KAWAU ISLAND

Aside from school trips to see the wallabies, I like a lot of us, had my first Kawau Island boating experience via RNZYS race weekends. I can still picture Ken Lusty’s very large dinghy on the beach on Saturday night, filled to the gunnels with ice cold cans of beer & being invited for whiskey & milk for Sunday breakfast on the commodores boat………….. how we all survived god only knows 🙂

I was recently lent by Barbara Cooke a copy of the book ‘Memories of Mansion House – Kawau Island, NZ’ by Nora Creina Wilson. This insight into life on the island would have to be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the gulf & classic wooden boats. Needless to say, I very quickly snatched a copy of my own off trademe for the princely sum of $8.00. It now sits on Raindance alongside Johnny Wray’s ‘South Sea Vagabonds’.

Buy a copy or borrow one from the library, you have to read it, the photos alone are worth viewing – the island will not be the same post reading.

ps – speaking of Johnny Wray’s master piece – I’ll be posting details soon about the re-print (#5 ) of this very special book, which will co-incde with the re-launch of the restored Ngataki, the yacht that Johnny built & undertook his adventures in. Only yesterday I lent my (old) copy to an young 8 year old Opti sailor, who I hope will be wow’ed by the book. I took the photo below to remind me who currently has the book – its my latest trick, sick of people that do not return books. A few years ago I was offered a book to read & when I opened the dust cover, there was my stamp…………… & they still swore black & blue it was theirs 😦