Jack Brooke Mystery Launch
Todays woody is only a mystery because the seller didn’t disclose the vessels name 😦
What we know is she is 36’ in length, with a 10’ beam. Built in kauri utilising carvel construction and launched in 1962.
Powered by twin Ford 65hp Diesel engines, cruises comfortably at 8>9 knots.
Anyone able to tell us more about the boat – name, builder, history etc 🙂
WOODYS STILLWATER / WATERFRONT PICNIC – NEW DATE – APRIL 15TH
Feel Good Sunday
Today’s photo shows the yacht Nga Toa alongside the wharf in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island and is dated 1933. It would appears that the bedding was getting some time in the sun. Photo ex Russell Brooke. To me its one of the coolest old woody photos I have seen.
Sadly Nga Toa was wrecked in Wellington in the 1980’s
On the subject of the Brooke family and seeing its Easter I have reproduced below one of Jack Brooke’s drawing, recording the travels of their yacht Kiariki over Easter 1962, when they cruised to Kawau Island, Leigh and Waiheke Island and a few points in-between. Crew: John Brooke, R Hunt snr., R Hunt jnr., R Smith & W Bass.
Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise, over 20 of them have appeared on WW thanks to son Robert making them available. Search Jack Brooke Cruise Collection in the WW search box to view more.
Beautiful Classic Cruiser – Racer
Let me draw your attention to a scary fact – there are only 10 weeks till Christmas Day, so my question to you is – will you be on the water over the Christmas / NY holiday period?If you have been thinking that 2021 is the year you move up to owning a classic wooden holiday home – read on.
KIARIKI
Woodys with age-less classic looks, racing pedigree and un-rivalled provenance are very few and far between in New Zealand, so when the time comes for an owner to start looking for the next custodian, the drums start beating.
The yacht Kiariki was designed by owner Jack (John) Brooke and built by John / Jack Logan / John Salthouse and launched in 1959. Using the best kauri, her specs are 40’ x 8’9” x 6’. During the Brooke family ownership period she was always one of the top 3 yachts in the K Class fleet. But to the Brooke family Kiariki was as much a family cruiser as a racer, and John Brooke had a wonderful ritual of recording every cruise in the form of a chart overlaid with caricatures of notable and amusing events – refer examples below.
After a period of ownership outside of the Brooke family – Russell Brooke acquired Kiariki back in 2009, completing the ownership circle – grandfather > grandson and commenced a restoration at the Salthouse Yard – Russell’s brief to the yard that originally built her was simple ‘return her to the thoroughbred form she was in when she was launched’. The work included her decks stripped, caulked and painted – new fastenings, teak rails, sea-cocks, hatches and skylights. The cabin top roof was replaced and her interior was refitted. Not surprisingly her planking did not need repair – originally fitted by Jack Logan, his perfectionist approach meant the hull was still as good as it was when it was new.
I would recommend that anyone interested in Kiariki or in fact the K Class, should purchase a copy of the magnificent book ‘K CLASS – The Hauraki Gulf’s Iconic Racer – Cruiser’.
Chatting to one of the leading lights of the K Class division, they had this to say “Kiariki is one of the faster and larger boats in the fleet and of course with great provenance. I was on board a few years ago and she certainly appeared to be one of the best in the group”. Another K Class owner commented that he recalls that in Kiatiki’s last season of serious racing, she beat Katrina (one of the fastest boats in the fleet – then and still today) across the line in 11 straight starts – so whilst a very comfortable cruiser, to use the horse racing term – Kiariki has got legs.
I can advise that we have been tasked with finding the next custodian for Kiariki – so woodys if you or someone you know wants to be cruising this summer – initial expressions of interest to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
30-10-2022 UPDATE – Kiariki has had a post winter tidy up, and will be ongoing detailing over summer. The K Class would have to be one of the smartest looking keelers afloat.
CLASSICO
A few weeks ago I was tipped off by Adrian Pawson that one of his buddies – James Ledingham, had ‘acquired’ a very special Frostbite named Classico, one of things that makes her special is that she was built but never launched, so effectively is a new boat. Adrian is the owner of – Kiteroa, the ex Brooke family boat, which Adrian has restored and ’tweaked’ a little, thats her in the photos with the orange hull.
I was onto James quick smart to get more details. But before that I have to say how cool it is to see these ‘young’ sailors getting into the classic wooden dinghy sailing scene. The guys sail out of Taikata Sailing Club in West Auckland (Te Atatu), on a good Sunday there are upwards of 15 Frostbites racing. Both Adrian and James would be too modest to say this – but both work at the very pointy (high tech) end of world sailing, which makes their passion for these woodys even more special 🙂
Adrian also supplied for our review (see below) a copy of Doug Sharp’s secret copy of the ‘Frostbite Go Fast Tips’ by Kevin Lidgard.
I’ll let James tell the story –
“Recently I was fortunate enough to purchase ‘Classico’ a wooden frostbite dinghy.
What made this boat unique, aside from her immaculate timber detailing, was that she was brand new and had never been sailed. Something of a rarity in the frostbite class these days.
‘Classico’ is the result of a labour of love by her builder and previous owner David Strickett (Brother in law of Rex Maddren – a well-known Frostbite sailor and champion in his day). Looking for a wooden boat project and with a love of the clinker style, the Frostbite dinghy was a natural choice for David to get stuck into. Having picked up his wooden boat building skills at Carrington Tech under the guidance of Robert Brooke (son of Jack Brooke, who designed the original frostbite back in 1937) he was certainly well equipped to tackle such a build. Robert helped him source some temporary frames from Wakatere Boating Club and he got stuck in.
The boat is built in kauri, the majority of which was sourced from a farmer in Mangamuka, just south of Kaitia. The exception was the single piece transom, which came from a kauri slab that David already had in his garage.
Many hands make light work and during the build David sought help with the planking and ribbing from Robin Dew, who had built several wooden Frostbites himself. Whangarei boat builder Nick Rodokal also lent a hand in constructing the gunwhale, having previously built David a Lotus 9.2 (Pursuit).
David kitted the boat out with modern aluminum spars, a Quantum Mylar sail, and the latest Harken deck gear. Adding a touch of performance to the classic kauri hull.
It was a bittersweet moment to launch ‘Classico’ down at Taikata Sailing Club on the first Sunday of March 2020, ahead of the regular afternoon sailing. She would have been equally at home in a museum (or the lounge!) and once wet and raced, unlikely to ever be quite be as immaculate again. However, they are such great boats to sail I was looking forward to getting out and seeing what she could do. She was appropriately blessed by another frostbite legend, Doug Sharp, and champagne was poured. A successful first sail ensued with minimal leaking.
While the quality of the boat couldn’t be faulted her performance was an unknown. However, she certainly seems to be fast (when the skipper sends her in the right direction) so far grabbing a 2nd in the first race of the Taikata Sailing Club winter series held earlier in March.
I plan to race her regularly down at Taikata Sailing Club, where the Frostbite fleet is thriving – with 12+ boats on the start line every fortnight. Wooden boat enthusiasts are welcome to come down to the club and have a yarn. There are a good number of well-kept and restored timber Frostbites amongst the fleet, and no shortage of stories!
The name ‘Classico’ stems from a holiday dinner in Tuscany where David and his wife were enjoying a bottle of traditional Chanti wine – Chianti ‘Classico’.”
FATHERS DAY (Sept 2nd) ALL SORTED FOR YOU
Now the question – what was Jack Brooke awarded an O.B.E. for in 1948?
So far there have been over 2,000 classic wooden boat stories featured on waitematawoodys & the viewing numbers (3,300,000) have grown from a dozen people to over 80,000. I have had some loyalists from day one but the big numbers have happened in the last 2 years – so not everyone will have been exposed to all the stories. Over the Christmas / NY period I have decided to take a peek back in time & feature some of the gems from the early days. Enjoy.
Have a great holiday & remember to take the camera / phone with you & snap a photo of any woodys you see. Email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Jack Brooke Collection #7 – RNZYS Centennial 1871 – 1971
waitematawoodys again thanks Robert Brooke for making the remarkable drawings done by his father, Jack Brooke, available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise, this one was done to record the RNZYS Centennial celebrations in 1971. Today’s post is the seventh of several – enjoy.
Blow up / enlarge the drawing to view all the historic events recorded – One Ton Cup win, Woman admitted as members, Charter to wear the Blue Ensign, Charter to wear White Ensign, the list of Distinguished Guests & more. The drawing of Kiariki just illustrates how talented Jack Broke was.
To view Jack Brooke’s other drawings type Jack Brooke in the ww search box.
Heads Up – over the weekend I will be postings a cracker of a read so make sure you check in 🙂
So far there have been over 2,000 classic wooden boat stories featured on waitematawoodys & the viewing numbers (3,300,000) have grown from a dozen people to over 80,000. I have had some loyalists from day one but the big numbers have happened in the last 2 years – so not everyone will have been exposed to all the stories. Over the Christmas / NY period I have decided to take a peek back in time & feature some of the gems from the early days. Enjoy.
Have a great holiday & remember to take the camera / phone with you & snap a photo of any woodys you see. Email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #6 – Matanui 1966
waitematawoodys would again like to thank Robert Brooke for making the remarkable cruise drawings done by his father, Jack Brooke, available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise. Today’s post is the sixth of several – enjoy.
The above drawing records the travels of Matanui during a ‘boys’ weekend fishing trip in 1966 to the Needles. They departed Friday morning & returned early Sunday morning. Check out their course on the chart & the times recorded – given the distance & time, I’m surprised they caught any fish. The haul was 23 hapukau, a lot of snapper, a few sharks & a cod or two. From the illustration of ‘El Capitano’, Jack can’t have had much luck with the fishing rod 🙂
The crew was made up of Jack Brooke, Joe Kissin, John Ellis, Ralph Scott & Gordon Bliss. Most of this crew did the same trip 11 years earlier (1955) – type Jack Brooke in the ww search box to view the previous cruise drawings.
So far there have been over 2,000 classic wooden boat stories featured on waitematawoodys & the viewing numbers (3,300,000) have grown from a dozen people to over 80,000, I have had some loyalists from day one but the big numbers have happened in the last 2 years – so not everyone will have been exposed to all the stories. Over the Christmas / NY period I have decided to take a peek back in time & feature some of the gems from the early days. Enjoy.
Have a great holiday & remember to take the camera / phone with you & snap a photo of any woodys you see. Email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Jack Brooke Cruise Collection #13 – Kiariki Xmas 1961/62
Another Jack Brooke drawing, published on ww thanks to son Robert making them available to ww followers. Jack produced a hand drawing on each cruise. Todays post is the 13th featured.
The above drawing records the travels of Kiariki during the Xmas 1961/62 cruise to Kawau Island, Kerikeri (Bay of Islands), Great Barrier all points in-between. Sounds like the weather gods did not smile for the trip north. If Robert or Judith are reading they might like to enlighten readers on the ‘birds & wasps’ reference.
Crew: John Brooke, Elsie Brooke, Judith Brooke, Howard Wallace, Monty Wallace & Richard Purchase.
Mystery Launch Quiz
Win a copy of Robert Brooke’s book – ‘Beautiful Boats’
Ok woodys the first woody that can supply the boat name, designer, builder & year of launch will win a copy of Robert’s just released book ‘ Beautiful Boats’. The first reply in the ww comments section with all 4 answers correct – wins.
Robert has been collecting classic yacht designs for over 50 years, amongst his collection is work from our most talented & recognized designers – Arch Logan, Chas Bailey, Charlie & Alex Collings, Colin Wild, Bert Woolacott, Bob Stewart, Des Townson, Alan Wright & Robert’s father – John Brooke.
From his collection Robert has chosen 50 & redrawn each design, tracing off the original drawings to present them in a similar format. To add to the wow factor, Robert used the drawing equipment & ships curves that were once used by either Arch Logan, Charlie & Alex Collings or his father.
The 105 page, A4 size book allocates 2 pages to each vessel with specs & photo/s on the left & the drawings – hull lines, profile, half breadths, sections, diagonals & sail plan on the right hand page (refer Rainbow drawing example below). Its a must have in all serious woodys library.
Robert has very generously donated 4 copies of the book to waitematawoodys so over the next few weeks I will be giving them away as prizes. In addition I also have a framed 380 x 300 rendered copy of one of the Beautiful Boats. I have not decided yet how this will be ‘won’, details soon.
There are thousands of ww followers out there so do not get your hopes up on winning a copy 🙂 I would suggest you visit Boat Books at 22 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven, Auckland & grab a copy for yourself, cost is $60. For out of towners or those who refer the web – copies are available on line at https://www.boatbooks.co.nz/
Its a very limited print run & Boat Books are the sole outlet. Boat Books also have framed copies of the prints for sale – David Glen was one of the first to race in & buy a print of his Rainbow.
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