The 1929 Chas Bailey & Son built motor launch – Shenandoah has made several appearances on WW and we have seen her – as launched, in her war fatigues, restored and sadly neglected – way too many mentions on WW to list the links, just type her name in the WW search box to view.
Today thanks to Bruce Papworth we get a look at Shenandoah at sea and her crew war crew ashore – in the 2nd photo we get a rare sighting of the photographer – Tudor Collins, that is him second from right. He would have been on board Shenandoah in his role as photographer. Bruce P commented that he believed Hick Goodfellow was the captain. In the third photo, showing the Whangarei Town Basin there is a great collection of craft that had been commandeered by the NZ Navy for war service – that I can identify- we have:
Q03 – Shenandoah, Q08 – Lady Margaret, Q01 – Wirihana, Q02 – Maristella, Q12 – Lady Shirley and Z38 – Ranoni. In the last photo we have L>R Lady Margaret, Maristella and Wirihana. For more background on these craft, click on this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/11/23/whangarei-town-basin-1943/
The 40’ ex workboat Northern Star was built c.late 196o’s by Roger Carey in Picton, then c.2009 she was converted to a trawler cruiser / live aboard.
Forward motion is via a rebuilt 6LX Gardner that is keel cooled. Like all good southerns woodys there is a diesel heater to keep toastie below.
From her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) we see that she is very well fitted out for extended cruising.
INPUT ex Russell Ward – photo below taken 20+ years back, in Picton marina. Russell commented that they all looked so much better in working colours than in the stark white that present owners use.
Twice this year the Don Brooke designed 37’ launch – Tranquila, previously named Dundonald, has made a cameo appearances on WW. Now thanks to Ian McDonald spotting her on tme we get a better look. (fyi – recently sold)
Specs are – built in 1986 from double diagonal kauri (f/glassed) and powered by a Ford 120hp 6.2L 6 cyl. diesel.
Following up on Mondays story based on Dean Wrights photo gallery for Waikawa Bay marina, I was contacted by Greg Billington in regard to a photograph featured of his boat – the 33’ Baily built ‘Skipjack’. I’ll let Greg tell the story –
“You will see in the photo (number two above) that the mast is down, it is hinged because I formerly kept her in the Okahu Lagoon, which meant going under the Tamaki bridge. It is a new alloy mast, by the way, and considerably shorter than the former very heavy timber mast. On the occasion, some years ago that I laid it on its side in a beam sea crossing Bream Bay, I decided the timber mast was too much deadweight to bring back up! However, that the mast is hinged is convenient for a rather unexpected reason. I discovered that in winds around 20 knots, the new mast would vibrate. My first thought was to adjust the stays, but it made no difference. Then I learned about ‘vortex shedding.’ You may know that this can occur around any cylinder and in fact has caused the failure of even very large structures. At certain wind speeds, vortices form on the downwind side and create vibration. As it happens, it is easily remedied by doing a couple of turns of a rope or stay around the mast. In the marina I just lower the mast to the bow rail.
I’ve had Skipjack in Waikawa for 3 years now. Assuming that many Auckland boaties may not know too much about the Sounds, I thought some comparisons might be of interest. The Sounds comprise nearly 20 per cent of our total coastline – so lots of scope for exploring. However, it contrasts with the Gulf in several ways. First, it is adjacent to Cook Strait. Need I say more? On one occasion I spent three days in a bay because I couldn’t leave. It was not possible to see the other side of the Sound through the williwas. Another time I was alarmed by a crash and found my inflatable had been picked up by the wind and hurled into the stern. The slack painter was promptly severed by the prop and I watched with incredulity as the dinghy took off and literally flew for about 50 metres.
Then there’s the tides. It is a strange spectacle seeing enormous surface turbulence above depths of 50 plus metres, and for a Gulf boatie, being above 140m depth less than half a click offshore seems most peculiar. Then there’s the challenge of anchoring. Most boaties here rely on the network of club moorings because the magnificent hills of the Sounds, tend to go straight down. The Gulf is blessed with great bottom for anchoring. The Sounds are not! And finally, the water temperature…where I habitually dropped the pick in one of many bays in the Gulf islands and dived over for a decent swim, here, on a blistering hot day in mid-summer, one plunges in – and out! But the low temperature probably explains why good antifouling can go a couple of years and need nothing more than a soft waterblast. There are no goddamn barnacles!
But lest you think this is not a great place to boat, I include a pic of Skipjack anchored in Mistletoe Bay“.
Todays classic woody is the launch Varua, and was one of the craft that Dean Wright recently photographed at Waikawa Bay Marina. Certainly has that ‘Sounds’ boat look to her i.e. built to take a few green ones over the bow.
And that woodys is all we know – so who can help us added more details to her history and how she came to be berthed at Waikawa marina.
INPUT ex John Gander: ‘Varua’ 1959 built by Bob Swanson when his boatyard was in Blackwood bay Queen Charlotte Sound, now owned by Gavin Cooper used often and very well maintained. Bob Swanson built a lot of launches along similar lines. Very likely that Bill Orchard was in on her building he did his time with Bob Swanson, Bill used to walk over the hill from the from his parents home in the Kenepuru Sound.
14-12-2022 INPUT EX GREG BILLINGTON – I believe Varua was built in 1954 by Swanson in Blackwood Bay near Waikawa. A 12 tonne, 40-footer, she was owned for a long time by a chap who I think was known as ‘Brownie.’ He sold it to my brother John, about twenty years ago. At that point, she was pretty decrepit but with a sound hull. John commissioned local boat builder John Cooper to refurbish her, which included replacing the old Nissan with a 130hp Perkins, glassing the topsides, full paint job, replacing the electrics and plumbing and installing the davit for lifting the dinghy. I took her for her ‘maiden’ voyage after Cooper’s refit, resulting in a fine groper off Witt’s Rock in the Strait. My brother kept Varua in Waikawa for a while and then motored her up the East Coast to the Waitemata. However, not long after, he sold her (to switch to sailing), and she was bought by a couple of guys in Paremata, so headed south again. I’m unsure how long they retained ownership, in any event, John Cooper’s son, Gavin, bought her and she came back home to Waikawa. Gavin told me she had not been so well looked after, and he gave her a refresh and upgraded the cabin.
Following on from last Mondays story where we shared Dean Wright’s recent Southern trip and a gallery of photos from the Havelock marina todays photo gallery comes to us from the Waikawa marina. Some stunning woodys and remember – click on photos to enlarge 😉
A lot of woodys that are new to WW and they will morph into WW stories in their own right.
Enjoy 🙂
13-12-2022 INPUT EX MARK MCLAUGHLIN
The big bridgedecker with 4 ports is RAHEMO (launched as Strathmore), built by Dick Lang.
Others I can positively identify are (from the top):
VECA (Arthur Sang)
VAGABOND (Joe Jukes)
?
?
?
RAHEMO/STRATHMORE (Dick Lang)
HUNTRESS (possibly McManaway designed/built?)
VARUA (Bob Swanson)
OSPREY (Harold Saunders)
PALOMINO (Bob Swanson)
TOANUI (Roger Carey)
Yacht ANNA JANE (?)
NUKUMEA (American “Bartender” design by George Calkins)
YVONNE (Bob Swanson)
PEARL (?)
Unknown fishing boat
KATOOMBA (Dorman Engineering, Nelson – not wood, built in Corten Steel!!)
Unknown (possibly Bruce Askew?)
CORYLUS (Bruce Askew)
TAREPO (launched TAREPA)
ARCTURUS (McGeady)
? (looks like a McManaway or Morgan fishing boat design?)
? (under the covers)
CRISTINA (Athol Burns)
PURUATANGA (launched as MARIANJO)
Most of these have featured previously on WW, so a quick look in the search bar will glean more details if interested.
The launch Corinthia was built / launched in 1967 at the Shipbuilders yard in Auckland. She has made several cameo appearances on WW, link below to a 2013 story that showed her alongside the jetty at Arran Bay, Waiheke Island. It appears that the exterior has not changed much but now today thanks to a heads up from Ian McDonald re a tme listing we get to have a peek down below.
The very salty looking woody – Laura Jo was one of the craft that Dean Wright recently photographed at Havelock Marina. And that woodys is all we know – can we added more details to her history and how she came to call Havelock home.
08-12-2022 UPDATE ex David Martin –
The Laura Jo was originally the launch Laura. She was purchased in the early 90s as an ex fishing boat needing a lot of TLC by lovely couple living in Sumner. The ladies name was Jo, and the boat was re-launches as Laura Jo. Her huband was Bruce (I recall?) who passed away in the late 90s. LJ was re-built, cabin extended, and berthed in Lyttelton at that time. I have more photos and a drg of her (I drew many of my friends Boats around that period). I will dig up all the info I have and add at a later date.
Mystery Lake Okataina Launch – Can We Now Confirm Her ID
Back in February 2022 we ran a story, link below, on an unknown launch (2nd photo above) at an unknown location. At the time the location was ID’ed as Lake Okataina, Rotorua. The was a couple of potential ID’d on the launch from the two of the WW wise men 🙂
Harold Kidd suggested it may have been the bridgedecker – Merlin, owned by Beamish-White, that later went to Kawhia
Paul Drake was keen on her being the launch – Karina, that was in commercial service at Taupo in the 1960’s, owned by Jim Story.
Today thanks to Greg Philpott uncovering the top photo from the Archive NZ collection – taken by JG Duncan, we get a much better view of the launch, which was tagged 1951, Lake Okataina – so hopefully we can confirm her name and builder etc
Back in late October 2022 Dean Wright was in Blenheim attending John Gander’s significant birthday, all birthdays are significant but the ones with ‘0’s’ in them are more significant.
While down south Dean did some marina mooching and todays photo gallery comes to us from the Havelock marina. Nice to see a couple of our bigger northern woodys now safely tucked way down south – Turongo and Durville. Sad to lose them from the Waitemata but if we were keeping score I think we win more than we lose 🙂
A lot of craft unknown to WW and will probably morph into WW stories in their own right. As always click on photos to enlarge.
