Tag Archives: Colin Wild

Royal Saxon

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ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.

Royal Saxon

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

The Sail ‘v’ Power Relationship

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The Sail ‘v’ Power Relationship

In a ww post back in August 2013, I (tongue in cheek) stated that I had found photographic evidence of the exact day & event when the relationship between power & sail soured– 29 January 1953, Auckland Anniversary Regatta. View photo & story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/08/01/yachts-versus-motor-boats/

Well folks I got it wrong, it was much earlier than that – it was early December 1930. In the above photo ex Peter Loughlin’s (current owner) facebook page, we see Lady Margaret (1928 Colin Wild), described in the NZ Herald, 11th Dec 1930, article as a fast cruising launch ‘passing’ some of the M-Class sailing fleet. Passing was a rather polite term for ‘going thru at full chat’ 🙂

For the train spotters Maratea is in the lead (& won) followed by Mercer?? & Manu

Thankfully most classic motorboat owners are a wee bit more considerate these days, can not say the say about the average Riviera owner & a remarkable number are flying a RNZYS burgee 😦

Okareka

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OKAREKA (Ferg)
photos & details ex Ian Nairn, Harold Kidd & John Blundell

Ian Nairn sent me the above photos of Okareka taken when his family owned her between 1961 & 1975 approx.. At the time Ian’s family owned the Britomart Service Station in Custom Street East, Auckland.
Ian is a member of an exclusive ww club, 3 of his families boats have featured on ww – Silver Spray, Lady Pat & Okareka.

Okareka was built by Colin Wild in 1952 (tbc) & when launched her original name was ‘Fergy’, the significance of the name being that her original owner Ted Copsey & his son Peter had the Massey Ferguson tractor dealership in Pukekohe. Copsey sold her c.1957 to Don Brown of Almorah Rd Epsom. It appears Brown changed her name to Okareka.
During the Nairn ownership period they added, with the help of Roy Parris, the dodger over the open rear cockpit. They also installed the twin Ford diesel engines (on the 25th July 1968).

NOTE: In an early ww post Ken Rickett’s commented that Okareka’s varnished coamings were painted white pre 1953, the photos above are dated 1964 so Ken’s memory bank needs rebooting 🙂 Also Ken states that her first owner was Don Brown, which clashes with the Ferg name / ownership link ex John Blundell – hopefully today’s post clears up these discrepancies.

More details on the vessel, her owners & recent photos here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/29/okareka/ – remember to read the COMMENTS section 😉

Little Tasman Gets Some Serious TLC

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Little Tasman Gets Some Serious TLC

photos above ex Ken Ricketts

Today’s post is the 26′, 1925 Colin Wild designed / built Little Tasman, who until recently had been hiding under a trap at Point Wells. Now she is tucked away in boat builder Colin Brown’s shed at Omaha & getting a major fright 🙂
I love it when we see an old girl undergoing this degree of restoration – well done the new owner. I know there will be several woodys very happy to see today’s post.
Nathan – that Kawau race fleet is starting to look healthy, you & Jason P need to shake a leg if you want to be on the start line 🙂
Lots more on Little Tasman here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/20/little-tasman/

Pt Wells photos below

Quite a wee speedster in her day

Linda

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LINDA
photo ex Dean Wright

The photo above of the 1927 Colin Wild Linda was sent to me by Dean who  took the shot at his friend, Lenore Bauern’s, place. Lenore is Bill Swales sister-in-law, the son of Roy Swales a past owner of Linda. Lenore says the shot was taken before Roy owned her.
Linda has featured several times on ww & will continue to because she is such a stunning vessel, perfect from every angle. You can view/read more on her by clicking on this link https://waitematawoodys.com/?s=Linda&submit=Search

Anyone game to attempt to ID some of the crew?

Nice also to see ww getting a plug in the August issue of Boating NZ (below) & in a nice segue, Linda above was restored by Robert Brooke & in the magazine article, the b/w photo of Aroha has Robert’s father,Jack (John) in-frame 🙂

Screen Shot 2015-07-31 at 7.56.21 AM

Harold Kidd Input

It’s clear that this photograph was taken when she was new and in the hands of her first owner, E.J. (“Manny”) Kelly, who was a Squadron member as well as being Commodore of Ponsonby Cruising Club. I think he’s flying the Squadron flag above hie PCC flag officer’s burgee as a matter of correct protocol as the Squadron is the senior club (a well as being a “Royal”). So that’ll be Kelly in pride of place at the wheel.

Emanuel John Kelly (1876-1960) was a long-term launch owner. He ran a business as a metal founder and engineer and lived in Shelly Beach Road, Herne Bay. He had LINDA built by Colin Wild in October 1927 and kept her until Roy Swales of N Z Leadworks bought her. Before LINDA, though, Manny had the  42ft launch DAISY from mid1916 to February 1927. She had been built built for Arthur Brett as ALLEYNE (V) by Tyler & Harvey in November 1908, a double-ender of the Logan Bros type. She started life with a 20hp 2 cylinder Lozier, then moved up to a 30hp 3 cylinder locally-built Twigg in 1919 (I wonder if Kelly did the castings for W.R. Twigg?) (Twigg was killed and eaten by a lion on safari in Rhodesia in November 1925, which is somewhat topical).

Mystery Launches 21-07-2015

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MYSTERY LAUNCHES 21-07-2015
photo ex Harold Kidd

During the recent post on the launch Manana (Raehutia) Harold Kidd sent me several photos of Manana while she was owned by the Seagar family.
Thats her on the left in the photo above – today’s question for woodys is what are the two launches to the right of the wharf ? & while we are at it – the location?

To view / read more about Manana – click link https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/07/17/manana/

And to brighten up the day – some stunning yachting photos from the first 2 days of the British Classic Week -click the link below

A spectacular 2 days of Panerai’s British Classic Week in images.

Update from Hylton Edmonds

From Left to Right – Manana (pre Leon / Chris Brown), Albacora (Pat Edmonds) and Lady Doreen (“Snooks” Fuller / AE Fuller & Sons), – and yes, taken at Otehei Bay, hmmm… guessing around late 50’s?. Due to the fact that Otehei Bay had the Lodge and was an official BOISFC Weigh Station Site, a lot of the Big Game boats  would operate out of there,  (as well as their home bases Russell / Paihia ) over a season. A few of them had permanent moorings down there too. Great Photo of a wonderful era.

Manana (Raehutai)

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MANANA (Raehutai)
photo & details ex Gavin Hargreaves

With today’s post we are looking to see if we can join the dots. Gavin sent me a photo of Manana, his Colin Wild launch.  Gavin has owned her for 7 years after purchasing her from Bill Webber of French Pass who owned her for 20 odd years running a fishing charter business. When purchased she was pretty run down with what appeared to be the original interior. Gavin spent many hours and money giving her the love she deserves. The only difference in looks now is she has a fly bridge and a cut in stern leading to a boarding platform apart from that she still looks as pretty as the day she was launched.

Now back in 2013 via Adrienne, Dave Jackson sent in the photo below of a launch that he thinks was Raehutai, that Bill Seager changed the name to Manana.
So the question of the day – are these the same boats? For easy of comparison I have dropped both photos into a slide show.

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Harold Kidd Input

Bill and Gerry Seagar got the design from Colin Wild, probably the last he ever did. They got her built at Chas. Bailey & Sons because, effectively, they owned that company at the time. Harry Pope was the foreman on the job.
The two brothers were notorious for their barneys with each other. Bill wanted her called REHUTAI after the two steam launches the family had built in the 1910s but Gerry wanted her called MANANA. She was launched as MANANA.
Photo below of her in Seagar ownership.

Lady Claire

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A LADY CLAIRE QUESTION
photo & details ex John Wicks

Now Lady Claire has appeared in detail on ww before but I have had a request via John Wicks from her owner, Bruce Carter to see if any woodys can ID the people in the above photo. The photo was supplied by Rebecca Hayter (Boating NZ) . No one knows anything about the photo but John feels it could be pre WWII.
She was a magnificent looking launch & must have been one of THE boats in her day.
To read / view more on her click this link   https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/02/lady-claire/

Remember you can click on the image to enlarge, then click on ‘View full size’, then move the magnifying glass icon over the image & then click on the area you want to enlarge further.

Photo of Lady Claire & Lady Eileen hauled out together – may 2014 ex Ken R

LADIES EILEEN & CLAIRE Late May 2014

25-09-2023 Update ex John Dawson – photo below of Lady Claire berth near the old Wilson cement works in Auckland, now the site is known as Silo Park

Mera

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photo ex Colin Pawson

MERA

photo & details ex Colin Pawson

I can not tell you much about Mera other than she was built in 1957 by the Algies brothers to a Colin Wild design. She has been restored by the grandson – Mathew Tickle. The above photo was taken at Gt Barrier Island earlier this year.

What do we know about her?

Colin Wild Yard – Stanley Point, Devonport

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Colin Wild Yard – Stanley Point, Devonport
photo from the John & Judy Salthouse Collection

Todays photo was sent to me by Mike Drummond, with the permission of Judy & John Salthouse & was taken during John’s time at the Wild yard.
It looks a little familiar – possibly posted on the CYAF a few years ago & I recall Harold Kidd ID’ed the vessels. I could be wrong…….. ?

Can we attempt to do a L>R listing.

Note: thanks to Mike digitizing the Salthouse album & Judy & John kindly agreeing to share it with ww, we will have some great content coming up. Mike has a interesting link to Colin Wild in that his house is on the site of Wilds yard. Who knows one day we might get Mike off that 40knt+ foiling cat & into a Col Wild classic 🙂