Valdora – E Class – E19
photo ex Roger Guthrie ex Sue Robertson
Roger spoted this photo while visiting Sue & Iain Robertson. The owner of E19 at the time the photo was taken was Eric Paton, father of Sue. Like most of the yachties from the older days Eric was a bit of an adventurer – he took flying lessons from the Walsh Bros.
Anyone able to shed some light on E19 & what happening to her.
ps -sorry about the photo it was taken of a framed print (thru glass)
Update from Robin Elliott
That’s the much-travelled Valdora, owned by Eric Paton 1922 through to 1924.
Built by Charlie Gouk in 1904 as a centre boarder, probably a Rudder design, for Charles Palmer. She often raced in the open centreboard ‘patiki-type’ divisions because she was excluded from racing against keelers and could not conform to the new mullet boat restrictions that were being formulated around the same time.
She took E-19 when the new numbering system was introduced in 1921. Billy Rogers bought her in 1925 and a season later, sold her to the Manukau.
She returned from the Manukau in 1930, purchased by R. Curry who had Joe Slattery convert her to a keel yacht – a very big deadwood. Her E-19 sail number had been re-issued and she took number E-29 (in those days a boat lost its sail number if it left the Waitemata – tedious long story, too long for sunday) .
She went through a number of owners, probably more than I have recorded and disappears after 1950. Probably just cruising, but may have surfaced in Wellington in the 1960’s. There was a Valdora registered with Port Nick in 1964, and later with Mana Cruising club in 1973. Possible but seems unlikely though.
Offered for sale in Traditional boat Magazine in May 1989 in Auckland.
She was still sailing and I saw her in 1991 on the hard at Okahu Bay having repaint. During the 1990’s she was a regular on the Okahu Bay slipway. She does not appear to have ever been registered with NZYF/YNZ.
I last saw her 5/1/2009, Tied up alongside Fullers workshop at Opua in a fairly messy, un-loved state and later on a mooring across the other side. She wasn’t there last time I went in to Opua.
Photos below from Jason Prew (c.2003)
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