CYA Double Banger – Riverhead Launch Cruise + Vintage & Veterans Yacht Race

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Achilles

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My Girl

 

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My Girl + Raindance

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Monterey, Te Arahi, Altair, Manapouri

CYA Double Banger – Riverhead Launch Cruise + Vintage & Veterans Yacht Race

While mooching around under the Harbour Bridge waiting for the launch stragglers , I snapped a few photos of the yacht fleet tuning up for the start of the annual Vintage & Veterans yacht race – Photos below
The weather for the launch cruise was almost ideal, after we had arrived at the Riverhead Tavern and had planted ourselves in the bar, the rain started, so while we by dinning and chatting – the old girls got a fresh water wash down – perfect.
A good turn out for late in the season – 16 woodys – made up of 12 CYA members and 4 woodys that joined us for the day. I convinced one to join, but Jason Prew tells me I need to improve on my 25% conversion rate 🙂
Nice to catch up with those that made the trip by motorcar.
As always the food was excellent, just a wee hick-up with a power oops slowed the service down a tad but all good.
Sorry if I missed your woody with my camera – the fleet were very spaced out, so arrive times didn’t suit the need to sustenance 😉
As always, click photos to enlarge.
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Rawhiti A2 + Rainbow A7 + Waitangi A6

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Arcturus K8638

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Little Jim A16

Photos below of Thelma sent in by Simon Smith

Raider

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RAIDER

One of my roaming woodys sent in yesterday the above photos of the launch – Raider, on the hard at Okahu Bay. I imagine the Harbour Master has parked her there. Anyone know what happened to her?

She appears to be a Parris or once was before someone got creative with a few sheets of ply. Perhaps a sister to Cherokee / Mistral?

Ever Wanted To Have a Peek Down Below On One Of The Classic Yacht Association’s A-Class Gaff Yachts

This weekend and next, drop down to Auckland’s Viaduct harbour and you can check out the likes of – Thelma, Rawene, Rainbow, Waitangi, Rawhiti & Frances. Details below.
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CYA Classic Yacht Regatta 2019 – Race #1 – 37 Photos

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Rawhiti & Ariki

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Ranger

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Little Jim

 

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Rainbow

CYA Classic Yacht Regatta 2019 – Race #1 – 37 Photos

At the end of the day I shot down to Devonport Wharf with the tele-lens & just caught the fleet sliding down the harbour, a little overcast but that would have been a + for the crews.
I’ll attempt to ID the yachts – scroll over the photos to see names – if I get it wrong, let me know 😉
 
As you read this I’ll be winging my way south to Lake Rotoiti (Nelson Lakes) for the 20th NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show, mooching around Nelson for a few days so should have some good southern content next week.
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Rainbow

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RAINBOW

Rainbow was built in 1930 by Chas Robinson at Ohiniamutu for the Smiths who owned Rainbow Point on Lake Taupo – hence the name Rainbow.
She is 22.96’ in length & powered by a 15hp diesel.

She looks a very smart classic kauri launch & with a trademe asking price of $20k ono, could be a great buy. While still a lake boat, it would not cost a lot to truck her to the Waitemata 😉

Do any of the lake woodys know more about the boat ?
(thanks to Ian McDonald for the listing heads up)

Input From Paul Drake

RAINBOW was a Taupo boat for more than 70 years, before moving to a nearby hydro lake where I suspect she still is. Someone has done a superb job on her cabin since she left. When built, she had an extensive canvas canopy instead of a cabin, supported by heavy tubular nickeled rods. She was fitted with copper buoyancy tanks, making her unsinkable. She also fitted with a magnificent 6 cylinder twin ignition Gray. Two spark plugs to each cylinder. To change from battery to magneto requires the flick of a switch. Fresh water is very kind to engines and this engine, in very good condition, now resides in brother Michael’s shed, complete with owner’s manual and original instruments. RAINBOW lived in a substantial boatshed at Rainbow Point, and was launched via a similarly substantial slip. She is a most unusual boat, in a good way, being very shapely and very shallow draft (half a metre) with exaggerated flare forard and very flat underwater sections aft. A fabulous looker and the perfect lake boat. In the photos below – the last photo shows how she looked when she left Taupo. The first three are from the 1930’s. 

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Sailing Sunday x3

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CYA Classic Yacht Regatta Oops
If you ever thought classic yacht racing was a little ‘soft’ i.e.  “let them thru, they are nice chaps” think again, its serious racing – proof? During race one of last weeks regatta the 1898 Arch Logan Rainbow was involved in a wee incident that resulted in her samson post snapping, it takes a lot of force to break a 5” square piece of kauri. The main player in the incident was the bowsprit that compressed under impact and combined with the ‘dead’ force of the backside from the deck, something had to give & fortunately the Samson post took all the load. Effectively became a safety valve, and halted any collateral damage to the deck or bowsprit.
End of the race for Rainbow & potentially end of the regatta – but in steps master boatbuilder Paul Tingey who worked around the clock and did an outstanding job, gluing up, turning and re-installing the new Samson post to get Rainbow on the start line for Sundays racing.

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Ngatiawa
Ngatiawa, below, is a A class keeler that was  owned by Nathan Ross for many years, from the 1940s on wards. Later ownership passed to his son Clive, a school mate & young R.A.Y.C. associate of Ken Ricketts .
Ken’s photo was taken at Christmas 1952 in Mansion House.  Do any of the woodys know more about Ngatiawa – designer / builder / year of launch & what became of her?

NGATIAWA TAKEN BY KR CHRISTMAS 1952 AT KAWAU

H28 Classic Wooden Ketch 4sale

Maroro was professionally built in 1957 in Whangarei & proved herself by winning the 1961 Trans Tasman race and is featured in the NZ book ‘proper NZ yachts’ by Richard Endean.
Maroro is a traditional sailing man or woman’s boat, set up with jib and staysail self furling + spinnaker. She has a near new Yanmar 10hp engine with 60 hours on clock & F & R gearbox. Three berths, toilet in separate compartment. Force 10 diesel heater. Simon Lawrence anchor winch. All ground tackle.  Her mooring at Mahurangi is also available long term.
Owner Russell Ward commented that at the asking price of $18,500 she is would provide a lot of fun for a real sailor.

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A tour of the waterfront

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A tour of the waterfront

After the decision on Sunday to pull the pin on racing, David Glen took Rainbow for a wee cruise around the waterfront docks to check out the talent. Below is a pot-pourri of vessels – some classic, some wood, some glass & some very exotic.

Enjoy the cruise, we did 🙂

 

Sea Devil was hauled out at the hard stand for some TLC, if she was mine I would be taking the power plane to those anti-roll bilge fins. Very agricultural, the ones on my Raindance were similar & post some feathering / shaping the drag effect was noticeably reduced.

CYA Patio Bay BBQ & Xmas Race Weekend 2015

CYA Patio Bay Weekend 2015
photos ex Alan Houghton & Fiona Driver

Just back from another spectacular wooden boat weekend at Patio Bay, Waiheke Island. The weather was good for the yacht racing but a little rolly in the bay. This put a few owners off anchoring but most bit the bullet & dropped the pick & were rewarded with another brilliant evening ashore at Margaret & Burt Woolicott’s waterfront bach. It had all the ingredients of a classic kiwi boating function – sun, sand, wood fired BBQ’s, the odd cold beverage, a barrel of rum, fire works & lots of nice people.

The evening was made special by the presentation to Chris McMullen of the CYA Outstanding Achievement Trophy for services to classic boating. See the previous ww post for more details.

Even yours truly got a mention in dispatches – I was the surprised recipient of the 2015 Patio Bay Trust Book Award – for my work on/with setting up this site & ensuring that future generations will be able to better experience our wooden boating history.

Enjoy the photos. Sorry that its light on yachts but conditions did not suit bobbing around in a wee dinghy & by now I hope most people realize that a ‘drive-by’ past Raindance almost always ensures a photo on ww 🙂

Must also mention the  magnificent sight of having Viking sailing in the fleet.

I have posted on the CYA forum photos from the yacht post race prizing giving  – link here

http://classicyacht.org.nz/cyaforum/topic/cya-patio-bay-race-xmas-party-bbq-weekend/

Yacht race results here http://classicyacht.org.nz/sailing/

10-12-2015 Sailing Photos below ex Carolyn Anderson (Waimiga)

 

Classic Reproductions

Classic Reproductions

Today’s post profiles the work of Wayne Spicer, a very talented modeler who has built an impressive number of our classic fleet. Wayne has been modeling for approx. 17 years & is a volunteer model maker at the Maritime Museum in Auckland (on Tuesdays). Wayne has built a number of square riggers including Endeavour, Bounty (3), Victory (3), Spanish galleon.

While at the Museum Wayne meet Rod Marler, the owner of the Logan yacht ‘Little Jim’, Rod commissioned Wayne to build a model of LJ & this got Wayne hooked on Logan boats. Wayne told me that he enjoyed the classic lines of the Logans and how they showed the evolution of sailing designs since the late 1800’s. You will see from the the list below that he has built quite a few.

BUILT TO DATE:

Thelma
Rainbow
Waitangi
Jessie Logan (2)
Little Jim (2)
Tawera (2)
Ariki
Aromoana
Ngaio
Gypsy
Nomad
Ranger
Helen

Most of Wayne’s models are made from scratch which means they are not kit sets, fyi below are some photos of the model making process for Nomad.

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