MYSTERY CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH QUIZ + Win A WW Burgee
Todays photo is very cool, cool enough to be my screen saver on the laptop.
I know the boats name and the location is probably Kawau Island. The photo is a bit of a tease to Mondays story that will be a photo bomb of images of the launch. She would have to be a contender to knock MY GIRL of its perch as the most photographed classic launch on WW 🙂 All disclose the source of the photo etc in Mondays story.
All correct entries go into the draw – cut off is 6pm Sunday 7th July.
Todays photo comes to use from ‘Timespanner’ (Auckland Library Heritage collection via Maurice Sharp fb.
The caption reads ‘Muriel Clark on the balcony at Mansion House, KAWAU ISLAND. 1971, Ron Clark (the photographer I assume).
An unusual light number of boats in the bay, and mostly launches. Maybe the yachts were out racing.
Can we put names to the 4 classics in the bay – refer below enlarged image. And for a change rather than WW merch, I’ll gift a bottle of my ‘ world famous in Devonport’ homemade tomato sauce to the first woody that supplies the correct answers. I’ll rely on Nathan Herbert to be the oracle on ID’ing the boats – Entry via email only to waitematawoodys@gmail.com – closes 7pm 23/04/24 Conditions: Winner must be Auckland based, NZ Post doesn’t like glass bottles 😉
NOTE: as pointed out by K Ricketts todays photo has been developed incorrectly – I have flipped the image toshown the correct orientation – refer below
Recently I was sent the above photos the trial goes like this – sent in by Ken Fyfe via Ruth Thomson from Jim Tatterfield.
The top one is tagged Squadron Weekend and the 2nd one Lady Gay, but I can not spot LG in the photo – both photos are ‘located’ at Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island.
Rather a lot of familiar woodys gathered in those photos.
Below the top photo is another from Jim Tatterfield of Little Jim (A16) in full flight. A looker when launched and still is today. The bottom photo of LJ is ex Mahurangi Regatta a couple of years ago.
CLASSIC WOODYS CRUISING THE HAURAKI GULF – SUMMER 2023/24
Now todays post is the one you have been waiting on – the classic wooden (mostly) craft that I spotted around the Hauraki Gulf over the Dec 27 > Jan 5th period.
Probably the best turn out of woodys that I have seen – seems it just wasn’t me suffering from cabin fever 🙂
As always some photos are good, some not so good – direction of sun and distance dictates that. Mostly I’m taking photos as a visual account.
Enjoy the gallery – broken into locations – I have endeavoured to list the craft in the tagged section.
With 2023 being the worst boating year that I can recall, whilst I held high hopes I also was semi expecting another fizzer – well as most of you will know the Christmas – NY period turned out to be a winner for those that slipped the lines and headed away. Other than New Years eve being very wet (but warm) we enjoyed great launch cruising conditions. Not always perfect but if you picked a spot that suited the wind and travelled at times when conditions were settled it was never unpleasant. I put my faith in PredictWind and they delivered.
We left the marina on the 27th Dec. and chose Woody Bay, RAKINO ISLAND for Night One. Sundown drinks aboard Jenny and Angus Rogers stunning classic launch – Centaurus. Stunning sunset (as above)
Day Two was also spent in Woody Day as the wind had picked up, but very sheltered in the bay + the call had gone out for pizza from the islands Woody Bay Pizzeria, truely the best pizza’s I have eaten.
Day Three we moved around the corner to West Bay as the forecast had a W in it which isn’t normally a good thing at Rakino – very quiet in the bay so again secured a good spot and sent Day Three and Four there.
Morning of the 30th, Day Four was decision time – head north to KAWAU ISLAND or south to WAIHEKE ISLAND – forecast was turning south so WAIHEKE was probably the better call but me stuck with the original plan and head to KAWAU, Raindance is at her best when everything on the nose so it was an ok passage. We choose to anchor for the day / night in Bostaquet Bay , a first for me, and can report a very nice anchorage and again very few boats.
Day Five (31st) we headed over to Bon Accord Harbour and took up residence on one of the RNZYS club moorings just off Lidgard House in Smelter House Bay. Plan was NYE at the recently refurbished and re-opened Kawau Boating Club. Slight problem, the power had been off on the island for 24+ hours so club closed 😦
As we relaxed onboard several helicopters were flying overhead with all manner of kit dangling below – ladders, tool boxes etc – Around 3pm power returned and thank god the back up generator had kept the beer frig working 🙂 . But the rain arrived and continued non-stop most of the night. KBC appeared to get well supported but people tended to come ashore for a meal and retreat to the boat.
Day Six was a lazy day mooching around the island and back to the mooring + KBC
Day Seven we head south to WAIHEKE ISLAND and spent the day in Oneroa re provisioning and hosting some friends from Devonport for drinks, then catching up with Waiheke friends ashore.
Day Eight a lazy day exploring WAIHEKE and moved to Hekerua Bay for the evening. I crossed the dark side and had drinks onboard another friends new non wood boat – putting aside the construction it was very grand (ice maker + water maker – 200L a day) our pup was very taken with the ability to do 360° laps of the boat.
The plan was to head down to the ‘bottom end’ the next day but the forecast included a H & a E so the decision was made to head home after another lazy day, on Day Nine.
The trip restored my faith in owner a boat and helped make 2023 a distant memory.
There is so many photos that I have divided the trip report into two sections, Part One = the trip and Part Two (tomorrow) = the classic boats that were out and about. Todays story is broken up by location – ENJOY
(And sorry for the lengthy, slightly over-the-top title but there are key words that do wonders for the overseas search engines)
Sometimes I come across classic woody content that is just too good to not share, sometimes the format might be an old home movie footage or faded photos straight out of a shoe box – todays one such day. Mooching around the www I came across a Lew Redwood fb post that had a link to some film footage from c.1929 that is stored / saved at Nga Taonga – the NZ archive of film, television and sound.
The footage is tagged – PLEASURE ISLE, KAWAU ISLAND. Viewing it, it quickly becomes obvious that back in the day it was made to promote tourism / visitation to Kawau Island.
Mansion House Bay is wall to wall wooden launches and a few wind thiefs. Just too many to try and identify but some look familiar.
The images above are screen grabs from the movie footage. Below is the link to the movie – its great viewing – enjoy 🙂
Todays photo comes to us from the AKL Library Heritage Collection and is tagged ‘Colourised image – Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island, 1939′
Think I can confidently ID the three launches in the middle of the photo, being – Amakura II > Rehia > Atalanta. (correction – more likely to be Marguerite/Lady Una. Thanks Patrick O’Mera for the heads up)
Todays woody looks familiar but the penny hasn’t dropped with me in terms of a name. She was anchored / moored in a small bay on the right, 1/2 way along, coming into Bon Accord Harbour, Kawau Island over Labour weekend.I didn’t write down the location but if my life depended on it I would say its – Shark Bay.
The ‘game’ poles are very distinctive so hopefully someone can tell us more about the boat
Following on from last Sundays story on the launch Sobrine at Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island – today we have another woody photo from the same bay. Again from the Parsonson family collection via Mitchell Hutchings fb.
In the background we see the ‘CeeBee Air’ Grumman Widgeon, most likely piloted by Fred Ladd taxiing into the bay – a common sight back then.
So woodys – can we put a name on the launch?
REFRIGERATION ON BOATS
A blatant commercial plug today – I recently had the frig/freezer serviced on Raindance, the difference is staggering – ice cold beer and I was in the dog box for freezing the wine….
I use Extremely Cool – run by Darrin Kennedy, all frig work but a whiz on compressor driven set ups. Not long to Xmas so book a service asap at Darrin.excool@xtra.co.nz
And a blonde question – why do Heineken bottles freeze much faster than Corona bottles? I asked that question at KBC on Saturday night and was told that it was due to what the Mexican brewers do in the tanks before being exporting to the USA …. Hopefully an urban legend 🙂
NEW WOODY EVENT – THE WOODY BOOT SALE IS BACK ON AGAIN – SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER – VENUE = THE SLIPWAY MILFORD – FULL DETAILS THIS SUNDAY ON WW
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