Tag Archives: South Sea Vagabonds

NGATAKI – JOHNNY WRAY’S HOME BUILT CLASSIC YACHT

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NGATAKI – JOHNNY WRAY’S HOME BUILT CLASSIC YACHT

You have to applaud the Ponsonby Cruising Club for their new initiative to get people interacting with boats on the water. Last Thursday (Aug 22) the club held their first ‘Featured Vessel Series’ , the name could do with some improvement 🙂 Simple idea – they host a vessel at one of the berths outside the Westhaven clubhouse and people can board and chat with owners / crew. Then afterwards there is a presentation upstairs at the club on the boats history.

The PCC kicked off with the famous (infamous) historic yacht – NGATAKI, from the Tino Rawa stable. 

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’d know that NGATAKI was the yacht made famous in Johnny Wray’s cult classic book – ’South Sea Vagabonds’.

If you haven’t read the book – put it on the Fathers Day list – its a cracker. Myself and a lot of others reread it every few years, it reignites my passion for NZ and our wooden boating community.

Read the book to learn the link to why there is a bowl of oranges on the deck 😉

CHECK OUT DATE FOR NEXT PCC FEATURED VESSEL SERIES AT THE LINK BELOW

https://www.pcc.org.nz/fbs

I Have Bought A Yacht

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I Have Bought A Yacht

Now I know that headline will have had a few of you chocking on your weetbix, but relax, its just a continuation of my fixation with pond yachts.
I have had the sloop (below) for approx. 20 years & own several KZ-7 replica’s that at last count are probably worth more than Raindance’s kauri clinker dinghy 🙂

Last week I acquired off an old friend the gaff rigged ketch below – sans the bow sprit its approx. 900cm long & rather nice.

Now that’s not the real purpose of today’s post – tomorrow morning (Saturday) waitematawoodys in association with the Tino Rawa Trust & Harper Collins Publishing will be offering up two copies of the 75th Commemorative Edition of Johnny Wray’s book, ‘South Sea Vagabonds’. This updated edition is a cracker & will be a must have in your collection.

If you have, like so many, been unable to track down an original copy now’s your chance to own this kiwi classic. I have read the book five times, the closest any other comes to that is twice.
If you are one of the lucky ones to own an original edition – buy the 75th edition because in additional to ‘new’ content & photo’s, you will now have a copy that you can loan out 🙂

Entry will be simple – just answer the question from the book that I post at 8.00am (NZ time) on Saturday morning. The first correct answer, either posted on the ww site or emailed to ww, wins a copy, PLUS – all entries correct or not will go into the draw for another copy. Entries close at midnight (nz time) 26/07/2014. As always the judges decision is final, so Jason Prew, wearing your TRT hat, the judge rules you out 🙂

So dig out your original copy or find a friend that has one & have them on stand-by on Saturday morning 😉