Tag Archives: Royal Saxon

Royal Saxon – 1989>1994

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Royal Saxon 1989 > 1994
The top photo made a brief appearance on Lew Redwood’s fb and Nathan Herbert correctly ID’ed the launch as the 33’ Colin Wild, 1930 built – Royal Saxon, anchored in Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island. At the time I would suspect she was owned by Rick McCay (MV Luana), so sometime between late 1980 and 1994, when he sold her. These days Royal Saxon resides at the top of the South Island, at Motueka. The WW link below and comments section will tell you all about the boat and how she ended up down south. 

The 2nd photo I took 2 years ago of her anchored at Kaiteriteri, when we were on-route to the Abel Tasman National Park. Fantastic to see her unchanged after 30 odd years, another example of how beautiful Colin Wild’s designs were and how most remain so today 🙂

https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/07/07/royal-saxon/


There is a great WW Royal Saxon story of a 1939 big game fishing cruise at Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty – told by Harold C. Clark. Great reading

https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/04/13/royal-saxon-1939-game-fishing-cruise/

15-03-2021 Input From Mark Newcomb – I am pretty sure I recall being a young boy on a trip from Tauranga to Mayor Island on the launch Royal Saxon. It must have been the mid 1950’s, and I had thought the launch belonged to Arthur Honeyfield, a well known farmer and businessman who had a lovely farm at Kauri Point(?) near Katikati. Honeyfield was a member of the Tauranga Harbor Board and had somehow managed to get a substantial wharf built near the farm for easy access to the inner Tauranga Harbor. We embarked on our journey from this wharf. I recall a lodge on the island at SE Bay, not sure if we stayed there or on board. I still have some obsidian that I found on the island.
It is entirely possible that Royal Saxon was owned by a friend of Arthur’s, or was on charter.
Sadly, the son John Honeyfield, died last week, so that avenue of follow up has gone.

CYA BUMPER BOATS – I hear that during race one of the Classic Regatta the other week, the A Division boys were playing silly buggers again. At the start 3 of of the ‘stars’ of the A Class fleet all got hooked up on the start line and ended up all doing an unplanned buffalo girl 🙂

Royal Saxon 1939 Game Fishing Cruise 

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Royal Saxton

Royal Saxon 1939 Game Fishing Cruise 

 I was recently contacted by Martin Howson in regard to the existence of a journal documenting a 1939 fishing cruise aboard the 36’, Colin Wild built 1930 bridge decker – Royal Saxon to Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty. The journal was penned in 1997 by a friend of Martin’s late uncle – Harold C. Clark. Harold crossed the bar not long after writing the story.
At the time of the game fishing cruise Royal Saxon was owned and skippered by Claude Kendall of Hamilton – the crew on the trip consisted of Claude Kendall, Jack Kendall (Claude’s father), Bert Craike, Harold Clark and a friend of Claude’s named Sam.
You can see / read on Royal Saxon here
Enjoy the read it is a cracker.

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Input from Mark Jarvis – photos below of Royal Saxon in her winter berth in Riwaka.

 

Royal Saxon & Varlene + A trip to Abel Tasman National Park

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Kaiteriteri – collection point

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Royal Saxon

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Split Apple Rocks

Medlands drop off
Last chance to empty tanks

Medlands Beach

Torrent Bay

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Anchorage Bay

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Anchorage – northern end

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Golden quartz sand

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Anchorage – southern end

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Varlene

Golden Bear Brewery

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Mapua Wharf

Burlands Deck

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Our hosts

Royal Saxon & Varlene + A trip to Abel Tasman National Park
One of the unplanned elements of our recent trip to Nelson to take in the 20th Antique & Classic Boat Show (Lake Rotoiti – Nelson Lakes) was a trip tp the Abel Tasman National Park. Along the way I got to see the 1930, 33’ Colin Wild built – Royal Saxon, one of my favourite boats. The vessel (Wilsons Tours – recommend them) that transports you deep into the park leaves from Kaiteriteri, where by chance Royal Saxon is moored. See / read more on her here   https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/07/07/royal-saxon/
From Kaiteriteri you travel for approx. 1hr on a high speed alloy cat to the drop off point at Medlands Beach. From there depending on your fitness level its a 4 hour coastal / bush walk back to Anchorage Bay for pick up. The walk is not a stroll, its very up and down as it hugs the coastline – but their are plenty of place to rest and take in the stunning scenery. We were very lucky, perfect weather = dry track and not too hot + very few other walkers. You can join / end the walk from several spots so people are walking in both directions. You could ID the nationalities of fellow walkers by their degree of engagement / friendliness 🙂
When you pop out of the bush at Anchorage Bay you are hit with a visual sensory overload – it’s just breathtaking – you could be in Thailand or Europe (but why would you want to be).
While waiting for the boat, the 36’ Supreme Craft build woody Varlene came into the bay, looking very smart, nice to see someone loves her these days. See/read more on her here  https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/04/04/varlene-lady-sunshine/
Post walk, there was a rehydration session at the Golden Bear Brewing Co. on Mapua Wharf. We added a meal of Blue Cod & fries (the BC was 10/10). Then home for a celebratory glass of bubbles on the deck and an early night.
If you get the chance – do the walk, it’s very special and can be as short or as long as your want or can manage.
(apologies if I bored some woodys with the trip report – but there are a couple of boats included)

Royal Saxon – Revisited

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ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.
https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/07/07/royal-saxon/

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

Royal Saxon

Posted on by
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ROYAL SAXON
photos ex Mark Javis

After the amazing response to yesterdays post on Arohanui, which set an all time ww record for the most views in a single hour (1,707) it was always going to be a challenge to back it up. So when I received out of the blue a selection of photos of one of my favourite boats – Royal Saxon, from Motueka resident Mark Javis the challenge was solved.
Mark lives near a little old-world estuary where boats were once built and scows traded at the remaining wharf. A small number of woodys are still berthed there, one being Royal Saxon.

Royal Saxon was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930. She is 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and draws just under 4ft. Lots more details & photos + a few good yarns found on the ww link below.
https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/07/07/royal-saxon/

She is a very pretty boat & was once owned by Rick McCay who owns Luana, Rick is a man with a very good eye for beautiful things 😉

waitematawoody t-shirts – remember to get your order in – limited print run, full details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/11/22/waitematawoodys-t-shirts/

Old Logo ww shirt

Royal Saxon

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ROYAL SAXTON

photos & story ex Harold Kidd

ROYAL SAXON was built by Colin Wild for Whangarei surveyor Harold Frederick Saxon Charlesworth and launched in October 1930.

She was 33ft loa, 9ft 6in beam and drew just under 4ft. Her original engine was a 35hp Kermath.

In late 1936 Charlesworth sold her to Mrs. G Kendall of Hamilton who kept her on the Waitemata. The Sanders brothers bought both ROYAL SAXON and MOVARIE in 1940. They kept MOVARIE until they bought LADY CROSSLEY in 1956 but sold ROYAL SAXON in 1943 to Gordon Hunter. ROYAL SAXON was a patrol vessel with NAPS from around 1942-1943, under skipper J G Brook as Z21.

Gordon Hunter sold her to R & J F Phillips-Turner in 1945, they sold her to W G Gottwaltz of Thames in 1947; he sold her to J G Browne of Katikati in 1948; he sold her and she was owned in 1973 by Dr. W R Trotter of Epsom. She was owned in Motueka  when I saw her and photographed her about 11 years ago nosing her way into the Sandfly (Falls) River on the Tasman Bay coast, still in lovely condition.

The photo of her on the slip at Whakatakataka Bay is probably during the latter stages of the war when she had reverted to civilian control. She’s wearing her wartime reporting number on her bows without which she could have been sunk by the batteries on North Head.

Update from Rick McCay (current owner of Luana)

We owned Royal Saxon from 1989 to 1994. She was a superb first classic launch for us. We bought her from Don Watson who lived on Waiheke Island and to his credit she was in perfect condition. We restored the bridge varnish as she was all white when we got her. In 1994 we sold her as we had fallen under the spell of Luana, and as we all know while owning one old boat is a catastrophe, two is an absolute disaster. We sold her to a lovely man Captain Tom Rowling [brother of PM Bill Rowling] who was skipper of the Golden Bay cement ship. We had a great afternoon on board his ship one time it was in Auckland. He trucked Royal Saxon to Mana and motored her across Cook Strait to her future home, Motueka. Dr Trotter was a keen amateur cabinet maker and Saxon had a lovely interior courtesy of his expertise.

SIDEBAR (ex AH)

Now a woody who shall remain nameless passed this story onto me 🙂
“When Doc Trotter owned “Royal Saxon”, he had an elegant daughter who was draped on the bikini deck  –the part between the houses on a bridgedecker –quite sheltered for sunbathing.. Anyway, I did my hair and rowed slowly past and tried to chat her up. She didn’t want any of it! Shame-  she could have had me too if she had tried.
 Life is paved with rebuffs from Dio and St Cuths chicks…..”
17-02-2016 photo of Royal Saxon at Kaiteriteri ex John Burland
Royal Saxon @ Kaiteriteri