KUMI

Kumi arriving back in Auckland

Alan H & Haydon Afford

Haydon Afford enjoying a celebratory pint

Kumi leaving Hokianga Harbour

Kumi & Raindance

Mr Afford Snr. & Jnr with the CYA Award

Alan H welcoming Haydon back after 3mths away

Haydons Dad & wife (Linda) welcome him home

KUMI

I received an email a few weeks ago from someone that talked about the launch Kumi – problem was it was not from the owner & I had no idea who they were. They did talk as if they had an interest (past / present) in the boat. I even rang Harold Kidd & asked him if he knew of xxxx xxxxxx, the name drew a blank with Harold also.

So I call Kumi’s owner Haydon Afford & ask him if he knows someone called xxxx xxxxxx – the answer “thats me, I get sick of having to spell my name so for years I have used xxxx xxxxxx for the unimportant things in life e.g. ordering a pizza etc. xxxx even has his own email address…….. which is more than Haydon does, no mobile phone either 🙂

Hayden then realizes that on the email to me he did not say it was from him. I have re-printed the email below.

” Dear Alan. Quiet at work so found all these fantastic pictures on your extremely good website . if you wanted to include Kumi in the  Bailey and Lowe  chapter I wouldn’t mind. brief history?  Launched aug 1905 as ‘Eliza’  for Henry Adams as a lorry to take produce to and from his island Moturoa in the bay of islands. Raced in 1908 rudder cup ;failed to win . The annoyed  mr Adams challenged any body [mainly aimed at line honours winner James Reid with Seabird] to a race for 50 guineas to Russel wharf and back . Kumi beat Seabird more by good luck than boat speed , since in the rerun of the rudder cup it was very obvious that Seabird is a faster hull! Adams  had some bank trouble in 1913 and Eliza vanished  never to be seen again , but fortuitously at exactly that moment ‘Kumi’ appeared built by the same builder to the same design and launched on the same date as ‘Eliza’ .whew. She was sold to other people and in 1928 sold to Whangarei harbour board as a pilot boat and used as such till 1955 .She then went to Whangaroa harbour as a crayfish boat for mr Russ and did this till 1975. It was during this time  that an oyster barge made a mistake in berthing, crushing Kumi against the wharf and sinking her in apparently three minutes. In 1975 she went to a  Whangarei back yard till 1985 where she was modernised. Mr pont of Whangarei sold her to mr  Tercel and she came back to Auckland where her modernisation rapidly deteriorated through several owners until 1999 when  the present owners purchased her in spite of the surveyors comment of “not even any use as firewood, too rotten and wet”. The Affords took her back to their place and rebuilt her to close to 1905ish ; which was lucky because she ended up the same as her launching day photo in the maritime museum which Harold Kidd told us about after  her relaunch. Kumi has had several engines but mr Pont in Whangarei installed a 1963   six cylinder Ford  rated at 80 horse power  and this engine still gives perfect service .Kumi is a fun boat, fast enough [if not a line honours winner] but sea kindly and comfortable and ready for the next 100 years.”

A little more about Kumi – in the summer of 2012/13 Kumi completed a circumnavigation of New Zealand, I have covered this previously on ww but if you missed it, click the link below to read Haydon’s tale. Post the trip Haydon gave a talk to CYA members at the RNZYS, it was one of most entertaining evening I have been to. Haydon & Kumi’s vovage was acknowledged in 2013 with the presentation to Haydon of the ‘CYA Outstanding Achievement Award In Seamanship’ (photo above)

The story of Haydon Afford’s 3 month circumnavigation aboard Kumi his 1905 Bailey & Lowe launch

Recognition – Kumi also features in the CYA Classic Register 2014-15 edition – the link below takes you to the section.

http://classicyacht.org.nz/demosite/wp-content/uploads/Classicreg2014/flipbook.html#p=26