Tag Archives: Loloma

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LOLENE

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LOLENE

Yesterday WW was contacted by David Evans regarding the launch LOLENE. The launch was owned by David’s parents – Val & Joan Evans, who purchased LOLENE c.1975 and spent approx. 20 years cruising from the Far North to the Mercury Islands, with their many friends and David’s younger sister. David commented that this mother was devastated when in 1994 the family sold her, as Val wanted a yacht. During their ownership LOLENE was berthed at Half Moon Bay marina.

Back in April 2014 LOLENE made a brief appearance on WW, link below. At the time we learnt from Harold Kidd that Billy Rogers built LOLENE for himself around 1963. Certainly she was first registered in his name with APYMBA at his then Wiilliamson Ave., Grey Lynn address. Billy had owned the 28ft keel yacht LOLOMA as a young man and was deeply fond of her. As a result some of his boats and children had the letters LO and LOMA in their names eg LADY LOMA in 1949. Close sister ships were IOWANA (I1966) built for Dr. Kreichbaum and still in the hands of the Shorty Sefton/Pollard family and LADY FLORENCE (1966) built for Hedley Kendall. 
Subsequent owners of LOLENE have included K.D. Orell, Takapuna (1973), John Cossar 1989-95), Gary Hogg (1995) and Ken and Rhonda Blakie (2001).
WW April 2014 https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/08/lolene/

In the last photo we see David’s mother and father with their great friends who they cruised with a lot. From left. Betty Russell, Joan Evans, Harry Russell and then Val. (Valintine) Evans.

Cyrena

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CYRENA
photo ex Mac Taylor Collection. Details ex Harold Kidd

Cyrena (on the left in the photo above) was built by Peter A Smith, the Alpha marine engine agent in St. Mary’s Bay for himself in 1923. Like W R Twigg, Smith contracted to build launches, his input being the engine which usually cost over half the total price. He contracted out hulls to local builders, usually those handy to his premises in St. Mary’s Bay. This hull was built by Dick Lang before he left for Sydney during the transition of his business to Sam Ford so Sam Ford took some credit in advertising. She was 37ft x 9ft and was fitted with a 25hp Alpha (Danish) engine. Smith named her Cyrena and she was launched around Christmas 1923.
Smith sold her to the Manukau in September 1924. F G “Boy” Bellve of Herne Bay bought her and brought her back to the Waitemata in January 1926 and had her until he commissioned the keel yacht Cyrena from Collings & Bell in late 1938.

Bellve sold the launch Cyrena to A M White of Ngatapa, Gisborne who renamed her Maritza and had her trucked over to Lake Waikaremoana on 6-7 October 1938.

Whats say the woodys re the dark hulled launch on the right on the photo above? And the yachts E24 & A17 ?
The photo below ex classicboatsnz shows her being launched at Lake Waikaremoana.

Harold Kidd Input

E24 is LOLOMA, my old boat and Jason’s too. The twist in her counter is quite evident. She got it when she was teeboned in a race at Whangarei in January 1915 and cut to the waterline. The repairs to her double-diagonal hull starboard amidships were botched. It took me a lot of effort to (almost) get rid of it 70 years later. She was built by J.J. O’Rorke as WARATAH at Arch Hill in late 1909 as a transom-sterned 26 footer with a varnished hull but had a solid counter fitted shortly afterwards,
A17 is NGA TOA built by Colin Wild for the Winstone brothers in 1926. Oddly enough, Boy Bellve, who owned the launch CYRENA and later the Collings & Bell yacht CYRENA, bought NGA TOA with A.G. Taylor in 1946 and owned her almost until he died.

25-09-2016 – photo below from the Tudor Collins collection, emailed to me by Ken Ricketss.

cyrena-1930s