Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Lake Rotoiti Dinghy Day – Big Boys Toys Part 2

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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 🙂

http://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/

Mahurangi Regatta Weekend 2016 – 130 photos

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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

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Lady Margaret (DL)
Nereides
Raiona
Matria
Florance Dawn
Manapouri
Matria
Moanalua
Waimiga
Ann Michelle
Trinidad
Lucille
Kailua
Lady Margaret (CW)
Wirihana
Nereides
Lillian
Ballerina
Sceptre

REGATTA

Rawhiti
Waitangi
Wairiki
Tuna (launch)
Thelma
Jenanne
Rawhiti
Wairiki & Thelma
Wairiki & Thelma
Waitangi
Katrina II
Ngaira

ST AYLES SKIFF RAID

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John Dory & Little Tawera
PRETTY BOATS

 

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R&R

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Nereides
Nereides Jnr
Scotts Landing

PRIZE GIVING (aka the Wairiki / Jason Prew show)

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Onehunga Beach 1954 – Sailing Sunday

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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.

Majestic

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MAJESTIC

Details & photos ex ‘Nelson Mail’ via John Burland (edited by Alan H)

The 14.5m Majestic started life back in 1937 as a commercial trawler & cray boat in Nelson. Built at the famed Wells family boatyard at Whakatahuri at the head of Pelorus Sound by her ex owner Lionel Wells and his late brother Gordon. She was built to their father Claude’s design, using Marlborough Sounds kahikatea (white pine) for the double-skinned planking, and heart rimu for the deck beams and stringers.
The brothers fished out of Port Nelson for many years, trawling for snapper, gurnard and flounder. Wells eventually bought his brother out and took the Majestic cray fishing from Milford Sound for 15 years.
He sold her in 1978 and Majestic continued its fishing career from Greymouth before finally being brought back to Nelson.

Two & half years ago Majestic was facing the chainsaw but was saved by the Motueka owner of Cotton Heavy Haulage in Richmond, Lynn Cotton who gradually restored her at the Richmond boat yard. The fish hold has gone and the accommodation has grown to allow for eight people. The few rotten planks were replaced and rimu and macrocarpa were specially milled to fit out the interior.
Most notably, the old superstructure was removed and replaced with a new one, each to their own but I would have chosen something closer to the original.
In the six years the boat had been idle the 190hp Gardner diesel had seized, but that was soon remedied and on the trip across Tasman Bay to its new mooring at Port Motueka it produced an average 8.2 knots.

Below are photos from her re-launch. One shows 95 year old ex owner/builder Lionel on the left with Lynn Cotton.

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Whironui

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WHIRONUI
details & photos ex Ken Ricketts. (edited by Alan H)

Whironui  is 34′ LOA & was home built & Ken suspects  in the earlier 1960’s, the reason for this being she has a Paragon mechanical gearbox, on a Lees Ford diesel & these boxes were phased out in the earlier 1960s. In terms of designer, Ken feels probably she is a Shipbuilders kit-set as one of a good number of similar hull type, designed boats were sold in this form by Shipbuilders between 30′ & 34′ from c.1960 to 1965. They all had individually styled coamings with 3 glued skins on opposite diagonals, kauri hulls.

Whironui is powered by a 90hp 6 cyl. Lees marinised Ford diesel, with a Paragon mechanical gear box & 2 to 1 reduction gear, most likely still the original set-up.

She is presently owned by Murray Brighouse who along with his son Tony, do a great job of caring for her, & using her as often as possible. They bought her off the late Sonny Cross in 2002, who they believe had owned her from about 1976, during which time she was moored for the entire period, they believe, in the Wade River, which is where she was moored, when the Brighouses bought her. She now resides at Gulf Harbour.

Anyone know anymore about her past & the home build element?

As a comparison – below is a photo of ‘Southern Seas’ which is rumoured to be a Shipbuilders kit boat.

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Photo from c.1979 ex Ken Rickets

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A Replica Scow – Sailing Sunday

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A Replica Scow  – Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan Sexton

Alan took the above photos in Nagle Cove, Great Barrier Island last week, just before the wind started blowing.
The replica scow appears to be about 12m in length & is very well done, what do we know about her?

Callie

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CALLIE
photo & details ex Bob Wichman* via Bruce Pullan

Callie was built c.1916 by Bailey & Lowe for the Brown Bros. She was 39′ x 9’3″ x 4’6″ & when launched had a 35hp Twigg 4 cyl diesel engine.
In 1918 she was sold to C.W. White of Onehunga. In 1925 she was re-powered with a 140hp Steams petrol engine. Sold again in 1939 to I.G. Vickery of Onehunga. In 1940 a Gardner 24hp (seems small?) engine was fitted, this was replaced in 1948 with a 48hp Ralston diesel.

In the early 1900’s she was used as a passenger ferry to Cornwallis & Huia on the Manukau. Post c1940 she was commercial fishing for skipper Fred Vickery.

Unfortunately she was wrecked on 11-05-1968 on a sandbank at Southhead, Manukau Harbour.

In the photo above given the presence of Fred Vickery, I assume its Callie on a day off from her fishing boat duties & not when she was a passenger vessel. A note with the photo records the following people:
# ‘Gary’ standing with foot on the rail
# Beverley Wishart, red dress, black cardigan
# Fred Vickery (owner/skipper) outside wheelhouse
# Rod Vickery in water

*note: Bob Wichman’s family had an association with Callie & the Awhitu (Inverness)

Florence May

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FLORENCE MAY

Florence May was designed by Dick Laing & launched in 1965. She is strip planked kauri & measures 28′ LOA . Powdered by a 80hp Ford diesel. Currently listed 4sale on trademe.

Can anyone expand on her past & possibly confirm the above details? Its says ‘Ngunguru’ on the stern so maybe the northern woodys can help.

Update from Rodney Webb (owner)

I have owned Florence May for 34 years.She was built near Auckland for Harry Muir and was named after his wife.She spent several years in Ngunguru then went to a retired sea captain in the bay of islands.She was then purchased by Tom Thompson who bought her back to Tutukaka.I approached him and purchased her 34 years ago.The builder was Phil Lange who lives in mill bay Manganui.He is 85 and still in good health.I still have her in Ngunguru.I guess you could say i reluctantly have her for sale and would probably refuse any offer 🙂

Sorceress – Sailing Sunday

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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:
anniversary weekend 2016 poster

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 🙂

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