Category Archives: Yachts

Kiwi – Sailing Sunday

Posted on by
7
Kiwi 6
Kiwi 5
Kiwi 4
Kiwi 7
Kiwi 1
Kiwi 2
Kiwi 3
Kiwi 8

KIWI  – Sailing Sunday
photos & details ex Peter Midegly

Following up on last Sundays post on the royal p-class yacht ‘Tui’, Peter Midegly sent in the above collection of photos of the 14’ sailing dinghy ‘Kiwi. She was built at the Devonport Naval Base by his late father, Eric Midgley, a shipwright, with the assistance of an apprentice, both employed at the dockyard. ‘Kiwi’ was built in Auckland for members of the royal family, this being the occasion of the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip in 1947.

Unlike the ‘Tui’, ‘Kiwi’ was well used, as is outlined in the letter below from G.A. Vince of the Sea Training Establishment at Botley, Southampton. This letter describes the workmanship of the boat as first class and her success in racing with other Naval 14 footers. In 1952 George Vince, Director of the Southampton Sailing Centre, also won first prize racing ‘Kiwi’ during Cowes Week that year.

Peter does not know whether the Royal couple sailed ‘Kiwi’ to any great extent, but from the 1950’s she was used by a number of sailing organisations & Sea Cadet Units .

Some years ago Peter made enquiries as to what had happened to ‘Kiwi’, and eventually located her at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth. At the time they told him she was in their offsite store in Falmouth.

Peter’s father started his boat building apprenticeship in 1923 with Joe Slattery. He later worked at Percy Vos’s during the building of the ferry Korea and from 1938 to 1950 at H.M. Dockyard, Devonport. His final employment was with the Auckland Harbour Board as a shipwright in Beaumont St. before retiring in the 1960’s.

Elma

Posted on by
2

ELMA
photos & details ex Bruce Pullan

In Thursdays post on ww of the Onehunga Basin, Harold Kidd commented on the launch Elma owned by Bruce’s grandfather, Reg Pullan. Bruce was told that his grandfather was not the first owner of Elma & that her original name was Huia. She was 22 foot & the original engine was a single cylinder De Dion. The suggested builder is Bailey & Lowe (looking for confirmation). The photo above is when she was with a later owner, but still on the Manukau.
Below is an invoice from John S. Gibbons of Onehunga for engineering work in 1923 for work on Elma.

Harold Kidd Input

ELMA was probably the HUIA first owned by W Partridge of Onehunga in 1909 although the raised foredeck is early for 1909. Partridge sold her to T. Higham in 1911 and she disappears from the reports after 1918, probably when Reg Pullan bought her and changed her name probably after his wife-to-be Elma Welch.
There were just so many HUIAs that it’s almost impossible to establish who built this one. Bailey & Lowe built at least one, the 40ft steam launch HUIA for the Seagar Bros in 1902, but I can’t match HUIA / ELMA one to any builder.

A Few Photos From The Start of the 2015 Coastal Classic (click on photos to enlarge)

Woody Weekend

Posted on by
1

Waters Fine ww

WOODY’S WEEKEND

At last a long weekend 🙂 Always seems such a long time between the last & the first long weekends. I know my log book says its over 5 months since I went past North Head but in my defense Raindance has had a winter of mechanical maintenance.

For woodys looking for some boating this weekend there are a couple options, which hopefully will not be too disrupted by the weather.

Myself & a few others will be mooching around Waiheke Island & at this stage plan to get together somewhere for a catch up on Sunday afternoon (late). Nothing cast in stone & will post something here on ww on Sunday.

For those looking for something further afield its the Kawau Boating Club season opening weekend – plenty to do & I imagine the AB’s game will be screened at the KBC clubhouse. More details below.

And – photos please. Pack the camera & take a few classic woody photos & then email them in to ww.

Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island

Posted on by
5

Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island

photo ex Scott Taylor ex ‘Old Auckland’

Today’s photo shows a collection of craft anchored in a bay with a wharf & waterfront baches. The land does have a Rangitoto Island look to it but the baches appear too substantial for the island.

Who can ID the location & some of the boats?

 

Cyrena

Posted on by
9

CYRENA
photo ex Mac Taylor Collection. Details ex Harold Kidd

Cyrena (on the left in the photo above) was built by Peter A Smith, the Alpha marine engine agent in St. Mary’s Bay for himself in 1923. Like W R Twigg, Smith contracted to build launches, his input being the engine which usually cost over half the total price. He contracted out hulls to local builders, usually those handy to his premises in St. Mary’s Bay. This hull was built by Dick Lang before he left for Sydney during the transition of his business to Sam Ford so Sam Ford took some credit in advertising. She was 37ft x 9ft and was fitted with a 25hp Alpha (Danish) engine. Smith named her Cyrena and she was launched around Christmas 1923.
Smith sold her to the Manukau in September 1924. F G “Boy” Bellve of Herne Bay bought her and brought her back to the Waitemata in January 1926 and had her until he commissioned the keel yacht Cyrena from Collings & Bell in late 1938.

Bellve sold the launch Cyrena to A M White of Ngatapa, Gisborne who renamed her Maritza and had her trucked over to Lake Waikaremoana on 6-7 October 1938.

Whats say the woodys re the dark hulled launch on the right on the photo above? And the yachts E24 & A17 ?
The photo below ex classicboatsnz shows her being launched at Lake Waikaremoana.

Harold Kidd Input

E24 is LOLOMA, my old boat and Jason’s too. The twist in her counter is quite evident. She got it when she was teeboned in a race at Whangarei in January 1915 and cut to the waterline. The repairs to her double-diagonal hull starboard amidships were botched. It took me a lot of effort to (almost) get rid of it 70 years later. She was built by J.J. O’Rorke as WARATAH at Arch Hill in late 1909 as a transom-sterned 26 footer with a varnished hull but had a solid counter fitted shortly afterwards,
A17 is NGA TOA built by Colin Wild for the Winstone brothers in 1926. Oddly enough, Boy Bellve, who owned the launch CYRENA and later the Collings & Bell yacht CYRENA, bought NGA TOA with A.G. Taylor in 1946 and owned her almost until he died.

25-09-2016 – photo below from the Tudor Collins collection, emailed to me by Ken Ricketss.

cyrena-1930s

Patiki Yachts – Sailing Sunday + a trip to Waiheke

Posted on by
10

PATIKI YACHTS – SAILING SUNDAY
photo ex Michael O’Dwyer

The rather serene photo above shows a number of Patiki yachts tied up in Ahuriri Lagoon, it was taken just 4 days before the February 3rd 1931 Napier earthquake. The earthquake reduced the size of the lagoon considerably when the seabed in the area lifted (up to 2.7 metres just north of Napier) spelling the end of lagoon sailing to the far Poraiti hills. The photo is hanging on the wall at the Napier Sailing Club.

Updated – to appease Robin E I have added a wee bit more sailing to ‘sailing sunday’ 🙂

Kahurangi (below x2) at Napier – Michael O’Dwyer commented that the Patiki Kahurangi was last owned by a current NSC member Peter Parvin, about 30 years ago. He had replaced some broken ribs and had it moored in a creek awaiting further work. Unfortunately some scallywags deciding to go for an adventure untied it and let drift off into a storm grate which destroyed it.
Peter told Michael they had sailed her once in about 10 knots of breeze and recalls it being quite scary with her massive rig and no ballast.

Maroondah (below) off Westshore Beach

 

Some Chat
Yesterday several classic launch owners & friends went to Waiheke Island for the inaugural Oyster Festival held at the Rangihoua Estate Olive Grove, the day was a brilliant mix of live music, fine local wines & craft beers + the most succulent Te Matuku Bay oysters cooked every which way. And for the non oyster lovers there were plenty of other dishes to sample.
On route we had a a little scare that thankfully was a false alarm, while motoring along approx. 1k from the island we spotted something in the water & turned around. It was a body & the mood on board sobered up pretty fast, closer inspection revealed it was a dummy that Coast Guard had planted as part of an exercise. There was a note explaining this attached to the dummy. All very relived that the day was not going to be distributed by a ‘floater’.

A peek below at the venue & food.

Passed Nereides heading home

 

Wynyards (Lushington’s) Bay + Wirihana 1

Posted on by
16

Wynyards (Lushington’s) Bay
photo ex Mac Taylor Collection

Now I’m sure to some / most of you the bay in the above photo will be very familiar but not to me. I have a good hunch but I’ll let you all chip in. Remember you can click on the image to enlarge & if you click again on the enlarged photo it will zoom in even more.

Wirihana 1
The 2nd part of today’s post is a great photo, below, I found in Mac Taylor’s album, the launch is the first Wirihana (1) – there is a great story found at the link below concerning Wirihana (1), which most likely became Lady Gay (1) + how Wirihana (2) & Lady Gay (2) fitted into the scene. Great reading & a fine example of the ww blog really working.

Wirihana Who ‘Built’ Her?

Update

Seems everyone is right on the button with ID’ing the location – Harold Kidd sent me a link to the Henry Winkelmann photos (post card) ex the Auckland Museum collection below, taken in 1899. It is ‘Rodmershaw’ the residence of Mr Lushington.

I’m very familiar with the location as early one morning during a Mahurangi Regatta weekend, I had to retrieve my #1 kauri clinker dinghy from the beach after it went walkies in the night & washed up there, undamaged. The gods were smiling on me that weekend 🙂

Update from Harold Kidd
The photo below, ex Auckland Museum collection,  shows Mrs Lushington sitting on the ballast of her husband’s Robert Logan-built yacht MURITAI in 1899 at the property.
The 22ft mullet boat on the beach behind MURITAI is the 22 footer BELLE built by Hewson & Melville in 1883 also owned by Lushington. BELLE was converted to a deadwood keel yacht & later renamed LOTUS.

Muritai & Belle (Lotus) c1899

Pam Cundy Input

Pam sent me the photo below of of her partner, George Emtage, grandfather Captain George Samuel Emtage. They lived in a bay just around the corner from the bay shown above and worked for the Lushingtons and the Chandlers on Motuora. The excerpt from the book Jade River tells the story of how George’s family inherited Motuora island.

The Des Townson Story & The 2015 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition – Part 2 – Sailing Sunday

Posted on by
3

The Des Townson Story & The 2015 Classic Yacht & Launch  Exhibition – Part 2 – Sailing Sunday

Today’s post features the yachts, both keel & trailer, that are on display at the Tino Rawa Trust hosted exhibition & gives you a peek at the collection of memorabilia & models also on display.
The show is open today from 10.00am > 4.00pm at the Viaduct – details in yesterdays post (scroll down). So if you are looking for something to do post chapel ;-), come on down.

I’ll let the photos tell the story. Enjoy

Remember click on only photo to enlarge 😉

Tony Stevenson
John Macfarlane
Sue Townson
Bill Townson
Brian Peet
Martin Tusker, Tony Stevenson, Peter Montgomery, Greg Fenwick

Updated – dropped down to the exhibition late this afternoon, primarilly because Colin Pawson told me I had over looked the best Townson yacht on show – Caper. I did have one photo of her, but most of the time I do what I’m told 🙂 so back I went.

So glad I went back & introduced myself to the owner & had a wee tour – simply stunning, & yes would get my best in show. Check out the bilge photo, I suspect the pump does not see a lot of use, a duster would be all that is required 😉

I also had a peek on-board the launch Aristos, she too is a work of art.

 

The Des Townson Story & The 2015 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition – Part 1

Posted on by
13

The Des Townson Story & Aristos

Yesterday I was privileged to attend the opening of the 2015 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition, now if you have been living under a stone & are not aware of this annual event hosted by Tony Stevenson & the Tino Rawa Trust, the concept is simple but a winner. Each year one of our wooden boat designers is profiled & a collection of their craft is assembled & displayed. In recent years profiled designers have been – Jack Brooke & Colin Wild, in 2015 the event celebrates the life & work of Des Townson MNZM. In the nicest way, Des Townson was a freak, every boat from a 2.4m pram dinghy to a 12m cruiser/racer he designed was a work of art. A Townson will always be the prettiest yacht in the bay, their classic styling & purity of form was a winner on launch day & remains so to this day, over 3,500 Townson yachts have been built – that alone is impressive.

Today on ww I have featured Des’s one & only motorboat, Aristos, the 11.4m displacement launch built by Noel May. Tomorrow I will open the flood gates & post photos from the opening function & the fleet of stunning yachts on display at the Viaduct.

The event runs today & tomorrow, between 10am & 4.00pm at the Viaduct, alongside the draw bridge & in front of the old Team NZ base, entry is free & if you are passionate about beautiful boats you need to be there – the collection of craft on & off the water & Townson memorabilia is amazing.

As part of the celebration – the Tino Rawa Trust have produced a glossy journal profiling Des Townson’s life & designs – its available at the exhibition marquee for $20 & this wonderful publication complied by John Macfarlane, has to  be, a must have in your collection. I have two copies to give away to woodys – I’ll make it simple, the first two woodys that correctly name the design of the Townson yacht that was the most popular i.e the most built (excluding the Electron model yachts)- I’ll give you a clue- it shared its name with a popular model of automobile, wins a copy. Because some of you struggle to work out how to use the ww comments section 🙂 I’ll split the prizes – one via email entry at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & one via entry in the comments section. You can only enter once 😉

Now Aristos – even with the addition of a flying bridge & her once varnished coamings hidden under battleship grey paint, she is a Townson & that means that no matter what angle you view her, she is simply beautiful. Why only one was built I do not know, maybe there is a story there?

So folks, make your way to the waterfront this weekend & take advantage to this once only exhibition that showcases one of our most successful & talented craftsman.

Now the owner of Aristos, Ray Haydon, is a very clever & talented man with his hands – a wee example of his skills can be seen on the bow of Aristos, Ray has designed & crafted an anchor turner (ensures the anchor is presented correctly when retrieving by winch) – it looks a little like a big bottle opener, but I can assure you it will be ‘fit for purpose’. Rather than paying for the imported Italian ones, someone needs to market Ray’s design 😉

Tight Racing – Sailing Sunday

Posted on by
6

Tight Racing – Sailing Sunday

photo ex Mac Taylor Collection

Asking woodys to ID the race would be a big ask 🙂 so maybe we just ask that we match the yacht names to the sail numbers. From L>R its – E34 / L18 / A11 / E21 / E11 / A16 / A2 / H6 / B20 .

And if you wondered why we refer the boats as – shes , below might be the answer.

13m Marina Berth For Rent
If anyone is looking for a 13m marina berth at Gulf Harbour? one of the private apartment berths (extra security) is available on a long term / permanent basis. Email address below for details.   kenpat@ihug.co.nz