CLASSIC MULLET BOAT WAIATA’s POST WAR TRIP > JAPAN

Todays woody tale features the 1934 Dick Lang built 26’ mullet boat – WAIATA (H15). Probably the most travelled mullet boat ever.

Chris Leech sent in a link to a fb post by the boats owner – Steve Rhodes, Steve had shared details and photos on the ’Sitting There Rotting….’ page.

We learnt that WAIATA was taken over in c.1939 by the Royal NZ Airforce for use in a R&R programme during the war. Fast forward to March 1946 and the airforce loaded WAIATA onto an English aircraft carrier named GLORIA headed for Japan where she continued her R&R duties for the J-Force.

WAIATA returned to NZ in 1948, and returned to civilian ownership. The article below is dated from the year 2000 and provides more background.Steve Rhodes commented he bought WAIATA awhile ago in disrepair and pulled her out and is spending ‘shiploads’ on doing her up. In the b/w photo above we see WAIATA on the aircraft carrier GLORIA along with our troops and the Corsair planes.
Great history, keen to learn more about the future plans for the ‘yacht’ (I suspect from the photos she is now better described as a launch)