Tag Archives: Lady Ava

LADY AVA – Unseen Sinking Photo

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LADY AVA – Unseen Sinking Photo

Back in June 2020 we ran 1/2 a story on the 1931 Ernie Lane (Picton) built launch – Lady Ava (once named Miss Ava). The original story was about her sinking but due to the then owners situation it was decided to ‘dilute’ the story e.g. no photo of her demise. Link to the 2020 story below.

Well three years have past so today you get to see her joining the submariners club. Last I heard she was secured near/alongside the Leader Boat Builders shed on the Panmure River. Photos below taken not long after her recovery.https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/06/04/alpheus-a-peek-down-below-lady-ava-sinks/

Can we get an update on Lady Ava’s current situation.

Update: More photos below ex Mark Laughlin

Alpheus – A Peek Down Below + Lady Ava In Trouble

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ALPHEUS – A Peek Down Below

Alpehus has previously made a brief WW apperance and today we get to have a peek down below. The 42’ carvel kauri planked Alpheus was built in 1962 and launched in 1963, thought to be a McGeady design, built by Ben Hipkins.
Power is via a 120hp Ford diesel that gets her along at 8>9 knots.
From the photos (thanks Ian McDonald for the tme heads up) she is very well fitted out, a little ‘dark’ for my taste but who am I to comment 🙂
LADY AVA
I have been advised by Cameron Pollard that Lady Ava has had a wee opps.  A fine ship in her day, good enough to have caught the eye of Harold Kidd. Lady Ava, built in 1931 by Ernie Lane (Picton) was once named Miss Ava has popped up on WW b4, links below. + recent photos below.

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2006 – Mahurangi – Jason Prew

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Auckland Harbour – John Wright

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John Wright

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2015 – Panmure River – Jason Prew

Update – photos below taken by John Bullivant in Feb 2019 of LA on the Tamaki River.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Lady Ava

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LADY AVA
photo ex Jason Prew

Another photo from Jason Prew’s camera during his trip up the Tamaki River with Otira to the recent Chris McMullen workshop CYA visit. On route Jason photographed some of the many moored wooden boats.

Lady Ava, originally named Miss Ava, she was built by Ernie Lane at Picton in 1931. She has appeared on ww before (link below). I wonder if her grey colour is a ‘between coats’ finish, she certainly looked smart when white 😉

https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/08/11/where-is-she-now-lady-avis/

Mystery boats at Lake Taupo

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MYSTERY BOATS AT LAKE TAUPO
photo ex Ken Ricketts

Ok, one for the train spotters today – Ken sent me the photo above but has know idea the location or date. His guess on the date is late 1930>1940. He also believes that Lady Ava is 3rd from the right on the hard stand.
What say the rest of you on where & which boats?

Update from Paul (& Nigel) Drake

In consultation with brother Nigel, here are some more details. Starting from the left, we have ROTHESAY – previously discussed on WW. This is Don McLeod’s “new” ROTHESAY. Behind her is MOANA (Sam Ford). Don’t know the next one. Then we have DESTINY (Coulthard) – then MOANA ROA, locally built of totara and now in Whangarei. On the slip is ARCADIA, still at Taupo. Then WAIHAHA now AVALON, now at Rotoiti as previously discussed.
Across the river we have VICTORY, built locally by Jack Taylor during WW2 without power tools, and still at Taupo (Kinloch Marina). Astern of her the 1907 Logan double ender PONUI, On the hard behind Jack Taylor’s house is EL ALEMAIN, now RANUI, built at Rotorua for a rehab hospital for returned servicemen and still at Taupo. Astern of her is ROMANCE (Bailey and Lowe 1914). In the water, second from the right, is NOMAD, now thought to be at Rotorua. Further upstream, above ARCADIA, is CHAMPION, ex IONA,, now in Brown’s Bay, Paremata, Wellington, under another name.
A remarkable photo – thank you Ken!

Where Is She Now? – Lady Ava

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Where Is She Now ? – Lady Ava

A very pretty launch that we need in the CYA fleet, so the question today is where is she hiding these days – the above photo ex Jason Prew was taken at the Mahurangi Regatta in 2006.

I hope I have the correct name – the only reference I have is the yellow pennant on her stern – Lady Ava

+ need details on her please 🙂 thx Harold – amended as below.

Update from Harold Kidd

Its MISS AVA, built by Ernie Lane at Picton in 1931.
I looked at her to buy several years ago and found her quite attractive. She went to Wellington about 1937, owned by Ernie Lamberg. She was in NAPS at Wellington 1942-3 as Z70. Her dimensions are 36’x9’8″ and she recently was powered by a 6 cylinder Ford diesel. There is a nice pic of her in the Boat Harbour at Wellington in NAPS in “New Zealand Naval Vessels” by Bob McDougall on page 105. She hasn’t changed much since then.

Update to the above from Harold

johntwodogs is quite right. Z70 in that image is not MISS AVA. I wish I had checked my copy of NZNV before posting, especially since the entry in my database had an asterisk for a doubtful piece of info. I have only just found it after 3 hours of searching in my library, face down in the wrong place.
NZNV gives only a couple of NAPS numbers for Wellington launches, Z73 for QUEEN CHARLOTTE and Z78 for ROSEMARY M. I’ve filled in a few, eg RAHEMO with Z76. So what is this Z70? She’s a weird-looking craft, quite large. The only Wellington NAPS boat that seems to correspond is KOTUKU, a 48 footer owned by Wm. H Smith about which I know nothing.
The image below is for the Wellington buffs to chew over. Courtesies to Bob McDougall who had no responsibility for my leap in the dark.

PS Of course QUEEN CHARLOTTE is Z72, NOT Z73 as in NZNV.

Boat Harbour1942502

Updated ‘recent’ photos of Lady Ava ex John Wright. click photos to enlarge

John tells me the ‘young lad’ in the wheel house is ‘Captain Buck Rogers’