Tag Archives: Fiesta

Classic Wooden Craft Overnight Trip Up The Wairoa River 

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NGARUNUI + LUCINDA ON-ROUTE TO CLEVEDON CRUISING CLUB
DOCKSIDE STROLL

Classic Wooden Craft Overnight Trip Up The Wairoa River 

Over the weekend we had our first woodys event for the classic boating summer season – a cruise up the Wairoa River to overnight at the Clevedon Cruising Club. Due to lock downs and weather bombs we had skipped a couple of years so the weekend was long overdue.

Given tidal access restrictions the weekend always starts with an early departure to the mouth of the Wairoa River, the smart ones leave on the Friday. 

The weather early (<5am)  Saturday morning was raining cats & dogs, but as if prearranged at 5.30am it stopped and we enjoyed a very pleasant dawn passage. The group gathered at 8.45am and journeyed up the river, always a tad anxious but it was a 3.6m tide so all good.

I snapped a gallery of photos of the woodys that are moored on-route – separate WW story tomorrow.

Our hosts , lead by Commodore Alister (Al) excelled themselves from the RIB on-hand to assist with docking to the world famous (on the river) Saturday night BBQ. The evening included raffles, outdoor fires, a singer and karaoke and even dessert provided. I can report no-one in the woodys group stepped up to karaoke the mike 🙂 Woody Dave Giddens donated several ‘old’ sails to the club which will be repurposed as shade sails around the clubhouse.

If you have never been on one of the trips you need to – the club facilities and hospitality is so traditional /  old school but in a cool way.

Included in the raffle prizes was a WW chopping board… I’ll need to talk to my copyright lawyer 🙂

We eat very well – sorry about the food pix but thats what you have to put up with 🙂

If you think that classic wooden craft are all sub 7 knotters check out the videos below of a couple of the voom-voomers.

(photos & videos ex Jason Prew & Alan H)

MY GIRL
LUCINDA

And a couple of the more relxed woodys

MOKOIA (fenders…….)
RAINDANCE

Hinera

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HINERA
Alan Sexton contacted me the other day concerning Hinera, the Roy Steadman designed / Shipbuilders built 38’ launch. Alan believe that she may have been the last boat built by Shipbuilders. She appeared on the cover of ‘Boating World’ October 1971 edition – copy of article below.

Alan has commented that you can see her obvious lineage from Fiesta, Romany II et al. And maybe built to a budget as the rubber mouldings securing the windows, more appropriate for caravans and fizz boats, did not exactly enhance her.

As launched power was from twin T6 – 354 Perkins that gave her a top speed of approx. 20.5 knots and cruised at 17.9 knots. Alan recalls she was berthed on I pier at Half Moon Bay when first launched, all launches moored bow-in in those days, and her heavy stem and huge flare looked very imposing to an 11 yr old.

Hinera went off Alan’s radar round the 1970’s, do we know what became of the launch?

Fiesta – A Peek Down Below

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FIESTA – A PEEK DOWN BELOW
At the weekends Woody Clevedon cruise I got the chance to have a look aboard Gordon Love’s launch – Fiesta. I first spotted the woody back in late December 2015, anchored in Rocky Bay, Waiheke.
Gordon has owned the launch for 15+ years and Fiesta is a Panmure river rat 🙂
Fiesta was built by Phillip Lange at Hoppers Landing, Wade River in 1964. Build is strip planked 1”x2” kauri, with mahogany coamings. Specs are 32’ x 10’6” x 3’4″.
When launched she had a 6 cyl. Ford Trader diesel engine, this was updated with a 120hp Ford D series in 1986. She is still very much in ‘as launched’ configuration and is a very room launch.
I cruised alongside her on the way back from Clevedon on Sunday and she looked to be a good sea boat with a nice turn of speed.

Classic Wooden Boat Cruise – 72 photos

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S/S Romany

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Arohanui

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Trinidad

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Matira

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Ann Michelle

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Arohanui

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Lady Crossley

Raindance CCC trip Aug2020

Raindance

CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT WEEKEND CRUISE TO CLEVEDON  – 72 Photos 

Lets be honest, a large chunk of 2020 has been very average – locked marina’s, no on-the-water boating and cancelled events. After spending the weekend on-board Raindance, cruising up the Clevedon river and over-nighting with 12 other woody boats at the Clevedon Cruising Club, I realised what I had missed the most was the sense of fraternity that comes with being in a space shared with people who love the same things as I do – woody boats. 
 
The trip up the Wairoa River revolves around a tide window, so it was a very early start for some of us, helped by coffee on-route, the smart ones left on Friday and were enjoying breakfast in a bay as we were sliding down the Tamaki Strait. We were meet at the river entrance by CCC member Barrie Abel who ‘piloted’ us up the river – no opps, so thank you Barrie.
 
Awaiting for us at the CCC wharf was Russell Ward with his steam boat – Romany. The gent deserves a medal – all day Saturday and Sunday morning he was taking the CCC members and families + the woodys for rides. Romany is coal fired and as Russell tells everyone getting aboard – “if its metal – its hot, if its varnished – its dirty 🙂 . I’m a big fan of Romany, but the star was Cooper the English springer spaniel – I could have taken him home.
 
After some wonderful ‘air-traffic control’ we managed to get everyone either alongside the wharf or rafted to another boat that was alongside – soft bumper fenders along the entire wharf makes for very civilized berthing. However – no names, but one woody had to leave the Saturday night BBQ to check that their diesel fired on-board central heating outlet wasn’t roasting the fenders 😉
 
The day was very leisurely with most people enjoying a dockside lunch and CCC members dropping down to view the boats and people having steam boat rides. One woody took the opportunity to buy some fuel from the club’s dockside bowser, seems he forgot to check the level before departing, staring to become a habit……….
In addition to the activities afloat we were treated to some eye-candy in the car park – a stunning 1947 Ford Coupe and a replica 1945 Fairliner Torpedo speed boat.
 
Come 4pm we invaded the CCC club house for the main event – as always amazing hospitality from the club and to use that old saying “a good time was had by all”. It was announced that our visit will be a compulsory event on the club’s annual calendar – so woodys – no excuses for missing out next year. Date to be advised.
 
Check out the outdoor heater – a piece of kiwiana and it worked a treat.
 
Overnight it was a tad nippy, with several re-filling the boat water bottles in the early hours of the morning. But we woke to a stunning day and departed at 10am for the trip home.
 
And the Clevedon Coast Oysters were divine – photo below was my lunch – another set were dispatched as a appetizer – 8.5/10 – not Bluff but on the day as good 🙂
Special note of thanks to David Cook (Trinidad) who is my sidekick pulling these events together 🙂
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Tides Out 🙂  (photo ex Alan Good)

CCC tide out

Fiesta – B.O.I

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Fiesta

FIESTA – B.O.I.

Dean Wright sent in the above photo of the launch – Fiesta. Dean commented that she has lived at Waipiro Bay, Bay of Islands for a while now. The ‘hothouse almost gets a WW tick, very nice proportions, colour and design. In fact if the owner contacts me – waitematawoodys@gmail.com  I’ll give them a WW T-shirt. I’ll need some proof of ownership – eg more photos / details:-)

What do we know about her?

Heads up, don’t get confused with the 31′ sedan topper, built in 1964 by Phillip Lang, also named Fiesta, that lives on the Panmure River. Details on that one at the WW link below https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/01/07/mystery-launch-4/

Fiesta

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FIESTA

I spotted the above launch anchor in Rocky Bay on 30-12-2015, wind & tide were never my friend so I did not get to see if she had a name on her stern.

She does look familiar – possibly owned by an Alloy Yachts employee & kept in the Viaduct for a while 12>24 months ago ???

Anyone able to shed some more light on her?

Andrew Pollard advised she is called Fiesta & was built by ‘Laing’, powered by a 120hp Ford & moored at Panmure.

Harold Kidd Input

AYA records show FIESTA was built in 1962 by “Lang”. She was 31′ x 10′ x 3′ and had a 100hp Fordson diesel. The first owner appears to have been K.R. Buchanan of Arney Road, Remuera who may have sold her to J.J. Lenwood of Balmoral Road in 1973, although I think there may have two FIESTAs at the time.
So was it Dick Lang who built her? He would have been 74 in 1962 but I’m not sure he was still building that late in his life. He died in 1972. Her hull is sweet enough to be by Dick, not too sure about the tophamper though. The strip plank construction doesn’t sound like Dick. There were other Langs/Laings/Langes about in the 1960s, including Philip Lang, who favoured strip planking and he could be the one. Anyone know anything about him?

23-01-2016 – Update – the photos below are ex Baden Pascoe. Baden has advised that she was built by Philip Lang in 1964 (confirms Harold Kidds thoughts) & is currently owned by Gordon Love.

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