Summer / New Year 2019 Raindance Cruise Photo Gallery – 70+ Classic Wooden Boats

img_0421

p1040669

p1040639

p1040644

p1040678

p1040686

p1040719

p1040726

p1040760

img_0416

img_0419

p1040761

282′ – Available for rent NZD$970,000 week

img_0422

Very cool packaging design & yum

Summer / New Year Raindance Cruise Photo Gallery – 70+ Classic Wooden Boats

The above gallery is a selection of photos I mostly took at random over the 12 days we were floating around the bottom end of Waiheke Island. I apologise for the quality of some, but the light & direction I was heading were not always my friend in terms of image quality. I just wanted to record & showcase some of the craft out & about over the holiday period. Remember click photos to enlarge 😉
Like most people in the upper north island we were gifted with stunning weather – I rolled the cockpit canopy clears up on day one & rolled them down again when we returned to the marina 12 days later. I can honestly say that it was the best cruise we have had aboard RD, just perfect.
For those of you that were cruising in other parts, email in some photos so we can share.
Even last week the weather remained near perfect, & allowed me to get the sandpaper & Awlwood (Uroxsys) out & re-varnish RD’s trim – 9 coats, looks very smart.
As I write this I’m hoping for some rain, the garden is crying out for a downpour.
Mahurangi Regatta is fast approaching, I say it every year but in terms of vessel numbers & location, it has to be NZ’s premier classic wooden boating event. Put a circle around Saturday, Jan 26th in the diary & make the effort to be there. More details closer.
Check out WW tomorrow for some great photos from the Bay of Islands Tall Ships Regatta – there will even be a photos of Tony Stevenson on the helm of a classic, its been a while 😉

Lady Thelma

lady thelma stern

Lady Thelma – I wonder what happened next?

In the above photo of Lady Thelma it appears as if things are about to escalate, the crew have a look that says – someone has just shouted very loudly that things were not as they should be 🙂
The photo below show a much more relaxing day out – I suspect this was taken before the top photo.
Location – Wade/Weiti Rivers, Warkworth?

To view / read more about her here, click the blue link below. Remember to check out the Comments section as well;-)

https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/07/14/lady-thelma/
Both photos are from the Auckland Museum’s Tudor Collin’s collection.

lady thelma

Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 4.25.55 PM

Classic Woodys Cruise To Riverhead Pub

Classic Woodys Cruise To Riverhead Pub

The NZ Classic Yacht Association (CYA) launch group have amazingly good fortune when it comes to the weather for their events. Saturday was just a day out of the bag – sun, mill pond sea state, cool boats & nice people. The trip was a first for me in that I did not take launch Raindance & instead traveled on Trinidad, Barbara & David Cooke’s magnificent 1965 Salthouse motor launch.

P1220763

On the trip up the harbour we passed 2 very cool steam boats – Puke & Zeltic out for a cruise & enjoying the day.

We do this trip 2 or 3 times a year & a few trips ago added a mid trip raft-up meet & greet to the agenda, its a great chance to say hi to everyone before we hit the pub. A little like the American concept of a  ‘rehearsal dinner’ the night before the wedding day 🙂 If you check out the raft-up photos, all the males are enjoying a coffee & the females have a glass of bubbles in hand – how did that happen.

We had 3 creek virgins making the trip for the first time – Florence Dawn, Lady Jane & Skipper CJ.

P1220785

Florence Dawn

P1220922

Lady Jane

P1220805

Skipper CJ

Interesting to witness the speed of the housing development in the Riverhead / upper harbour area – once all we saw was trees & paddocks, now its houses houses houses. Check out the photo of launches anchored Indian file – the land at the top was all pine trees 6>12 months ago.

P1220878

From the top – Skipper CJ, Florence Dawn, Arohanui, Lady Margaret, Monterey, Silens

P1220842

Arohanui

P1220864

Lunch at the hotel was more casual i.e. less organized than on previous visits & that was a good thing – in fact the food got a big tick from everyone.

 

The day was not without a few oops – two people enjoyed an unplanned swim, no damage other than bruised ego’s & a lesson that when on-board always have two points of contact 😉 My lips are sealed on names, photo below of the 1st oops, no photo for the 2nd – I was doing the Piha Rescue.

Publicans Paula & Stephen Pepperell came out to inspect Trinidad, given their history of wooden boat ownership / travels I suspect a classic could be on the shopping list.

P1220918

Paula Pepperell, David Cooke, Stephen Pepperell

Spotted this smart bridge-decker (Lady Thelma) anchored off Hobsonville Point.

P1220938