Category Archives: Non Waitemata

Rangitihi & Patiti

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Rangitihi & Patiti Hauled Out

Photo from Roger Guthrie’s grandfathers collection & shows Roger’s father aged approx. 14 so the date of the photo must be c.1925/6. The location could be Tauranga area??

Harold Kidd Update:

Lake Tarawera; PATITI was built by Bailey & Lowe in July 1904 for the Government Tourist Dept. RANGITIHI was built for Tarawera but transferred later to Rotomahana. I’m pretty sure she was built by Bailey Lowe too.

PS PATITI was built by Bailey & Lowe for the Government Tourist Dept and completed in July 1904 alongside her twin IRINI which was intended for the Lake Rotomahana tourist trade. Both were railed to Rotorua in mid July and taken to their respective lakes, by bullock wagons, I assume.

PPS She was called PATITI after Guide Joe Warbrick (Patiti is maoriisation of Warbrick),one of the Warbrick brothers, heroes of the 1884 NZ Rugby team who played Australia in 1884 and the New Zealand Native Team that toured the UK in 1888-9. He had been killed in the eruption of the Waimangu Geyser in 1903.

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

A serious boat shed

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A serious boat shed

Greg Lee’s shed (Lees Boatbuilders) at Sandspit is the real deal, no concrete floor here, the tide comes & goes twice a day. You have to wonder how many tools have been dropped into the tide over the years.

The launch in the shed is CYA member Angus Roger’s ‘Mahanui’, built by Keith Atkinson & originally launched as Jacinta II – photo taken in Jan 2013 while she was getting a 9 month major makeover that included two new Perkins Sabre M135′s with Newage PRM gearboxes. That deep shine on the coamings is ex a tin of Uroxsys.

Their tug boat ‘Karewa’ (a CYA register boat) was built in 1951 by Lidgards for the Department of Works to push barges on the Piako river for the construction of bridges. From there she went to the Tauranga Harbour Board as pilot/survey vessel, finally coming to Warkworth in the early 1980s, where she has been working tirelessly since. In the photos above she along side Steve Horsley’s yacht Ngatira.

In the photos the number 8 on her side I assume is her ‘race’ number from when she won the Parry Trophy (tugboat award) as the Best Presented Survey Commercial Tugboat in the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta in January 2008.

When I was there in 2011 I spied the very cool ‘Auck Motor Yacht Club’ sign, that should be in a museum – hang on, it is – The Lee’s Museum 🙂

Elsie Evans

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ELSIE EVANS

details & photos from Bob McDougall & the Timaru Herald

Timaru’s first pilot boat, the ELSIE EVANS, a 1901 Bailey (13m x 2.4m) has been relaunched into the Otago Harbour after a very long $500,000+ rebuilding / restoration project that saw her spend 59 years on land.

The ELSIE EVANS was built by Auckland firm Charles Bailey Jr, as the first pilot boat for the Timaru Harbour Board and as a replacement for its paddle-tug MANA.

It was launched on December 31, 1901, and named after the wife of the harbour board chairman at the time, William Evans.

The boat’s main tasks were to tow small craft, tend the big steamers, take the health officer out to deep-sea sailing vessels and carry the pilots.

Those were roles it continued until 1927, when it was sold to Captain Percy Moss, of the Portobello Railway and Ferry Co.

From 1928, it was used as a launch to tow barges, carry freight, and ferry passengers when the company’s other ferries TAREWAI and WAIREKA were out of service.

In 1944, it took over from the TAREWAI and regularly sailed the 2.4 kilometers between Portobello and Port Chalmers, carrying up to 37 passengers.

It was a role it continued in until 1954.

Life for the old launch took a turn for the worse after that. While several owners had big plans for the boat, nothing happened and it was sitting in a paddock when the South Canterbury Historical Society bought it for $1200 in 1997.

B/W photo above (ex Bob McDougall ) show ELSIE EVANS being brought to Dunedin’s Birch Street wharf from its long-time mooring at Ravensbourne, on 1 September 1962, and taken by road to Waihola, where it languished there and later with other owners/other places, for decades.

It is planed that passengers (exact number subject to a stability test) would be allowed on ELSIE EVANS by January after she has passed her survey

View TV news article on the launching here

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/century-old-boat-back-water-video-5527794

Check out in the posting below this post, of the 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration, stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.

Elsie Evans – Timaru’s first pilot boat

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ELSIE EVANS

Check out this 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration of the ‘Elsie Evans’, the 1902 Charles Bailey Jnr. built Timaru pilot boat. Some stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.

Then read the posting above for more details + relaunch photos.

A proud NZ maritime family – the Guthrie’s

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The Guthrie’s

CYA member Graham Guthrie & brother Roger’s great grand father, Henry Guthrie, settled in Dunedin in July 1864 from Largo in Scotland. He married Isabella Graham in 1866 & became a ship owner & broker. Most of the ships owned by Henry initially were jointly owned with mainly with his younger brother Walter. Sir William Larnach (Larnach Castle, Dunedin) was another co-owner & several joint ships can be viewed today on the walls of the castle. One joint ship has the claim of taking the 1st shipment of frozen lamb to Britain.

However from 1878 he was essentially the sole owner of the vessels.The Laira an iron barque built in Sunderland,England was owned by Henry from 1889 to 1893.
A large number of ship passed through his hands in his role as a broker. He was a member of the Otago Harbour Board in 1879-1883 and 1892-1894.
It appears that he was bankrupted in the late1880’s but all their children received a sound education and the family lived a settled and comfortable life.
Henry died  on 21st April 1913 in Rattray  St Dunedin as he was walking up the steep hill to his home.
The photo above shows the ship Alcestis when she ran aground in Otago Harbour c1880. This ship ‘gave’ its name to the Guthrie family launch, Alcestis (photo attached), which features frequently on this site.
Update / photo from Russell Ward – photo of an unidentified tug -possibly ‘Dunedin’ – towing Alcestis out of Otago after her grounding.
I guess she lived to sail another day unlike many of them on that coast.
photos & details ex Roger Guthrie

Do not marry a farm girl

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A tale for any waitematawoody considering marriage & also those that are now boat-less.
I found this tale, ‘Something to remember -by James S Pitkin’, a few years ago in the wonderful old 1947 book ‘The Book of Boats’ by William Aitkin. Aitkin saw the book as becoming a quarterly journal but only two issues were printed then publication ceased. You can find / buy copies on ebay & its a collection of short stories & a great read.
I had a copy & one day hopefully the CYA member I lent it to, whose name eludes me, will open the dust cover & see my stamp & return it 🙂
Harold Kidd Update:
A visit to the maritime provinces of Canada and the New England seaboard reveals the similarities between the Canucks, the Down Easters (and other Yankees) and Kiwis; each of these sets of populations originally arrived by sea, mainly in sailing craft; and each traded and gathered their food and went from place to place on the sea. No wonder there is a great fellow feeling between these peoples. There is the same feeling in Brittany and Cornwall too. The sea is at the core of our being.

258 Stunning Classic Boat Photos

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258 Boat Porn Photos

 
The few above are to tease you to view all the 258 stunning  photos from the Bell Street Harbour Classic Rendezvous, pull the cork on a nice Pinot, find a good chair & click the link below. Enjoy 🙂

Atatu

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An update on Atatu
words & photo from Frank Stoks
Here are a couple of fresh pictures of Atatu (1919, Bailey and Lowe) mentioned on this site about a month ago.
The new hardwood aerofoil rudder (installed 3 years ago) replaced the flat steel plate in order to eliminate all zincs and stop delignification of hard to repair timbers.
Moreover the rudder still works drifting into the berth at 1 or 2 knots whereas the flat steel rudder didn’t work at low speed.
She was a luxury launch for Holloway, then Nathan family, war service in Wellington, converted to fishing vessel in 1947, has had several wheelhouses the last of which (shown) by us about 15 years old now. Present engine is a Caterpillar D330B installed new in 1968 still going strong [touch kauri].
I have an extremely detailed history of her, concerning owners, incidents, activities, conversions, and engines – with photos starting from before she was launched to the present day. Unfortunately the Atatu embossed Royal Dalton China, cutlery, carpets and etched glass have long disappeared.
And yes the funnel is a folly – but I’m proud of it!