Tawera

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TAWERA

Seeing we have a rather important yacht race (regatta) starting today, in vessels (AC72’s) that are light years way from what we call a yacht, I thought its about time I posted some photos of the rather beautiful 1935 Arch Logan ‘Tawera’. Seen here at the CYA 2012 Classic Yacht & Launch Exhibition. Somewhere I have some interior photos which I will post when I find them, in the mean time you’ll have to take my word that down below is as smart as the topsides, a little like the cigar bar at the New York Yacht Club.

Rosemary M

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Rosemary M – March 2013 HDK
Rosemary M – Waiheke, date unknown
Rosemary M – April 2011 AH
Rosemary M – April 2011 AH
Rosemary M Rakino Easter 2013
Rosemary M Rakino Easter 2013
Rosemary M Rakino Easter 2013
Rosemary M Rakino Easter 2013

ROSEMARY M

I could be wrong (Harold??, help me here) but I think she is a 1925 Lane Motor Boat.

Seen here in several disguises – white, blue & now back to white. The most recent photo taken by Harold Kidd in March 2013 on Lipton Cup day.

Harold Kidd Info

I think we went through this launch’s highly complex ancestry on the CYA Forum a while back. It would take a page to go through her changes of name and ownership in detail. There is a pic of her on page 93 of “N Z Vintage Launches” as SPEEDWELL in 1925 She was built as ROTHESAY by Lanes in 1915 and was subsequently, MAUDE T, SPEEDWELL, JEAN, and finally ROSEMARY M.

The tale of two Ngarimu’s

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imagengarimu

The tale of two Ngarimu’s

A waitematawoody follower & classic launch owner, Bruce Rowe, has contacted me with a question.

Back in June Russell Ward sent in a photo of him sailing a dinghy between the anchored launches at Kawau Island, in the photo he ID’ed the launch Ngarimu & commented that she was owned at the time by Muir Chilwell.

Harold Kidd posted that Ngarimu was built in 1945 by Fred Goldsboro & named after Lt. Ngarimu VC.

Now the photo (b/w above) ex Russell appears to be of a launch from the 1920’s & does not match the launch named Ngarimu that Bruce owns (colour photo above).

So the question is – do we have two Ngarimu’s ? (most likely) & if so which one was the Muir Chilwell boat?

Bruce is in contact with Sir Muir Chilwell & he may have some old photos of his Ngarimu that he owned in the 1960’s. He was, Bruce believes, the 3rd owner.

Harold / Russell – can you throw & more light on this & Bruce’s boat ?

Harold Kidd Update

Well, My only personal recollection of Muir’s NGARIMU was when she was used as the finish boat for Law Society Regattas when such things were held by the Law Society. They aren’t now for reasons that I won’t go into, but suffice it to say that the Law was once a proud profession, with real people in it, yachtsmen like Muir and several other Judges including Sir Erima Northcroft (ILEX), Sir Graham Speight (VALKYRIE) and Sir Robert Smellie with whom I had the privilege of working under for several years.

So when I saw Russell’s pic of the launch he called NGARIMU and it generally conformed to the image I had of her, I accepted that she was NGARIMU. I did comment that she was “old-fashioned” for 1945. I am now certain that the pic above is Muir’s NGARIMU and that there was only one.

PPS Robin Elliott has just pointed out to me that there are some contradictions in the above from what is written in our book “Vintage NZ Launches”. The book was written in 2004 since when I’ve added 9 years of research. The NAOMIS were always confusing because they all kept their names ans were called often just NAOMI. However, it is NAOMI III in Lyttelton and NAOMI II at Panmure (or wherever she is now) despite what we said in the book at pages 18 and 19!.

Luana Keeps Good Company

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Luana Keeps Good Company

The beautiful 1920 MT Lane classic Luana has just been out at the Salthouse yard (classic’s love railway slips) getting some TLC. Of course a vessel of her caliber needs a service vehicle of a certain standard, meet ‘Cloudy’ a new addition to owner Rick’s fleet of classic cars. This one has a provenance to match Luana – NZ new, her first owner was Sir Robert Kerridge (hence the BK plates) the cinema man. Bob Kerridge had great nautical links having owned Pakatoa Island & the legendary hydrofoil Manuwai.

Menai & Valsan & her Owners.

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Menai 1947/8
Menai 1947/8
Valsan 1948
Menai 2008

Menai & Valsan & her Owners.

details & b/w photos from Ken Ricketts. edited by Alan H 

In the late 1930s, earlier 1940s, Arnold D. Baldwin, a successful business man involved in the paper & printing industries purchased the 1936 (’37?) Sam Ford launch MENAI & used her regularly until 1948, when he bought VALSAN, off Peter Annan, who had renamed her LADY EDITH, which ADB changed back to VALSAN.

ADB sold MENAI to his factory manager, Horry Whimp who loved her, at least as much as ADB & continued to pour money into MENAI, as ADB had before him. HW owned MENAI well in to the 1950s. During this stage of her life MENAI had a flat head Ford V8.

Ken Ricketts met HW’s son, Barry Whimp, as a 3rd former at Auckland Grammar in 1950, they were in the same year & became good friends, & had many happy moments together whilst away on their parents boats, especially at Kawau, at Christmas.

(b/w photos taken by Ken Ricketts show Menai over Christmas 1948 /1949  just after the Whimps had bought her, & taken at Issy Bay & Kawau. The photo of Valsan in Schoolhouse Bay was taken during Christmas 1948 just after ADB had purchased her)

Menai Specs ex Alan H

Sam Ford, Ellerslie, designed and built Menai for Mr W T Reynolds of Whangarei and she was launched at Panmure Basin on 24th of December 1937.She immediately left Auckland on launching and arrived at Whangareri 25.12.1937.

She has a most interesting history, during WWII as a Navy patrol vessel she towed lifeboats from SS Niagara to safety.  She spent many years big game fishing both off Tutukaha and Tauranga and she is fine sea boat. In 1985 new owners did major renovations including the superb varnished interior. In 2007 she was purchased by the late Peter Smith who spent 3 years bringing her back to the wonderful condition she is today.

She is characteristic of the Ford design, a bridgedeck displacement launch, 10.97m (38 ft) length, beam 3.05m and draft 0.97m. Although there have been some substantial upgrades both the exterior lines and interior layout are original.

Construction: Single kauri skin (full length planking) over bolted and riveted frames and floors. The original upper works were built of kauri. In a 1985 major upgrade they were overlaid with 5/8 in teak and varnished.

Power: Lees-Marine 60hp Fordson diesel with 2:1 Lees-Marine hydraulic gearbox.

Harold Kidd Update

A few minor things about the above. MENAI was originally fitted with an 8 cylinder Lycoming engine which was changed to an Osco Ford V8 marine conversion, possibly during her NAPS service. Arnold Baldwin bought MENAI in 1942 when he was skippering her with NAPS and registered her as a British Registered Ship in 1948. According to those records and to the contemporary APYMBA records, Whimp did not own her at all, but that may well have been because he didn’t want to carry on the BR. Certainly, however, the BR records and the RNZYS records show that MENAI was 100% owned by C.B. Menzies from 1950 onwards. How Whimp and Menzies fit together, I have no idea.

Naomi III

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Naomi III

NAOMI III

According to the caption, this her being launched on 2 Sept, 1907 at the yard of Mr. C Bailey Jnr.

photo ex classicgameboatnz

Harold Kidd Update

NAOMI III was the third NAOMI owned by M.A. Jenny of Nelson, Auckland and Wanganui. She was 39’x10’x2’6″ and had a 20hp Gardner 2 cylinder petrol engine. Jenny was a most controversial figure during the years leading up to WW1. Nominally he was Swiss but there were suspicions he was an Austrian and a spy! He was quite a dashing wealthy figure and briefly was Commodore of the North Shore Yacht Club until he resigned in February 1903. He took this launch to Nelson but sold her in 1911 to Downes brothers of Wellington. From there she did the rounds, spending a lot of time in Tauranga game-fishing in the 1930s. I last heard of her she was in Lyttelton owned by John Sole in 2007. Chas. Bailey Jr also built NAOMI I (March 1902) and NAOMI II (November 1902) for Jenny. The latter was until recently to be seen on the hard at Panmure Yacht Club. 

PS Interesting cabin top. Bailey retained the dee-front separate cabin top but put his toe in the water with a raised foredeck as well. Truly a “transitional” style.

Sterling Girl

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Sterling Girl

STERLING GIRL
Built by Bailey & Lowe in 1913. Being a B&L Harold K will know doubt be able to shed some more light on her.

photo ex classicgameboatnz

Harold Kidd Update

Bailey & Lowe were agents for the very fine US-built Sterling marine engine and so were keen to promote the brand by incorporating the name in names of boats they built for themselves and even others eg the launches STERLING (2 of them), STERLING GIRL and the motorsailer LADY STERLING. STERLING GIRL was built for K.R. Taylor of Birkenhead and launched in November 1913. She had a 20-35hp Sterling engine and was built on their 35ftx 8ft 6in launch moulds that had produced a long line of fine boats including STERLING, PRINCESS, COUNTESS etc and which in modified form, produced the later MANU and ROMANCE II. Taylor sold her to Capt. G. H. White during the winter of 1920 when he had commissioned the 48ft schooner-rigged motorsailer LADY STERLING from Bailey & Lowe. Roy Henderson owned her in 1925 and then she was sold to the South Island. I saw her in Nelson in 1999 when she was owned by Ross Power of Christchurch and I think she’s still there.

10-12-2015 Update from John Burland

Photos below in Nelson Marina & she is still owned by Ross Power. Love the Ford Model T wheel.

Sterling Girl

Sterling Girl - wheelhouse

 

 

Same bay, same view

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Same bay, same view

Same bay, same view, same cold beer – only difference a few $000’s

Took this ‘selfie’ of Raindance off the northern end of Pakatoa in early 2012, was standing on the beach & thought other than maybe a few more feet on RD, I was pretty happy.