Category Archives: Yachts

WOODY WEEKEND AT WAIHEKE ISLAND

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CAPLIN
MANAPOURI
JUANITA
ONEROA BEACH

WOODY WEEKEND AT WAIHEKE ISLAND 

Seems life the weekend just gone was the best time this season for classic boating. 

Geoff Fiebig sent in the above photos from Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island on Saturday late afternoon.

Nice to see MANAPOURI out and about after her extensive re-fit. And the sedan launch – JUANITA looking immaculate, as always.

The yacht CAPLIN is a very salty woody with a huge back story – read here https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/11/15/caplin-a-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity/

Can any one put a name to the rather large ex workboat – can not make out the name – maybe SEA XXXX? 

REMEMBER TO CHECK IN TOMORROW FOR PART #2 OF THE LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT WEEKEND.

LAKE ROTOITI 2025 CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE – PART #1 THE PARADE

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LAKE ROTOITI 2025 CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE – PART #1 THE PARADE

Today thanks to Scott Johnson we get a look at the 2025 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade — stunning, weather and photos that matched the wooden craft.

The day began with the traditional three cannon blasts, signaling the start of a flotilla of 80 classic and wooden boats gliding across the lake – lead out by Teheka Whaka.

Spectators gathered along the Okere arm shore, enjoying a live commentary from the commodore, who shared insights into the history and craftsmanship of these beautiful vessels. The weather was perfect, making for a truly memorable day on the water.

The parade concluded with a picnic and games at Wairau Bay, where the skippers and crew relaxed and celebrated another fantastic year of this cherished tradition.

Enjoy the gallery of photos & remember – click on photos to enlarge ;-)- On Wednesday we will have part two – the lake side picnic.

CLASSIC YACHT  – NIOBE – Sailing Sunday

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CLASSIC YACHT  – NIOBE – Sailing Sunday

Back in Jan 2022 we ran a mystery vessel story using sa photo sent in by Travers Reynolds, the photo was taken by a FG Radcliffe from the early 1900’s and the location was near the Whangarei Heads.

Thanks HAROLD KIDD and Janet Watkins we learnt the yachts name was NIOBE and the photo was taken near Manganese Point when owned by Janet’s grandfather – A R Pickmere, who sold her in 1906.

Fast forward to the xmas/ny break and Lew Redwood posted two wonderful photos of NIOBE on fb. The photos are tagged c.1904, so during the Pickmere ownership period.

BUMPER WW STORY TOMORROW (Monday) – TRIP REPORT / PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE 2025 LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE

PRETTY SAFE TO ASSUME TODAYS WOODY WONT BE ON THE START LINE AT THIS WEEKS CLASSIC SAILING REGATTA …….

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PRETTY SAFE TO ASSUME TODAYS WOODY WONT BE ON THE START LINE AT THIS WEEKS CLASSIC SAILING REGATTA……. 

One of the WW crew was recently doing a dock-side mooch at Westhaven marina and spotted the K-Class yacht HELEN looking very sad and neglected. Check out the size of the oysters. Other than health issues there is no excuse for a craft like HELEN to be in this condition – Bob Stewart would not be impressed.

A Busy Time On The Wooden Boating Event Calendar – five events both local and overseas – circle the calendar. 

1. OFF CENTER HARBOR – Worldwide Classic Boat Show – live on-line now, until March 2nd – WW readers have free access via this link  https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/02/06/worldwide-classic-boat-show-free-access-ticket/

2. Classic Yacht Sailing Regatta – Fri March 21st  > Sun 23rd on the Waitemata Harbour

3. Lake Rotoiti (Nelson Lakes) – Antique & Classic Boat Show – March 1>2 – Details here https://www.nzclassicboats.com

4. Auckland Wooden Boat Festival – Mar 1>2 – a  2 day speaker series featuring topics such as the building of waka, navigation, women at sea, history, environmental and sustainability topics, and boat building. Venue – Auckland Maritime Museum. https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/auckland-wooden-boat-festival

5. Auckland on The Water Boat Show – March 6th > 9th – Venue is Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. 

PARADE OF SAIL – 2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

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©️AWBF2025

PARADE OF SAIL – 2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL

One of the big events during the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, Tasmania is the ‘Parade of Sail’ – the offical opening event. Conditions allowing they get 11 Tall Sailing Ships and over 200 craft sailing up the Derwent River and into Sullivan Cove to mark the start of the festival. 

Today you get to experience the spectacle from about the media boat – a rather large twin hulled motorboat that was perfect for the task. Conditions were a tad challenging for the smaller craft but everyone was well behaved and followed the marshals instructions. 

Enjoy the gallery – only a selection – could only capture what the skipper deemed of most interest 🙂

2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – DAY 6

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DAY SIX – BULLETIN – TUES 11TH

On the big silver bird today heading back to Auckland. Today we have a glimpse at a rather fine speed boat – MISS JAMAR that caught both my self and Angus Rogers eye.

Powered by a 383 ci Chev V8.

2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – Day 5 Bulletin

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DAY FIVE – BULLETIN – MONDAY 10TH

DAY FIVE – BULLETIN – MONDAY 10TH

Today woodys we have a gallery of photos of the 1895 Bailey Brothers built yacht – TE UIRA. She was one of the first NZ designed and built racing craft to be exported to Australia (Victoria, Melbourne).

TE UIRA has had a colorful past and been very close to a Beehive restoration several times. Luckily she found the right owner who commissioned a full restoration that was only completed late last year by Cygnet Wooden Boats.

Won’t bore you with the full details but lost my IPhone yesterday, spent hours visiting lost & found + police etc but there are some honest people out there and later in the day I recovered it. So relived.

Lunch was a shared pizza – very good 😋

2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – Day 4

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DAY FOUR – BULLETIN – Sunday 9th

My favorite woody

Four seasons in one day today on the weather front but all good post mid day.

Some serious culture today via museum and gallery visits then dock mooching to snap the woodys I’d not photographed and then some R&R at the local watering holes. Public holiday on Monday so crowds could be a little OTT.

Bumped into anyone and everyone that matters in the trans Tasman classic wooden boating scene and made a few new friends.

Lots of activity at the Pacific exhibition, with Johnny Wray’s – NGATAKI, stealing the limelight.

Back at the hotel our wallaby mate came around for dinner and bought the whole family 😄

2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – Day 3

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DAY THREE – BULLETIN – Saturday 8th

The first gallery of photos above were taken early evening yesterday, taking advantage of the best light.

Today was overcast all day and a tad cold. A little bit of sightseeing and dining then the ‘Dinghies After Dark’ function at the City Hall. Lots of Kiwis in attendance which is always nice.

It was also time to move on from the fish diet – Beef Cheek Wellington and discovered a new ginger beer ✔️

Also woke up very early and meet a visitor on the lawn, could have been worse eg a snake.

2025 AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL- Day 2

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OFFICIAL OPEN DAY

DAY TWO – BULLETIN – Friday 7th 

OFFICIAL OPENING DAY

Today was when the waterfront comes alive, yesterday you could have fired a shotgun and not hit anyone but overnight and thru out the day the classic wooden craft kept pouring into the surrounding areas.

The highlight of day one is the ‘Parade of Sail’ that sees 11 Tall Sailing Ships and over 200 craft sail up the Derwent River and into Sullivan Cove to mark the start of the festival. At the 2023 festival I was aboard the 110’ brigantine – WESTWARD BOUND, this year I choose the very fast and stable media boat. A perfect platform to capture the event.

Today woodys I post a snapshot of the day and share our culinary highlights- the seafood is next level in Tasmania.

Scallops On A Stick
Seafood Pasta