Its not the rnzys or ponsonby cc or even the dyc (ferry ride) – its the Herne Bay Cruising Club (HBCC) & yesterday they hosted the 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Centerboard Cup. I dropped in for what I thought would be 5>10 minutes to take a few photos & ended up staying 90 minutes, the Santa shopping list got pushed out a day 🙂

The HBCC club rooms & its location would have to be one of the best kept secrets in the city, located off Marine Parade & tucked away amongst a stand of pohutukawas its a magic spot to sit on the grass & watch some good-old-fashioned kiwi boating. The kids were even selling home-made lemonade & coconut ice 🙂
Its also rather special – its got major boating provenance – the club rooms were built in 1913 as the Richmond Yacht Club & was a hub of wooden boating activity prior to RCC moving to the Westhaven area.

The location sort of (as in impossible) makes it hard to launch a biggish boat there so its mainly centerboard stuff but there is a very cool membership feature – the club as a few boats that members can use e.g. a couple of Lasers, a Spiral & a dinghy for rowing & fishing + storage for who wish to kept their boat at the club.

Conditions yesterday were ‘very fresh’ as in SW 20>25 knots with 35 knot gusts – this scared a few city boys & girls off but as always the mullet boat’s fronted up + one Idle Along (IA12)
The photos below are from the pre-start & start, I left after that but driving over the Harbour Bridge I could see them stonking down the Harbour, I might be wrong but I think I caught a glimpse of the IA getting into a spot of trouble.

If anyone has the results – email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com & I’ll add them to this post.

Photo below shows Gypsy (L) & Waione (R) hauled out c.1939 at Sloanes Beach. Click this link to read, view more about the club.

http://hbcc.net.nz/

21-12-2015 Results ex W. Muir

Yes it was a great day, thanks for the photos.  Mullet boat results were 1st on line, and on handicap,Orion.  2nd on handicap TaoToo, 3rd Rangi Manu. The IA broke her tiller while screaming down the harbour with her spinnaker up, she did a spectacular wipe out and was towed back by the PCC Rescue boat.
You missed another fab part of the day, music from jazz combo Hopetown Brown.
Looking forward to next year ( and a little less wind )

24-12-2015 On the water racing photos ex Nick Davenport – remember to click on any photo to enlarge. Also the M Class Marlin will be featured this coming Sunday on ww- lots more photos to see then 😉

 

A Woody Quiz – Cool Prizes

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A Woody Quiz
photo ex Harold Kidd

Long over due for a quiz – this ones not easy but the prizes are very cool.
In the above photo what we want to know is location, date & who is in the photo. Only one winner for each i.e. 3 winners. HDK & myself will decide the best/closest answers 😉

Update

OK woodys – the correct answers are:

Location : Putiki Bay – WINNER = ROD MARLER
Date:  c1895 – WINNER = MICHAEL O’DWYER
The people :  The guy on the left is Henry Winkelmann in his trademark straw hat. The others are crew members off AORERE – WINNER = NATHAN HERBERT

Prizes will be in the mail  Friday.

What do you win?
For the last two years Chris Miller & myself have travelled to the Lake Rotoiti Wooden Boat Parade (Nth Island). Chris is a pro photographer (  http://www.pix.nz/ ) & I’m just an enthusiastic amateur & for the last two years the Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Association have chosen a selection of our photos for their fund raising calendar. I have 3 copies of the calendar to give away. Like the event the calendar is very well done. Now if your not a winner, you can order one from the club secretary Rachel Jamieson – email Rachel for details
zea.rachel@gmail.com
They cost $10 each & postage is $2.40 for up to 7 calendars, $5 for more than 7 or courier ($6 North Island $7 South Island  –  RD extra).
Payment is via direct credit – please use your surname as reference and email Rachel when you make the payment. Remember to add the postage 😉

The bank account number is:    12 3155 0140546 00  Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Assoc.

Front cover
Back cover
Sample page

Kohema

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KOHEMA
photo & details ex Michael O’Dwyer

Today’s photo is from the Napier Sailing Club & shows the launch Kohema on the clubs opening day in 1950. Of all the photos in the ww library this one would take 1st prize for the most people aboard 🙂

Can any woody tell us a bit more about Kohema?

04-06-2016 photos added ex Ronald Walker