Riwaka Channel – Marina

img_3631

 

RIWAKA CHANNEL – MARINA
Now I used to think the channel up the creek to Auckland’s Riverhead Hotel was narrow and shallow. Well the photos above of the Riwaka Channel take things to another level (low). To quote John Burland who took the photos – “the channel is narrow, winding and mobile”. That is an understatement.
John has pulled together a collection of photos showcasing some of the woody craft at Riwaka Marina, for those not familiar with the area, Riwaka is located between Motueka and Kaiteriteri , in NZ’s upper South Island.
John’s is very talented with a phone/camera and they will make woody Cameron Pollard’s day i.e. a lot of very practical vessels and very little varnish on display 🙂

LADY KARITA – A Rolling Restoration

img_3457

img_0470

img_0558

LADY KARITA – A Rolling Restoration

Lady K has been on the receiving end of what we call a rolling restoration for the last year+. Now based in the upper South Island, her owner Murray Shaw is very close to finishing a stunning re-fit. The photos above are from the camera’s of both Murray & mutal friend, John Burland & give us a peek at the standard of the work.

The last photos show Lady K relocated last week to the western entrance of Mapua Harbour.

You can read / view more on LadyK at the WW link below-

Lady Karita

MY GIRL TRIP LOG
screen shot 2019-01-11 at 8.10.57 am
I apologise upfront, clicking the link below will consume 30>45 minutes of your time today – but its a great read & Jason’s log includes some cool photos of his travels & lots of other woodys encounter along the way.
 
 
DEVONPORT FERRY Co. PROMOTIONAL FILM c.1920’s
In case you missed this 1920’s b/w video showcasing life on Auckland’s North Shore, I have included the link below. Lots of blasts from the past there – enjoy
 

https://www.facebook.com/markety.mark.92/videos/377063966386661/

Lady Doreen – B.O.I.

20181224-snooks286

LADY DOREEN – Bay Of Islands

A story for the Woodys mooching around the Bay of Islands over the New Year.
Woody Dean Wright visited Snooks and Lola Fuller last week and came away with (another) box of old photo negatives to scan. There are some goodies, which Dean has ok’ed sharing with you all. More soon 😉
Today’s photos are of Lady Doreen.I love the wheel, no doubt from a Ford Model T.
 Enjoy
And Happy New Year 🙂

2018 Rudder Cup – Motor Boat Race – 60 + Classic Wooden Boat Photos

_1040560

My Girl

P1040328

P1040455

Waitangi

P1040473

DSC_0856

P1040480

Rorqual

P1040543

Lady Crossley

2018 Rudder Cup – Motor Boat Race – 60 + Classic Wooden Boat Photos

Friday 14th December , was only the third time in one hundred & ten years that the Rudder Cup race has been run – previous dates were 1908. 2008 & now 2018. Always in December, always the same course to Sail Rock & back, always overnight & always 108 nm in distance.
The background to the race has been well documented on WW so I will not re-hash the details – WW search Rudder Cup for more details.
2018 saw 15 classic Woodys assembling on the start line in front of the RNZYS for the 7pm start. The fleet were joined by almost as many fellow woodys who gathered to see the fleet off. John Street fired a magnificent cannon (details of which will appear on WW at a later date) to start the race.
Conditions were overcast & a little damp but that did not stop the skippers & crew from putting on a stunning sight for the crowd assembled on the foreshore.
By North Head the fleet had established itself in terms of boat speed & positioning – the race is a sealed handicap event, with skippers not knowing their handicap until the prize giving. This year, technology via the PredictWind race tracker app, allowed skippers & shore based woodys the opportunity to view the position & speed of the boats in ‘real-time’. Helped make the hours slide by quicker.
I had a very comfortable race aboard Barbara & David Cooke’s sensational Salthouse motor-yacht Trinidad. The mix of vessel, company, catering & banter was perfect – a good time was had by all. Not a lot of sleep (zero for myself & the skipper), but when dawn came around we all had found our second wind, or maybe it was Brian Fulton’s scones topped with brandy butter 🙂
We ran a sweep onboard Trinidad as to our finish time & I won – only 10 seconds off my prediction of 12 hours / 40 minutes.
Results below – you will see that Trinny won her divisional prize, which made Captain Cooke a happy chap 🙂
VETERN DIVISION (pre 1918)STERLING 
VINTAGE DIVISION (1919-1949) – WAITANGI (note: no photos below of skipper Ian Cooke – as RNZYS commodore, Ian was attending another function)
CLASSIC DIVISION (1950-1978)TRINIDAD
OVERALL RUDDER CUP WINNER – STERLING 
 
Todays photo gallery of the race, comes to you via the camera’s of numerous woodys – thanks go out to Graeme Finch, Rod Marler, yours truely – Alan Houghton. Some are not any where near perfect – boat speed, sea conditions & a very long tele-lens are not a good mix if you are aiming for great photos.
I’m sure I’ll get sent more in the next few days, so will update when & if we get more. If any of the skippers want a copy of a photo – drop me an email at waitematawoodys@gmail.com
I would like to thank the Rudder Cup Race Committee for pulling the event together, a huge amount of time & co-ordination goes into one of these events & with out the folks below, it would never have happened:
Jason Prew (Chair), Nathan Herbert, Barbara Cooke, David Cooke, Alan Houghton, Joyce Talbot (Wonder Woman), Chris Collins & Baden Pascoe.
I would also like to mention the support we received from the Classic Yacht Association committee in stepping forward & underwriting the event – a progressive move from the then new CYA Chairman, James Mortimer. Thank you James.
 
ENJOY – As always, click on photos to enlarge + I have been extra nice today & captioned most of the photos 😉
 
Photos below from the prize giving at the RNZYS on Saturday night – weather was perfect & the food VERY good- well done RNZYS team.
A few ‘tired’ eyes – most of these guys had been awake for 24+hrs 🙂
P1040584

CYA Chairman James Mortimer + Brett Evans – Sterling – Winner 2018 Rudder Cup

P1040588

Sterling Skipper & Winning Crew

P1040579

CYA Chairman James Mortimer + David Cooke – Trinidad – Winner Classic Division

P1040595

CYA Chairman James Mortimer + Iain Forsyth – Meola – Spot prize winner

P1040591

Peter Boardman Skipper – Lady Margaret (D. Lang) Spot prize winner

P1040592

Ferro Skipper – Dick Coughlan – Spot prize winner

P1040577

Ronaki Skipper – Daniel Thomas – Spot prize winner

P1040597

Korara Skipper – Anatole Perry – Spot prize winner

Happy Days

20180817_154237_resized_1

20180515_144619_Richtone(HDR)_resized_3

20180831_172457_resized_1

20181203_153238_resized

HAPPY DAYS 

Back in July 2017 I ran a story on a ‘barn find’ 1928 woody that Lake Rotoiti boat builder Alan Craig at Craig Marine, was about to start work on.

Now Alan & his team do not muck around, last week he sent me the above photos, with a note saying that he had collected the rebuilt 1938 Osco marine flathead V8  engine. The term rebuilt is somewhat of an understatement 🙂
I told Alan that HDK would have kittens when he saw the photo of the engine. The engine work was done by Rob Cowley in Hamilton at Robs Rods and Restos.
The plan is to have her in the water this Christmas. And I’m pleased to advise that Lake Rotoiti will be her home 🙂
Photos below to remind you what she looked like. You can see & read more here.      https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/07/31/lake-rotoiti-barn-find-restoration/
Screen Shot 2018-12-03 at 9.42.58 PM

Blue Fin + An Old Sailor Dies

bluefin

BLUE FIN
A few months ago Bay of Islands based woody Dean Wright, sent me the above photo of the 1948 Lane Motor Boat Co. launch Blue Fin, not sure when it happened but Harold Kidd comments on a previous WW story (link below) that originally she was 38’ but lengthened by 4’.
Dean found the photo on the wall of his neighbours garage – quite a stunning shot with BF in front of Percy Island, BOI.
OLD SAILOR DIES
Keith Dawson has ‘appeared’ numerous times on WW, along with his old yacht – Roxone – you can see & read more at the WW link below.
I was contacted yesterday by Keith’s brother Ross Dawson, who informed me that Keith had passed away. Ross also sent me the tale below

https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/05/13/roxane-a-105th-birthday-party/

“Keith died in Port Macquarie, NSW, yesterday (Friday 7 Dec 2018) aged 105,…which must be something of a record for longevity for an Auckland yachtie?

Keith started boating (admittedly in a tin canoe bashed out of old corrugated roofing) circa 1920, graduating to a P class, and later Zeddie, sailed off Takapuna beach at the foot of Hauraki Road where his family lived.

I understand he was a foundation pupil of Takapuna Grammar School…albeit reluctantly….his sister says he was known to step through one door of the old steam tram, but dismount the other side to spend the day more productively at the beach! His first job was with John Burns, marine section.

He was a keen member of the RNZN volunteer reserve enjoying voyages on the cruisers HMS Dunedin & Diomede, based in NZ. He & mates often sailed the well known ketch “Seaward” on behalf of an absentee owner.

Together with his friend Dick Wellington, they purchased the Tercel yacht “Roxane” (ref. WW.) & sailed her across to Sydney, via Norfolk & Lord Howe Islands, and landfall at Newcastle At this time the Roxane at 26 foot overall was the smallest craft to complete the crossing…all this in the winter of 1937.

On his first night ashore at Sydney he met,…”a very attractive red head,  Betty”. The result, he later married her, Roxane was sold, and Keith spent the next 81 years “in” Australia, but remaining, emphatically, a “Kiwi”! For many years he worked among the Sydney yachting scene, mainly as a rigger.

In 1987, on his 74th birthday his family arranged a surprise visit to Cairns, where to his delight he went for a sail on old Roxane. He later lost touch with her various owners, but this sturdy Tercel built kauri vessels quite possibly remains in some Aussie anchorage?

“Home is the sailor, home from the sea” (R L Stevenson) Voyage on brother…”

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT XMAS PRESENT FOR A WOODY?
I’m assuming that you / they already have a waitematawoodys t-shirt, so the next best thing has to be a pair of woody jandels.
Marketed / sold in NZ by a company named Moana Road – these are great, 100% rubber, ultra comfortable & only $24.95 (that is cheap for rubber jandels). They have a non-slip sole so great on the boat. I bought mine in Devonport, but if you go to moanaroad.co.nz you will find a stockist near you. Just remember – I’m only here to make you look good 🙂
IMG_0230

Matareke

Matareke

MATAREKE

Today’s b/w press clipping of the motor launch Matareke, seen here having just won the 1st race of the season at the RNZYS races on November 22. We don’t know the year, but the photo is credited to ‘BELL’. And photo comes to us via Lew Redwoods fb.
Can anyone tell us what became of this fine looking launch?
Harold Kidd Input – This is the first MATAREKA not MATAREKE, built by Logan Bros in November 1903 for W.S. Whitley of the Colonial Ammunition Company (which had just made heaps out of supplying .303 ammo for the Boer War). When MATAREKA (II) was built in 1907 (the boat owned by the Fenelons that now lives in Ngapipi Road) this launch was sold to Yerex in Tauranga as a hire launch then sold to Hayward and Wood also of Tauranga.By 1913 she was owned by J H Rigden of Opua. Lose track of her after that. Definitely a name-change but to what?
DON’T BE IN A RUSH TO SELL YOUR BOAT
I was sent the note below by an ex classic wooden boat owner, who has owned several very smart Woodys  – I have deleted the boat names as I’m not sure he would want the exposure. 
My own boat is sometimes referred to by friends as the ‘floating man bach’ & in a lot of ways it is, so really related to this story. (I did steer him in the right direction to find his previous boat)
 
“Alan,
Am still alive and kicking but sadly, boatless.   I now know what a fish feels like out of water.
It was with considerable reluctance that I sold xxxxxxx  in fact I felt that way about all the boats I have sold.
That old saying about the two best days of boat ownership is a load of bollocks.
 
There is no doubt that a classic wooden boat is a big commitment especially if one wants everything to be as near perfect as possible. The rewards and the satisfaction though are priceless. ( perhaps not priceless)
 
My boat was my shed and I went down to the marina most days. As much as anything, I enjoyed the companionship of my fellow boaties.  Life however moves on and the garden at home has never looked better!
I still look at the boats that come up for sale and dream on and look with interest for the next WaitemataWoodies post.
 
Xxxxxxxxx was one of my favourites and I wonder where and how she is. Do you know anything about her and her owner? Doesn’t seem to feature in the CYA anymore?
 
I have often wondered why no one produces a TV series that features some of the boats that come up on WW and the many other boats out there. Tin and glass included.  I’m sure it would be of great interest to many people.  Could replace one of those fishing programmes which get a bit boring after seeing  a few. Same old same old.
Hope all is well with you,
Kind regards.”

Vagrant N17

46098818_10156766362638700_7973281351057014784_n

46268965_10156766537873700_8682186370644443136_o

VAGRANT N17
 
During the week I was contacted by Stuart Windross in regard to the mullet boat Vagrant, built in the early 1920’s by his grandfather Jack Greenhalgh. I’ll let Stuart tell that story below. 
Then out of the blue while I’m on fb & up pops on the Whangateau Traditional Boat yard page the pictorial of Vagrant being salvaged after sinking at her moorings in Okahu Bay 3 weeks ago. Vagrant was raised and barged ashore on Tuesday, then brought up road by Boat Haulage arriving at the WTB yard on Wednesday. 
I understand that Vagrant  was saved from the crusher by Dino Herbisone, who will carry out her repairs at the WTB yard. 
It would be amiss of me to not mention the wonderful contribution to our wooden boating community the Pam Cundy & George Emtage offer up at the WTB yard. I do not think the word NO is in their vocabulary, they so generously offer up the yard to help stop the demise of heritage craft and then pair the boats up to capable tradesman or people that can repair them if need be or indeed use and enjoy them. The yard can be contacted via email at 
“Further to the discussion regarding the builder of the mullet boat Vagrant I have followed up my post confirming it was built by my grandfather Jack Greenhalgh with a delve in the family photos. 
Attached please find photos of Vagrant  N17 under construction and one of her sailing close to the camera in light winds bow on.  These are verified as they have her name inscribed on the back.
The other pics below, are of what I believe to be an 18 footer named Vim that my Pop John (Jack Greenhalgh) also built prior to Vagrant.  From one of the photos it is pretty clear that her number is V34.  I wonder if you have any info about her fate as she seems absent from online records and the literature.
John (Jack) Greenhalgh was born 20 June 1901 at Riverhead and died 13 July 1984 at Waitakere Hospital.  He was the middle child of 11 born to Edward Walls Greenhalgh and Helen Ramsay (nee Paterson).  His grandfather John William Greenhalgh, originally a coalminer from Wigan UK arrived in NZ in 1886 to oversee the establishment of paper mills at both Mataura and Riverhead.  His father Edward Walls Greenhalgh also worked in the paper mills both at Riverhead and Mataura later living in Richmond Road Auckland.   At the time of building Vagrant he would have been 24 and obviously younger when he built Vim.  He kept the scale half models of their hull shapes (shaped from Kauri) throughout his life.  My Auntie may know of their whereabouts. I believe that both of these boats were built in the back yard of his parents home at Richmond Road.  As you will see the set up was fairly basic!   
Albert Greenhalgh (Alby Jack’s brother) was born in 1906 and I understand was a sailing partner.  The two brothers were very close, marrying sisters (Doreen) Vera and (Florence) Rita Lee.   Alby and Rita’s son Keith is still active in the Reactor sailing fraternity and daughter Beverley’s husband Jaape Pos was a boat builder (at Sea Nymph I think).  Another cousin was Roy Parris (the well known launch builder).
Jack and Vera married in November 1926 and soon purchased a new home in Kingsley St.  This transaction probably necessitated the sale of Vagrant. A later craft (a dinghy I believe the kids used for fishing trips and floundering in Coxs Bay) was built in the front room of the marital home much to the displeasure of his new wife.
A mischievous and witty character he was always ready to enthrall us with a prank or yarn.  I recall his stories of searching shoreline pohutakawa for suitable bends for stems or knees and cutting the corners off square balks of timber to fashion his masts.  He was a very patient worker in wood or metal.
I have included a photo of Jack and Vera Greenhalgh(with my Mum) c1938
I am not 100% sure if all the fleet shots are of Vim but the colour scheme suggests so (unless Vagrant’s cabin sides were painted darker at some stage).
Apologies for the picture quality as the originals are very small and showing their age”.
N17 Vagrant under construction c1924 (inscribed)

N17 Vagrant under construction c1924

N17 Vagrant 1920s (inscribed)

N17 Vagrant 1920s

Vera, Jack and daughter Shirley Greenhalgh

Vera, Jack and daughter Shirley Greenhalgh

How Not To Be Mistaken For A Plastic Boat Owner

P1240008 copy

The Order Book Is Open For Waitematawoodys T-Shirts

Yesterday’s story on the re-launching of Pacific & My Girl, caused a bit of a stir – nothing to do with the boats, it was all about the photos of people wearing waitematawoodys t-shirts, my email inbox was overflowing with – where’s mine?, where can I buy them? etc.

So folks, it’s been 2 years since I offered up the chance to grab your own WW t-shirt, last year I was just too busy with the boring things in life e.g. work & also getting my boat ready of the Christmas/ NY cruising. This year I’m ahead of the game, for once 🙂 Also the numbers of people reading WW has increased by over 500%, so there are a lot naked woodys out there 🙂

  1. Some background on the T’s – I only source top quality AS Colour garments & we print in-house using old school manual screen printing processes for really tight detail & a durable finish. I’m passionate about WW & will only put the logo on something that is 100% quality.
  2. In terms of colour – previously I printed a very dark blue (navy) T, with white logo. So it’s that again. Over the last 2 years I have printed other colours for friends & give-ways, no promises but I might do another colour – e.g. black, let me know if you had a 2nd pick & I’ll see (no promises) how things go. The logistics of the ordering > printing > dispatch is a little frightening, my lips are sealed on numbers, but the house looked like a NZ Post mail center for a few weeks.
  3. Price – same as 2 years ago $34.95 (gst inclusive) + $5 p&p (one off freight charge, no matter the number you order). If that’s too much to pay for a quality T-shirt, well I guess you won’t be buying one, but I’m not prepared to compromise on standards.
  4. Sizes? Refer chart below. If there was interest I could do a smaller female size.
  5. Ordering – B4 Xmas I’m doing a limited print run, so if you want a shirt/s – I need your order by Friday 30th November, sooner would be even better. I’ll advise payment details when I confirm your order.
  6. What’s next – email me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & advise:

# Your name 

# Postal address

# Phone

# Quantity & size/s 

Ps – Sent in a sealed courier bag, so if you are ordering for a Xmas present, no-one will know the contents.

Pps – Yes, I can send overseas – freight costs tba

Ppps – My models where flown in from Milan for the shot photo, at great expense – they won’t have to worry about ordering a new shirt 😉

Size Guide

Circle December 1st In The Diary – Big Woody Day / Weekend For CYA Woodys

Screen Shot 2018-11-12 at 5.24.52 PM

Cruise To The Riverhead Hotel

P1220871_2

P1200186

Screen Shot 2018-11-08 at 2.10.56 PM
Screen Shot 2018-11-08 at 2.11.30 PM
Screen Shot 2018-11-08 at 2.11.43 PM
CRUISE TO THE RIVERHEAD HOTEL
If you have not visited the Riverhead Hotel by water, its time you did. The Classic Yacht Association (CYA) has an afternoon cruise to the pub next Sunday (18th). These events are a lot of fun – we head up the river / creek on mass & anchor / raft-up before going ashore for a drink & a catch-up. If you have concerns about the route, just follow the boat in front of you & anchor with the others. There will be plenty of ‘old-hands’ to show you the ropes.
High tide is 16:24pm & so we aim to be heading up the ‘creek’ 2hrs b4 HW, its a small tide at 2.8m so I would imagine we will be meeting up in the Herald Island / Lucus Creek area around 2.00pm, so leaving Westhaven area around 1pm. ETA at pub is 2.30pm & departure from the pub approx 5.30pm.
If you are not a CYA member (yet) come along & see what you have been missing out on.
The photo gallery above is a snap shot of past trips – enjoy.
Ps – Wear your WW shirt 🙂
P1240008