PANTHER – Sailing Sunday Dean Wright recently spotted the yacht Panther hauled out at the Napier Marina getting a large dose of TLC.While she lists the Napier Sailing Club on her stern with all that fruit hanging off the back, she must have clocked up some off-shore miles.Hopeful our resident Napier WW spy Michael O’Dwyer will dial in with more details.
Hopefully as you read this I’ll be waking from a pinot induced coma, at anchor in Patio Bay, which means woodys – a big story tomorrow to share with you all 🙂
Today’s story and photos comes to us from Little Jim’s skipper and owner James Mortimer and crew – Ash Smith, Rodrigo Salas, Janez Mikec, Max Goutard, Erwann Jooris.
I’ll let James share the story with you, as always – click on photos to enlarge. Enjoy 🙂
“After four long months out of the water at the Milford marina yard over winter, I know that Little Jim had been wanting to stretch her legs and get a good long sail up the coast. She feels fast with her newly reinforced decks, rebuilt rudder, and all over paint job. Or maybe it’s the long winter without any sailing that has made her crew push her along that little bit more.
The weather forecast for Labour weekend had been looking challenging, with light northerlies and rainy weather predicted. On Tuesday night we got together on the boat to go over safety and systems, not at all confident that we would even start the race. Over the next two days the forecast slowly got a little better, with the wind direction moving ever so slightly toward the east. On Thursday night, we made the call to go, knowing full well it was going to be tough.
Early Friday morning and with enough food and beer to supply a small army, we got ourselves into racing mode and set off for Devonport. There is something special about this race, with more than 150 yachts lining up across the harbour, a sense of anticipation building as the gun gets closer, an adventure ready to start.
We made an early call to cross the channel toward Rangitoto and escape the worst of the incoming tide. Little Jim made excellent ground on most of the fleet who were busy short tacking up Cheltenham Beach in very little wind. A long tack due east across the top of Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands allowed us to finally turn north and lay the outside of Tiri Island and and make some miles to the north. As it turned out, the short stretch between Tiri and Kawau Island was to be the best sailing we would get all day, with a perfect NE’er of 12 to 15 kts, and boat speed above 7 kts.
On any Coastal Classic, there is a decision to make off Takatu Point. Is the boat and the crew in good shape and ok to go on. In any adverse weather this is no small call to make. As all boaties know, crossing Bream Bay can be brutal, and there is no decent shelter until Tutukaka. An easy decision this time, and it was champagne sailing as we passed Cape Rodney. It didn’t last though, and as afternoon slid into evening the wind eased away and turned back north. A frustrating night of slow tacking between the Hen & Chick Islands and Whangarei Heads began, with not a lot of northward miles being made. What the wind failed to deliver the night sky made up for, with an impressive meteor shower, a crystal clear Milky Way, lots of phosphorescence, and an incredible sunrise.
At 8.30am, we made the difficult decision to pull the pin on the race just south of Elizabeth Reef. The forecast was light until afternoon and we had little hope of reaching Russell before cut off at 3pm.
Ending the race early wasn’t going to put a damper on the weekend though and we spent the next three days sailing downwind back to Auckland under spinnaker via the Poor Knights Islands, Tutukaka, the Hen & Chicks, and Kawau Island.
Little Jim, built in 1934, was the oldest boat to enter in this year’s race, and it is a fitting testament to the skill of New Zealand’s early boat builders and designers that we can often keep up with boats that are 60 or 70 years younger!
Can’t wait till 2021”
LITTLE JIM
A16 – bermudan rigged, she was designed & built in 1934 by Arch Logan & Bill Couldrey. LOA: 42’10”, LWL: 28′, BEAM: 9’1″, DRAFT: 6′
John Spencer – Champion of the Amateur Boatbuilder For the last 3 days the annual classic yacht and launch exhibition, hosted by the Tino Rawa Trust, has been on at Kairanga Plaza, Halsey St, Wynyard Quarter. This year the star of the show is the late designer John Spencer. You can read more about John below.
On Friday I got a sneak review of the event at the opening legendary morning tea, that always sees the who’s who of the wooden boating movement making an appearance. The show is on today from 10am >4pm, so not too late to pop down.
One of the invited speakers was John Street, now when ever John steps up to a mike – I push record. His words are always outstanding, push play on the video below and you’ll have a chuckle as John relays a few memories of times with John Spencer, Turn the volume up 🙂
Its A Woody But It Won’t Float They say life goes something like this – Boat > Motorhome > Die
Will if you are in or approaching the middle category the Holzmobil woody motor home would have to be the pick of the bunch. They are built from sustainable wood from floor to ceiling and are one of the warmest motor homes you can find. It has all the home comforts – refrigerator, cooker, bathroom etc + the oiled timber finish as well as smelling nice, allows moisture out and prevents warping.
Still Looking For A Boat Story – 2pm today at Peter Brookes Boat Yard – details below
SPECIAL INVITATION – A Peek Inside One of Your Best Wooden Boatbuilders Shed
You are invited to an open afternoon at Brookes Boatbuilders, to view the restoration of:
Fife Yacht, Impala
Refit of K class yacht, Katrina II
Restoration of Launch, Amakura II
The many other wooden boats at the yard – Matia, Ladye Wilma, Kotiri, Pilot Cutter, Kenya II (Peter’s own classic launch)
DATE: TODAY
TIME: 2pm-7pm
ADDRESS: 108 Woodhill Park Road, Waimauku, Auckland These invites only happen every 3>4 years so woodys do not miss out, it will be an amazing afternoon.
THE REBIE Y55 – Sailing Sunday David Campball-Morrsion sent in the above photo of the mullet boat – The Reble, which David’s father in law and a couple of mates owned before the war, his name was Arthur Coughlan (Buster) and they kept her in St Marys Bay in Auckland. The bridge motorway put paid to that area years later.The Reble had the skull and cross bones on the main as in the photo. Buster played for Ponsonby Rugby Club and became a NZ Barbarian just before the war and became a Ponsonby life member and an Auckland rugby selector, also an active member of the Ponsonby Cruising club.
After the war Buster and family moved to Dunedin for ten years which he claimed was his sentence, they then moved back to Auckland to take up the position of personal manager at Pacific Steel when it opened. David would take him out a number of times on the family yacht, then in their launch Arima, but David commented that fishing in his tinny at Coromandel was his love in his later years.
David is keen to learn what became of The Rebie post the Arthur Coughlan (Buster) ownership period.
Big WW milestone yesterday, the odometer clicked past 6,000,000 views – I got so excited when it went into 4 digits, used to check it every 1/2 hr to see how many and who was visiting the site 🙂
Can we put Russell Ward out of his misery? Russell sent in the 2 photos below of a boat named Silver Spray, that dropped anchor on Friday night below him, in Scotts Bay /Landing – from the distance she appeared to be approx. 40’, with a counter stern, slightly Wild Dock looking. Any one know the boat?
Silver Spray when an Island Bay fishing boat launched c. 1938 (photo ex Baden Pascoe)
22-12-20 Input from John Bullivant – Silver Spray at Half Moon Bay Marina. Owner advised she is powered by a GM671
PONEKE – Sailing Sunday In the above photo, c.1893, we see the Tom Le Huquet built yacht – Poneke. I understand Le Huquet built her in the same year for Fred Hunt. Later on (possibly 1897) she had a name change to Nancy Star Stair and moved to Wellington. The location of the photo is on the hard by the boat sheds in Torpedo Bay, Devonport.
Do we know what became of Poneke?
29-09-2020 Input from Robin Elliott –
The ex-Auckland yacht Poneke, renamed ‘Nancy STAIR’ [my capitals], arrived in Wellington in January 1907. The new name came from the titular heroine (no sniggers please) of a very popular American novel by Elinor McCartney Lane written in 1904 that was advertised nationwide in the papers over here throughout 1905 and 1906. By the middle of 1907 there was also a reasonably successful racehorse carrying the same name.
Nancy Stair, the yacht, is last mentioned in the Evening Post 5 November 1927 : “It seems improbable that the Nancy Stair will come down this season. No work has yet been done on her.” She was apparently broken up not long after.
The photo below on the WCYT website from the Petherick album shows her lying on the Evans/Lowry Bay foreshore – geography check needed – in a less than satisfactory state, stripped of all fittings and apparently ready for the knackers.
TARA-NUI The motor-sailor Tara-Nui is a neibour of mine at Bayswater marina, owned by a friend Richard Poor. I have donated a few layers of skin sanding her in preparation for Uroxsys varnishing. Last week Dean Wright emailed in the above photos of Tara-Nui that he took back in 2010 of her in Homestead Bay, Moturua Island, Bay of Islands.
Back in June 2015 on WW there was talk of Tara-Nui having a sister ship named Tebor. WW link here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/06/21/tebor-sailing-sunday/At the time it was commented that the vessels were a John Gladden design. Are we able to confirm this and also can anyone tell us more about Tara-Nui’s past. Richard keeps her is top condition and is a frequent visitor to the Pacific Islands.
AOTEA – Sailing Sunday The owner of the H28 Aotea, Peter Sporle, contacted WW recently seeking help uncovering information on her early history.What we know is that Aotea was built in 1954 in Mangonui Harbour, Northland, from kauri carvel planks. She has an iron keel and was originally ketch rigged.
In 1958 Aotea won the Balokovic Cup for her owner Brian O’Donaghue. Below is an article that BO’D wrote on H28’s and Aotea for the August 1962 issue of Sea Spray magazine.She was owned by Sir Keith Park. And a gentleman named Ian Miller owned for 7 years from approx. 1973>1980. Peter S bought her in Sept 1980 and still owns her – since 1990, she has been based at Tryphena, Great Barrier Island. Aotea was relaunched in October 2018 after a refit on the island. Above also is a short video of Aotea afloat, post re-launching, looking very smart.
02-09-2020 Input From Robin Elliott –
Aotea has had the following Registered owners – as far as i know: As D-11, ketch rigged. B.C. Watson (Mangonui) 1953+?; B. O’Donohue (Whangarei) 1954?/61; Sir Keith Park 1961+?; T. O’Brien 1967+? The date for B.C. Watson is the date he registered her, not necessarily the date she was launched.
In 1967 she appears to have been converted to single mast as she is re-registered in the E-Class as E-263. T. O’Brien 1967/69+?; P.J. Cole (Matakana) 1970+? A. Wood 1971+? (Still Registered as Owner NZYF 1978); I.H. Miller 1976+? You will note the overlap there. The registration lists are notorious for duff information and should always be viewed with caution; e.g. A. Wood appearing in 1971 and still shows as the registered owner in 1977/78 at the same time that Aotea is registered to I H. Miller with RAYC 1976/77 season where we know she did a lot of J.O.G. racing
In 1969 she took NZYF number 663
Trophies are: RAYC: Balokovic Cup 1958 Onerahi YC: 100 miler 1960 Whangarei CC: Harbour Regatta Assn Auxilliary Cup 1960
UPDATE 03-10-2022 ex Tony Blake – “I am sure we raced (My brother Peter, friend Crawford Duncan and myself in the yacht “Bandit” that Peter built in my parents backyard) against her in the 1967 season of the Junior Offshore Group ( Royal Akarana YC). We won the 1967 season’s racing. We always had great tussles with ‘Aotea’. “
18-03-2024INPUT EX PETER SPORLE –
My research indicates “Aotea” was built by Bernard Christian Watson then of Kohumaru road Mangonui on his farm and in the red woolshed that is still beside the road as of 2021. I spoke with a local Mangonui woman who as a young child was friends with Watsons daughters and would stay at the farm. She recalled Watson building “a boat” in the woolshed. Aotea was launched around 1953. The timber was reportedly sourced from the Totara North Mill. She was built as per Herreschoff’s specifications but with the added doghouse, an alteration that Herreschoff reportedly approved of. After launching she was hauled out and a second set of ribs added giving 6 inch centres. On official documents I’ve seen, Watson listed his occupation as farmer and then later as carpenter. It was suggested to me that Bernard Watson would have been related to the Whangarei boat building family of Watsons but I do not know if that is the case.
In 2020 I corresponded with and later also met Terry O’Brien who converted Aotea from ketch to sloop rig. In correspondence he offered.
“J.O.G. Racing was just starting in 1967 and we ended up second overall the first year of racing, beaten by Peter Blake in a boat called “Bandit”.
SLOW LOADING OF WW SITE – IF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING VERY SLOW LOADING OF THE WW HOME PAGE – I APOLOGISE – ISSUE NOW FIXED. Thank you to Geoff Bagnall for alerting me to the issue 🙂
If you are a regular WW reader you may recall that I have a fondness for pond yachts or as we call them in NZ – model yachts. One of my favourites makes a cameo appearance in the photo below. I don’t ’sail’ them, just collect. Last week I uncovered this very cool video of Rich Hilsinger (WoodenBoat School director) chatting with pond yacht guru – Them McLaughlin.
The video is labeled ‘The Elegance & Joy of Wooden Pond Yachts’ – grab your favourite chair and push play, then sit back as these two gents entertain and enlighten you 🙂
I’m told its difficult to design a small boat that to the eye is proportionally right. Saying that Colin Wild didn’t have any problems – there are some stunning sub 35’ Col Wild launches afloat.
Today’s woody – Pakawai, pictured here on Lake Wakatipu in 2004, she ticks all my boxes, which is even more surprising when I learnt she was an ex work-boat.
Parawai started life was as one of two work-boats aboard the Southland Harbour Board tug – Awarua. The tug was built by Lobnitz of Glasgow in 1931.
Pawawai started out as an open hull, carvel built, with no mast or engine. Unsure whether she was built in NZ or arrived in NZ on Awarua.
She was rebuilt and named Pakawai by Alistair Young of Invercargill.
Thanks to David Neville for the above photo and details. Andrew commented that she resides in North Otago these days.
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