Remember Shelly Beach ?
photo by W.A. Price ex Historic NZ Photos ex A Turnbull Library
Shelly Beach, Ponsonby/Herne Bay, was a casualty of the Auckland Harbour bridge/motorway development. Back in 1914 it was the site of the New Years Day Regatta.
Any clever woodys able to ID the motor launch & any yachts?
SORCERESS – Sailing Sunday
Photos ex Lynn Berquist & Steve Horsley. Details Hugh Gladwell
Many of you will be aware of the death of Peter Bailey on 30 December 2015. Peter was a founder of the Mahurangi Cruising Club and revived the racing of yachts as part of the Mahurangi Regatta.
His family have asked the MCC to assist with the sale of his yacht Sorceress which has been on the hard at the old Cement Works in Warkworth for the last few years. Sorceress is a 46 ft Laurent Giles design which Peter had built in Tauranga in the 1970’s. It would be hard to imagine a more imposing or statuesque vessel. Her sister ship Dyarchy is a legendary English yacht and was described at length in Eric Hiscocks book Cruising Under Sail.
Sorceress is triple skinned and was hauled out to have her topsides taken back to bare wood and glassed. This work has been done but the glass needs to be filled and faired then painted.
She may from the above photos look a handful to sail but Peter often cruised in her singlehanded.
Peter and his boat were an absolute item and the MCC will greatly miss his maniacal laugh, the roaring bow wave and the bowsprit pointing to the sky.
The club would love her to remain part of the Mahurangi scene and the family seek expressions of interest.
To view or for further details call Hugh Gladwell 021 606 409
MAHURANGI CRUISING CLUB YEARBOOK – 2015
The latest edition of this annual publication is now out & about. The 2016 issue (88 pages) is stunning – its a great visual insight into the regatta weekend & a cracker of a read, in the past the stories have been a bit ‘hairy’ but this year they are very cool. (excuse my crappy iphone photos)
I would suggest to grab a copy asap as this one will sell out, which it will at only $15
.
Where from you ask? Any of the below.
1. Boat Books – 22 Westhaven Drive, Freemans Bay – 09 358 5691 or online http://www.boatbooks.co.nz/
2. From the MCC – c/o of P.O.Box 555, Warkworth.
3. On the day at the regatta – but you may miss out 😦
ps nice to see the motorboats featured again 😉
CLASSIC WOODY WEEKEND
Remember : Circle Jan 29 > Feb 5th on the calendar is a great classic boating weekend – 2 regattas (Mahurangi & Auckland) + loads of wooden boating activities – both on-the-water & ashore – details below:
MALIHINI + Anniversary Woody Weekend
photos ex Pam Cundy
Today’s post is a slight mystery – we know the name but that is about all. Pam took the photo in Jan 2016 at Great Barrier Island. Anyone able to enlighten us on her?
19-01-2016 Input from Doug Brown (owner)
Malihini is kept at Gulf Harbour & powered by a 210 hp Cummins and cruises at 14 knots , top speed 19.
She is double diagonal kauri built to a very high standard by Brin Wilson in 1976. The previous owner for 7 years was Roy Patterson.
Q: Where Do You Find The Most Wooden Boats In One Spot On One Day?
A: Auckland’s Anniversary Weekend
So woodys, get the pencil out & put a big circle on the calendar for the weekend of Jan 29th > Feb 1st . Its Auckland’s Anniversary weekend & that means one of the best classic boating periods all year.
For the launches & cruising yachts the weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Mahurangi Regatta & for the keen finishes back in Auckland on the Monday for the Anniversary Day Regatta. For details on the yacht racing & all events see below.
Remember folks the BYO BBQ, band & prize giving on Saturday night at Scotts Landing (6.30pm>) is the biggest gathering of woodys in one spot this side of the black stump 🙂 All welcome, you do not have to be a CYA member or regatta racer, just rock up with your goodies – BBQ’s provided.
VAGABOND – Sailing Sunday
Story alert ex Frank Stoks
Frank who owns the classic vessel Atatu sent me a link to this very cool story that appeared in ‘The Marlborough Express’ newspaper on the 28-12-2015, written by Kat Guggan.
Marlborough woman Viv Murray’s 1926 yacht, Vagabond, has been passed through generations of her family.
Viv said that she has grown up with it, her grandfather had it built and when she was 5 years-old he handed it on to her father, so we started cruising the sounds.
Built in Wellington, Murray believes her grandfather based the design of Vagabond on boats the Americans were building at the time, having seen similar styles in boating magazines from the era.
She and her brother, Rick Holmes, have made alterations to the boat, including an extension to the cabin, but kept its decor largely the same.
“It’s still in the old style … we have changed a few things but we put in old-fashioned things rather than modernising it,” she said.
Vagabond was kept at the Port Nicholson Yacht Club until about 30 years ago.
Click the link below to read the full story – it’s a great tale 😉
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruising/75483136/on-the-water-viv-murray-spends-a-lifetime-cruising-the-marlborough-sounds.html
Harold Kidd Input
VAGABOND was primarily a launch, a motor sailer, or at most an auxiliary like her later near sister NEREIDES. Both were built by B.J.L. (Joe) Jukes at Balaena Bay, VAGABOND for Arthur Moody Holmes (Jock’s father I believe) in late 1925 and NEREIDES for C.H. Mitchell, launched in October 1926 with 28-36hp Ailsa Craig power.
VAGABOND had a 45hp Thornycroft in 1937 but that replaced an earlier unspecified 24hp unit.
She was in NAPS as a patrol vessel 1942-3.
Both these Jukes boats were built for Cook Strait work. No wonder they have survived so well.
Arthur Holmes’ first boat was the little keel yacht NANOYA in 1907 and he was a staunch Port Nick sailor for many years until his death in 1963.
Yacht Porn – Sailing Sunday
photos ex Jason Prew
I ‘borrowed’ the above photos off Jason’s facebook page, I’m sure he won’t mind as they are simply stunning & show off his 1904 Arch Logan classic – Wairiki, perfectly.
The photos were taken around 8.30pm on Boxing Day as Jason was sliding along at 6knots on-route to Patio Bay.
Most old things in life – including boats & people look better in the evening light & knowing Jason, these photos were most likely snapped on an iPhone which just shows how far technology has come – who needs a camera 😉
As always – click any photo to enlarge.
Link below takes you to the blogsite on the restoration of Wairiki – 100’s of photos 🙂
MARLIN (M7) Sailing Sunday
photos ex Alan H & Nick Davenport
Today’s photos are from last weekends 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Center Board Cup & focus on the M-Class Marlin. Nick was out on the water & took some stunning racing photos, below – remember to click on the photos to enlarge 😉
If you missed last Mondays ww post on the regatta – click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/12/20/whats-the-coolest-yacht-club-10-minutes-from-queen-st/
Whats The Coolest Yacht Club 10 Minutes From Queen St? Sailing Sunday
Its not the rnzys or ponsonby cc or even the dyc (ferry ride) – its the Herne Bay Cruising Club (HBCC) & yesterday they hosted the 2015 Sloanes Beach Regatta & Centerboard Cup. I dropped in for what I thought would be 5>10 minutes to take a few photos & ended up staying 90 minutes, the Santa shopping list got pushed out a day 🙂
The HBCC club rooms & its location would have to be one of the best kept secrets in the city, located off Marine Parade & tucked away amongst a stand of pohutukawas its a magic spot to sit on the grass & watch some good-old-fashioned kiwi boating. The kids were even selling home-made lemonade & coconut ice 🙂
Its also rather special – its got major boating provenance – the club rooms were built in 1913 as the Richmond Yacht Club & was a hub of wooden boating activity prior to RCC moving to the Westhaven area.
The location sort of (as in impossible) makes it hard to launch a biggish boat there so its mainly centerboard stuff but there is a very cool membership feature – the club as a few boats that members can use e.g. a couple of Lasers, a Spiral & a dinghy for rowing & fishing + storage for who wish to kept their boat at the club.
Conditions yesterday were ‘very fresh’ as in SW 20>25 knots with 35 knot gusts – this scared a few city boys & girls off but as always the mullet boat’s fronted up + one Idle Along (IA12)
The photos below are from the pre-start & start, I left after that but driving over the Harbour Bridge I could see them stonking down the Harbour, I might be wrong but I think I caught a glimpse of the IA getting into a spot of trouble.
If anyone has the results – email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com & I’ll add them to this post.
Photo below shows Gypsy (L) & Waione (R) hauled out c.1939 at Sloanes Beach. Click this link to read, view more about the club.
21-12-2015 Results ex W. Muir
Yes it was a great day, thanks for the photos. Mullet boat results were 1st on line, and on handicap,Orion. 2nd on handicap TaoToo, 3rd Rangi Manu. The IA broke her tiller while screaming down the harbour with her spinnaker up, she did a spectacular wipe out and was towed back by the PCC Rescue boat.
You missed another fab part of the day, music from jazz combo Hopetown Brown.
Looking forward to next year ( and a little less wind )
24-12-2015 On the water racing photos ex Nick Davenport – remember to click on any photo to enlarge. Also the M Class Marlin will be featured this coming Sunday on ww- lots more photos to see then 😉
KOHEMA
photo & details ex Michael O’Dwyer
Today’s photo is from the Napier Sailing Club & shows the launch Kohema on the clubs opening day in 1950. Of all the photos in the ww library this one would take 1st prize for the most people aboard 🙂
Can any woody tell us a bit more about Kohema?
04-06-2016 photos added ex Ronald Walker
TURAKINA – Sailing Sunday
photos & detail ex Danvers Devereaux via Shane Anderson
Turakina is a very lucky boat, designed by Arnold ‘Bill’ Couldrey, she started life being built in 1949 by Danvers uncle (Leo H Clarke) under his family home in Mt Eden. She is double skin kauri – 30′ / 8′ / 5′, the timber was actually a wedding gift.
Turakina is a sister ship to Tuirangi (C35). Bill Couldrey was a protege of Arch Logan. These 2 vessels look like clones of Tawera and Gypsy.
Leo sold her approx. 20 years ago, then 5 years ago Danvers found her for sale on trademe, in a very poor state, Danvers alerted his step-father Les & his pal Phil Rice to the sale & they jumped at the chance of getting her back. That was the 1st piece of luck, the 2nd was that her new owners chose Peter Brookes to do a complete 2 & 1/2 year restoration on her, the full monty – from the keel up and cabin off.
The relaunch of Turakina featured on ww (link here) https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/10/12/turankina/
Todays post shows some of the early build & sailing photos + her recent restoration. Enjoy 🙂
CYA Patio Bay Weekend 2015
photos ex Alan Houghton & Fiona Driver
Just back from another spectacular wooden boat weekend at Patio Bay, Waiheke Island. The weather was good for the yacht racing but a little rolly in the bay. This put a few owners off anchoring but most bit the bullet & dropped the pick & were rewarded with another brilliant evening ashore at Margaret & Burt Woolicott’s waterfront bach. It had all the ingredients of a classic kiwi boating function – sun, sand, wood fired BBQ’s, the odd cold beverage, a barrel of rum, fire works & lots of nice people.
The evening was made special by the presentation to Chris McMullen of the CYA Outstanding Achievement Trophy for services to classic boating. See the previous ww post for more details.
Even yours truly got a mention in dispatches – I was the surprised recipient of the 2015 Patio Bay Trust Book Award – for my work on/with setting up this site & ensuring that future generations will be able to better experience our wooden boating history.
Enjoy the photos. Sorry that its light on yachts but conditions did not suit bobbing around in a wee dinghy & by now I hope most people realize that a ‘drive-by’ past Raindance almost always ensures a photo on ww 🙂
Must also mention the magnificent sight of having Viking sailing in the fleet.
I have posted on the CYA forum photos from the yacht post race prizing giving – link here
http://classicyacht.org.nz/cyaforum/topic/cya-patio-bay-race-xmas-party-bbq-weekend/
Yacht race results here http://classicyacht.org.nz/sailing/
10-12-2015 Sailing Photos below ex Carolyn Anderson (Waimiga)
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