Category Archives: Events

1956 Sydney Hobart Race Film – Hard to Windward

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1956 Sydney Hobart Race Film – Hard to Windward

Lin Pardy has just posted a great youtube link on the WoodenBoat Forum for the 1956 Sydney > Hobart race. Lin’s comments below

“Kim Newstead, our hosts when we were invited to speak at the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival last year, just sent along a link to a wonderful 15 minute movie someone found in their garage. It is a professionally made program (16 or 17 minutes) from the 1956 Sydney Hobart Race, all on classic wooden boats, all with cotton sails, not a harness, pulpit or stern rail to be seen. Yes, times have changed. Thought everyone here might enjoy this.”

Launches & Yacht at Tauranga Regatta

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Launches & Yacht at Tauranga Regatta

Would be interested to hear if anyone has another view but pretty sure these photos are from the Tauranga Regatta that used to follow the Auckland to Tauranga race in the late 1920’s – 1930’s.

The Guthrie family launch Alcestis (now Raiona) can be seen heading towards the bridge between the white hulled yacht & the bigger dark hulled steamer??. What made the ID easy was that Roger & Graham Guthrie’s grandfather (Hugh Douglas Guthrie) always wore either a captains hat or as in the case here – a white Panama hat.

 photos ex Roger Guthrie

1925 Anniversary Regatta “bona fide cruisers over 9 knots” Race.

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1925 Anniversary Regatta “bona fide cruisers over 9 knots” Race.

The 4 boats nearest the camera, from left ROMANCE II (W C Mills….winner by miles), ROSEMARY (Leon Warne), ALL BELL leading (Alf Bell….NO Collings in this one…it’s All BELL….lots of angst between Mr. Collings and Mr. Bell post WW1), and CARMINE (ex-MAUDIE..Bailey & Lowe). At the rear are, on left, CAVALIER (Bell brothers, Alf and his brother whose name I’ve temporarily forgotten but great uncles of Dick Coughlan) at left and KATHRYN R (built by Leon Warne for W J Reid, Des Townson’s grandfather) on the right. Big St Mary’s Bay representation, 2 Warne boats and two Bell boats (and 2 Bailey & Lowe boats)

2nd photo of Romance II ‘at full chat’ crossing a finish line in 1925 (possibly the same race as above)

3rd photo shows Romance II not moving fast at all – high & dry near Coromandel one Easter, she re-floated on the next tide with no damage other than the crews egos, the owner Frank Aspden was in Sydney at the time. The next crew meeting would have been a dozy 🙂

Anniversary details ex Harold Kidd, photos ex ‘Sir George Grey Special Collections (Auckland Libraries)

Harold Kidd Update:

ROMANCE II cheekily entered the next race too, the “Open Speed Race” against the flyers of the day, Chas. Collings’ FLEETWING JR (120hp Hall-Scott), MISS VIRGINIA (220hp Hispano-Suiza), MISS AUCKLAND (ohc Masport), MISS EILEEN (6 cylinder Buick), MISS DEVONPORT (90hp Curtiss), MISS MILFORD (ex-FLEETWING I), and FIREFLY Colin Wild-built, 6 cylinder Studebaker). Some of these hydroplanes were running war surplus aero engines of course. ROMANCE II was given 20mins and won on handicap.

She will see some action this season after Pauline and I have had a sad time in the past 18 months with family matters and my bloody arthritis. She’s out at Gulf Harbour right now for antifouling and a tidy up. She was built for 17 knots and still does that (and quite a bit more if you have the courage to push the Morse to the bulkhead). Basically she’s a standard Bailey & Lowe 35 footer hull, but fined down forward and with a flatter run aft. It may not be your classic planing, but it sure feels like it!

Russell , Bay of Island Jan 2 , 1927

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6 Jan 1927 Russell, Bay of Islands 

Seems a large % of the Auckland classic launch fleet had head north in Jan 1927, the above photo shows an impressive collection of classics anchored off Russell for the regatta.

photo ex ‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries

Not quite the Waitemata – but very cool wooden boats

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Not quite the Waitemata but this video of the Classic Yacht Association USA /Pacific Northwest Fleet’s traditional kick-off to the boating season is a great parade of gorgeous motoryachts. Of particular interest to me is the new PNW Fleet Commodore, Jessica Freeman, seen onbard aboard her Flagship, PEACEFUL, leading the fleet.

I have followed the ‘rolling renovation’ of PEACEFUL for several years (seasons) on the WoodenBoat forum. Link below
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?110427-Restoration-of-a-1939-Richardson&highlight=Peaceful

Ramona

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RAMONA
story & photos ex Harold Kidd
The photos above show the 25 footer RAMONA racing with the NZPBA in 1928 and in 1931. She usually raced in the “Cruisers, over 12 knots” races.
She was built by S. Granros of Ponsonby in September 1928 for F. J. Fawcett of Mount St. John.
Unsure what power she had, but it was obviously more than adequate.
Fawcett cruised and raced her until November 1933 when he sold her to Hans Molgaard of Tauranga who still had her in 1936. I don’t know her subsequent history, probably a name change as the popular song “Ramona” from the 1928 film of the same name became somewhat passé.
Her builder, Sam Granros was a Finn who came to NZ in 1904. He built a lot of speedboats and launches in St. Mary’s Bay and at 12 Hackett Street, Ponsonby, for example, HILMA, NURMI, ALMA, RAMONA, RAMONA JR. (1930), CYGNET I, II and III, ESTHER, MISS PONSONBY, all go fast outfits. NURMI was a 1926 20ft 6in speedboat with a 120hp Hall-Scott, although she was originally going to be fitted with a 6 cylinder Napier car engine which would have been pretty heavy.
Sam later moved to Oneroa and died in 1946.

NZPBA Championship 1929

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NZPBA championship races of 1929 on the Whau River (upper harbour)

The small speedboat in photo1 is OP-IT. She was built by Jack Brooke in late 1928,.and according to Harold Kidd & the Brooke family, that’s probably Jack racing her in the C Class outboard race)

Update from Harold Kidd

Photo 1 is certainly of Jack Brooke and his C Class (20 cu in) outbioard racer ‘OP IT which he designed and built himself. 
Photo 2 is MISS CLEVEDON (S2) and SPOT II (S15). MISS CLEVEDON was built and raced by T M Roberts and was one of the fastest in the over 20 knots category. I don’t know what power she had. Roberts also raced an outboard MISS CLEVEDON which had a 10hp Dunelt 249cc. Dunelt were upper quality English motorcycle manufacturers of the time who were trying to beat the Depression by getting into the outboard racing craze sweeping the world. SPOT II was a single step hydroplane built and raced by Alf Williams of Ponsonby. She had a “high-speed” Rugby 4 cylinder car engine, a favourite for marine use. The Rugby was built by the Durant Corporation and was the Star car rebadged for British Empire markets as there already was a fine English Star car, built in Wolverhampton and very like the contemporary Sunbeam. 
Photo 3 is HOBO (S3) which was built and raced by R. Mouat. She had a 6 cylinder Buick engine with which she won 2nd place in the Masport Cup in January 1929 at Wanganui. She was a crib of the American MARGARET III type.

Update from Colin Orum 30/03/2014

Photo 2 above is a photo of my grandfather Tom Roberts driving boat Miss Clevedon. I have heard quite a lot about his speedboat escapades from Mum now 88 and it was mentioned today. I thought to inquire if any information photos etc. were available. I was quite friendly with an old bloke at Waiheke named George Rose who(as a boy) new Tom quite well and used to tell me stories about his time with the racing boats. George said the power in Miss Clevedon was a Beardmore aero engine. Today Mum said the last she can remember is that Tom was taking Miss Clevedon on a practise run on the Clevedon river, struck a submerged log and sank, we assumed that it was recovered but unsure what happened after that. My brother has a cup trophy for Tom for Auckland speed boat champion around 1929-30.

My Girl – about time we had some older wood posted

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Harold – can you help ID this launch – thx

Harold Kidd Update

That’s the lovely MY GIRL, built by Dick Lang in late 1925 for C.B. “Tui” Waldron of the Wade who commuted with her. The square-bilge design was based on one by W.H. Hand. She was fitted with a 6 cylinder 100hp Scripps that pushed her along at over 18 knots. Waldron later took her to Whangarei and she was in NAPS as Z32 out of Whangarei in WW2. She survived at Te Atatu as recently as 2001 owned by Trevor Davies.

Help needed to ID launch

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Help needed to ID launch

A real mixed bag of vessels here. Must have been a regatta or speed boat racing.

Of interest to waitematawoodys is the fine looking launch in the centre with the canoe stern. Can anyone help ID her?

Harold Kidd Update:
There are numerous candidates for the canoe – sterned launch. I will work on ID-ing  her. It’s unusual to have a combination of a raised forward deck, a clerestory, a dodger and a canoe stern on a launch of what…36 feet? In the meantime, some possibilities are RONOMOR, HAZEL, WAHAROA, ROMA and DIXIE.
The little outboard racer is FLEETUN built by Collings & Bell in November 1928. That’s probably Charlie Collings handling her.
 
What I can advice is –
1.       It’s a NZPBA event
2.       It’s on the Whau River
3.       It’s some time after March 1928 and before they moved these races to the Panmure Basin in January 1930.