REEL THING / REAL TIME / MARY ANN + 2025 TALL SHIPS REGATTA
Not often I start with an apology but todays craft wouldn’t normally be a lead WW story, a tad too much happening up top but I spotted REAL THING berthed in the Tutukaka Marina recently and the there is a very smart hull under the additions. I’m sure the addition would pass the Auckland Council Unitary Plan re height of new dealings 😉
Can any of th northern woodys tell us more about REEL THING.
INPUT ex ERIC SANDERSON – the boat featured on WW back in 2023 under the name REAL Time (also once named MARY ANN) built in 1962 by ‘Tauranga Boatbuilders’ See/read more at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/08/15/reel-time-mary-ann/
Following on from yesterdays (scroll down to view) story on the woodys cruise up the Wairoa River to the Clevedon Cruising Club, today we have a gallery of craft that both Jason Prew and myself photographed on-route, some old favourites there, most looking a little worse for the lack of TLC over winter, but a few newbies.
Enjoy the journey – we did 🙂 (remember to click photos to enlarge)
#3 PONSONBY CC CLUB NIGHT – FEATURED VESSEL – Rainbow II
NGARUNUI + LUCINDA ON-ROUTE TO CLEVEDON CRUISING CLUB
DOCKSIDE STROLL
Classic Wooden Craft Overnight Trip Up The Wairoa River
Over the weekend we had our first woodys event for the classic boating summer season – a cruise up the Wairoa River to overnight at the Clevedon Cruising Club. Due to lock downs and weather bombs we had skipped a couple of years so the weekend was long overdue.
Given tidal access restrictions the weekend always starts with an early departure to the mouth of the Wairoa River, the smart ones leave on the Friday.
The weather early (<5am) Saturday morning was raining cats & dogs, but as if prearranged at 5.30am it stopped and we enjoyed a very pleasant dawn passage. The group gathered at 8.45am and journeyed up the river, always a tad anxious but it was a 3.6m tide so all good.
I snapped a gallery of photos of the woodys that are moored on-route – separate WW story tomorrow.
Our hosts , lead by Commodore Alister (Al) excelled themselves from the RIB on-hand to assist with docking to the world famous (on the river) Saturday night BBQ. The evening included raffles, outdoor fires, a singer and karaoke and even dessert provided. I can report no-one in the woodys group stepped up to karaoke the mike 🙂 Woody Dave Giddens donated several ‘old’ sails to the club which will be repurposed as shade sails around the clubhouse.
If you have never been on one of the trips you need to – the club facilities and hospitality is so traditional / old school but in a cool way.
Included in the raffle prizes was a WW chopping board… I’ll need to talk to my copyright lawyer 🙂
We eat very well – sorry about the food pix but thats what you have to put up with 🙂
If you think that classic wooden craft are all sub 7 knotters check out the videos below of a couple of the voom-voomers.
On my recent trip to Tutukaka marina one of the classic craft that caught my eye was – VOI.
A modern-ish hull and a small apartment on top but VOI is set up for game fishing so gets away with it nicely.
My brains trust have suggested its design starts with a V, as in vindex, with a possible spot of lengthening. Dam if it is thats another one thats slipped under the WW radar 😦
Anyone familiar with the vessel and can enlighten us more on her design / builder.
Hopefully today I’ll be enjoying the company of fellow classic woodys tied up at the Clevedon Cruising Club for our annual (ish) overnight BBQ cruise up the Wairoa River 🙂 Lots of photos on Monday.
Recently Alistair McRae sent in todays photos that a friend of his uncovered – unfortunately neither the friend or Alistair know anything about the boat, and he wondered if any of the WW readers might recognise it and or the location. There is a name on the stern but I can’t make it out – maybe something like IWATO or IWATU.
Alistair commented that looking at the vehicle in the photos the date could be from the early 1960s’.
INPUT ex GREG LEES –
She is the Yvalda. Came to NZ in the 70’s from Scotland and spent some time in Sandspit at our yard. Yes now on Lake Wakatipu.
Last week WW was sent the above b/w photo by Dan Barnett. Dan commented that he had been going thru a collection of old newspaper clippings that his recently deceased uncle had saved.
The article is headlined ‘Auckland Spring Winter Day’ and the photo tagged – ‘Launches swinging to their moorings in the still waters of Judge’s Bay’
Łatę last week I had to visit Tutukaka Marina in Northland, first up a confession – I had never been there before by road. Made an emergency stop there 40+ years ago on a yacht that was taking on water to the extent that we were sinking i.e. manual bilge pump and bucket couldn’t keep up – ’saved’ by a fishing boat that rafted us up and took us into Tutukaka where we went straight on the grid and waited for the falling tide. Issue repaired and after a very long day at the bar in the Swordfish Club, continued on to the Bay of Islands. That woodys is the short story, before the fishing boat arrived we were at the point of grabbing what we wanted to take with us in the very small dinghy……..
Very impressed with the marina and surrounding area, friendly staff and well maintained set up.
While waiting to meet someone I walked the docks and snapped a few photos of some of the classic wooden craft berthed there. I have a few more but will save them for future stories.
Looking forward to the woodys Clevedon overnight / BBQ cruise this weekend – weather forecast to looking good.
The 38’ Swanson designed / built classic launch – YVONNE was launched in 1954 in the Marlborough Sounds and I think has resided there all her life.
We last saw her back in Dec 2022 in a WW photo gallery from Dean Wright who had been mooching around the Waikawa Marina.
Before that in April 2017 she appeared on WW and was for sale at the time (last photo) now thanks to woody John Dawson spotting her on fb we get a close up view.
She is a unique style and appears to be very well cared for – we like that 🙂
Many moons ago when I was launch captain at the CYA I had a lot of dealings with the then owner of – FORTUNA, the 35’ Henry Scheel designed motor sailer. As you will see from the photo gallery above FORTUNA is very well fitted out and in great condition for a 1949 built wooden craft.
Her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) states over $580,000 spent on her, which is possible but I have no memory of the boat being in Peter Brookes yard……… 😉
Back into 2007/8 she had a back to bare timber refit, which included a re-power with a 135hp Lees Ford.
For a 35’ woody that has a 11’6” beam she is more than capable of extended cruising, with all the fruit e.g. water maker, auto pilot, 600L fuel and of course rigged to sail.
Going about her business on a calm Wellington Harbour
1954 at the start of her 18,000 pound refit, which included a new wheelhouse
Classic Wooden Work Boat – ARAHINA
Back on August 24th WW draw attention to the Wellington ex Pilot Boat – ARAHINA and how she was desperately in need of a new custodian – At the time Paul Drake commented as below, then sent in the above photos from the past.
ARAHINA arrived in Wellington from Bailey and Lowe’s yard in Auckland on 31st October 1925. On trials she achieved 10 knots with her 100HP Fairbanks Morse engine. In 1954/55, ARAHINA had major work done on her structure and a new wheelhouse added. This was done by Wellington Harbour Board shipwrights, at a cost of 18,000 pounds. In 1979, she went to Jorgensen’s in Picton for another refit, and on her return (under tow) she had the 193HP Kelvin engine fitted. She was sold into private ownership at the end of 1987 and relocated to Picton.She is remembered by one Wellington pilot who knew her well as “a narrow gutted single screw vessel.
She was a seaworthy vessel but tended to broach severely in a following sea, as was often experienced off Pencarrow in a southerly”. On one such occasion when she picked up speed on the face of a large sea astern, her stern picked up and over she went, throwing her Launchmaster into the corner of the wheelhouse as he tried but failed to keep her on course. The pilot and engineer eyed each other as they made for the open wheelhouse door. But ARAHINA recovered herself and all was well enough.
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