
Category Archives: Non Waitemata
Southern Cloud
Mystery Ruakaka Launch


Lady Ellen Restoration Update – December 2018


Lady Ellen Restoration Update – December 2018
Owner Bruce Mitchinson sent in the photos above & report below:
Maewa > Isaly II – A Peek Down Below


Moody Blue



MOODY BLUE
Moody Blue, the 1946 barrel-back woody powerboat above, is almost ready to splash after being out of the water for 12 years, & having undergone a total rebuild.
The Extraction of Daring


Daring is a 100% New Zealand built ship. Crafted in Mangawhai from kauri and pohutukawa. Since coming ashore she has been protected beneath the sand dunes of the Kaipara Heads, but up until yesterday she lie exposed to the elements and scavengers.
The above photos have been sourced from numerous sources – primarily – Whangateau Traditional Boats, David Waddingham, & T Foh.
All credit to go to Baden Pascoe, Larry Paul and John Street, the movers and shakers of this awesome outcome. Also to all the others who have made this possible. Murry and his crew who has been sleeping in his Land Rover in the sand dunes for weeks on end protecting her and stopping fossickers flogging bits off her, also in gaining knowledge of who was flogging stuff and retrieving it. And to the crew that lifted her out of that sandy grave. Fantastic.
There is a ‘Daring rescue’ facebook page which you need to ‘like’ and support that has photos and history of her.

Valerie – A Peek Down Below



1931 Onerahi Annual Regatta

Onerahi Annual Regatta
The photo above (T.G. Palmer) ex Lew Redwood’s fb is tagged “A picturesque North Auckland Aquatic Carnival – The Annual Reggata at Onerahi, Whangarei & is date January 1931. Not the best resolution, but still an interesting photo.
The photos below ex John Bullivant shows the little Tinopai marina on the Kaipara Harbour. The photos are dated 2012 & JB came across them while doing a google search. There are a number of nice launches living there, I wonder how many are still there.
Sorry for the random post today – yesterday was a nightmare – everything I touched was a disaster – I’ll give you a motoring tip – do not breakdown on the 5th floor of a parking building – there is only one tow truck in Auckland low enough to extract you…………………… took nearly 4 hours………
Ended up leaving work bag & computer in the car, so posting tonight from a borrowed one.


Happy Days




Back in July 2017 I ran a story on a ‘barn find’ 1928 woody that Lake Rotoiti boat builder Alan Craig at Craig Marine, was about to start work on.





