Over 100 beautiful Wooden boats were assembled at the Jellicoe Harbour by The Viaduct for the first Auckland Wooden Boat Festival in Auckland.
Click on any Image to Enlarge
Put together by experienced boating event organisers , Tony Stephenson and his wife Michelle and their team.
Looking at the numbers rolling in the door, you’d have to say it was a roaring success and may there be many more to come.
Rorqual owner Drew setting up fenders to settle in Rorqual the Whale chaserPetrel with Whalechaser Rorqual behind
I was there as a bit of a hanger on really helping my son Drew take our old boat Rorqual to the show.
Ex Work boats Ronaki and Sterling
I was really pleased to catch up with some of my old friends from both the Classic Yacht Association and other Classic Boat owners.
There was some inside exhibits as well of smaller craft and some being rebuilt.
Te Hauraki
One of the notable boats at the show was an ex-Auckland Tug called Te Hauraki. For many years it was owned by a long time well known entrepreneur, leader of the Auckland classic boat scene and marine character, John Street. As Tony said in the speeches, he would be absolutely chuffed to have seen this happening in Auckland. Sadly, John passed away recently but his old boat was here for the occasion.
Click on the Gallery below to see enlarged images of the show.
Rehia
Meola
Menai with Rorqual the whalechaser in the distance behind
Sterling
John Dory
Kate
Ariki
Anatole with his boat Korara
Peter with his Bridgedecker Lady Margaret
Rawhiti
Petrel with Akarana behind
Akarana
Viking
Windhaven
Prize
Classic Bridgedecker Menai
Te Hauraki with Meola behind
Picton Whalechaser Primadonna
I’ll leave you with the images which sum it up nicely. A fantastic few days in the sun. The boats all scrubbed up nicely and just looked great. Well done to everyone who took part.
Well, the wind blew, and the spray went everywhere but it was a great sight, seeing the Tugs come roaring down the harbour and then the Launches with their display.
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Sterling leading the Tugs. Sterling is a quick boat. It has won many Classic boat races.
There weren’t the numbers we’ve seen in the past, but it was still a good show.
The tugs were led by Sterling which has won many classic boat races. Te Hauraki was in the hunt too until it retired by the container terminal.
My Girl leading the charge of the LaunchesMy Girl heading back to the finish with other Launches behind.
Jason Prew led the Launches in My Girl and several others followed on behind, kicking up the spay as they went.
The pictures below tell the story.
Check out the Galleries below by clicking on them.
The Tugs Race.
Sterling leading the Tugs. Sterling is a quick boat. It has won many Classic boat races.
It was Classic Boat Riverhead Pub day and as it turned out a Reunion of sorts with lots of old friends I haven’t seen for a while. We were going up on Alan’s 28 ft Lanes Classic boat, Raindance.
Click on an Image to enlarge it.
Alan’s boat Raindance ready to go
Alan and I are both ex Launch Captains of the Classic Yacht Association so we had both done this trip many times before as part of that role and it was always a fun day out.
Alan picked me up from home about 8:30 and we were down at Bayswater Marina ready to go just before 9. The forecast was for showers and very little wind so the 13 or so other boats coming would be able to deal with this easily.
Off up to the pub
As Alan had organised this, I’d had a bit of a heads up on who was coming so I was looking forward to see some of the original people involved with the rebirth of the Classic Launches in Auckland.
Trinidad leading the charge behind us
We left in the sunshine to head under the harbour bridge and headed up a little beyond the Greenhithe Bridge where we were to meet up with all the other boats and at 10:15, we headed up in single file to the Pub. The departure time was crucial to give us the maximum eating / drinking / social time before the river lost its water with the tide.
Jason catching up. He led the way from here.Jason and his crew at Herald Island
Jason in his newly restored boat called My Girl caught up with us off Beachaven and we followed him up to the meeting point just past Herald Island. The other boats all seemed to arrive together and soon we were off to the pub.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
Freinds Dave and Barb Cooke with their lovely old Salthouse Trinidad
Ngaio
Ngaio and Trinidad
Trinidad leading the charge behind us
The first bend
Trinidad arriving
Friends Mark and Sue with their boat Monterey
I can remember a trip Alan and I did with the CYA where we had 30 plus boats and we had to leave room for the ferry.. there were boats everywhere.. This was going to be much easier with just 13 boats and there was no ferry to worry about.
From up by the pub.
Everybody anchored and tied up without any drama and it was up to the Marque to catchup with old friends. A few people I talked to asked me questions about Motorhomes ! .. seems we might have a few more ex boaties coming our way 🙂
Raindance in front with My girl behind
A great day but all good things have to come to an end and with the tide on its way out, it was time to dodge the showers back to Bayswater.
Alan driving on the way back.
It was an easy trip back with the chop building a little on the way and a few showers.
This was first posted in Feb 2016 .. a special repost for lockdown!
After the torrential rain on Saturday morning, the organisers of the Rotoiti Classic boats decided to postpone it until Sunday.
For the last few years, Alan and I have jumped into Rafe and come down to see the great spectacle that is the Rotoiti Classic Boats Parade. For the last few years, we have also provided images to the society for their annual calendar. They’re a really friendly bunch and we’ve made some really good friendships with quite a few of them.
We left the camp early and after a quick breakfast, we took Rafe around to the top of the “viewing platform” which is a park and parking area just along the road from Okere Falls Store.
Rafe overseeing things
We were welcomed by commodore Grant and past commodore Fraser down by the water and offered several options for possies to help with pictures and they couldn’t have been more helpful.
The crowd enjoying the Parade. Commentary boat on the right
Alan took his from the back of the commentary boat while I set up in my nice comfy deck chair on the grass and sat right by the waters edge and shot from there.
During the parade.. Alan on the back of the boat on the right.
Several hundred people materialised from everywhere quite quickly and made themselves comfortable on the grass.
At 10:30, the whistle sounded and the first boats started the parade. From Rowing boats right through to big launches. All meticulously maintained and most with oodles of history.
As always, click on the images to see them in hi res and the slideshow below.
A great spectacle. A nice weekend with some great people.
After the parade finished, the boats all headed over to the other side of the lake and enjoyed their annual picnic on the beach.
We headed for home after stopping briefly at Tirau for lunch.
This was first posted in Feb 2016 .. had to repost it for lockdown!
The weather dealt to the Rotoiti Classic Boats parade today. It has been postponed until Sunday so this morning, we arranged to stay here another day.
Our friends Shawn and Kathy from Taupo arrived late yesterday from Taupo with their two children and despite the rain, people came out from under cover to admire their 1960 Dodge with their new Retro Chris Craft.
Shaun’s replica Chris CraftShawn and Kathys Dodge with onlookers in the rain
Not long after that Tim and Pam arrived with their 2 door pillar less Chev Bel Air coupe with their custom made Miss Bel Air speed boat.
The 56 Chev with Miss BelAir
Russell Ward also arrived late with Steam Boat Romany and spent the morning getting her ready for the parade while kids were doing antics around with bikes in the rain.
The 56 Chev and the 1960 Dodge
This morning we were invited around to check out a boat Kereru that’s for sale so we went around in convoy in the Dodge and Chev and later to the Orere Point Store for lunch.
The Steam boat Romany at the jetty
Kids doing gymnastics with bikes in the rain
The Store
The Orere point Store
Orere point store
Tim and Shawns son having fun.
Alan giving me some instructions, can’t remember what they were.
Alan sitting in the Chev
Russell with Romany
The store has a really nice outdoor area complete with a stage and has a great selection of food and wines.
One of the nice things about Lake Rotoiti and the boating setup here is their lakeside covered docks where they are used as vehicles to get about in. Backing out their boats just like the rest of us do with our cars. Fantastic.
The covered docks
The boat parade is on today so we are looking forward to that.
The forecast was fantastic, no sign of any rain or wind so we were heading off from Milford to go to Rakino Island about 9k’s away. For those overseas readers, it is one of the furthest Islands out from Auckland behind Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands.
Click on any Image for Hi Res(Cell phone images)
Rorqual at the Marina berth shortly before we set off.
Rorqual was all ready to go and we were off. A quick call to the Bridge operators by son Andrew to open the bridge and we were on our way.
Andrew driving Rorqual out of Milford Marina.
Turn the volume up to hear that 400hp Turbo charged Detroit!
We had just got out a bit beyond Castor Bay when friend Greg Fenwick rang Andrew from his house up on the cliff watching us go by. He could hear distinctive roar from the Detroit as we went past from several k’s away 🙂 he sent us the video below! Thanks Greg
After that, we stopped off Rangitoto when we saw a whole heap of fish on the depth sounder complete with measurements and a smile on their faces 🙂 Given the lack of success there in catching anything, I’m sure they were poking their tongues out at us 🙂 I did get one really good bite but he got away!
We stopped again to try later off Rakino but same luck so we went on into Woody Bay into 3metres of water and had lunch and a glass of wine. Absolutely perfect day.
All settled in Woody Bay
Andrew saw some mates in at the beach in a fizz boat so he swam in to say hello.
Looking into the beach
Half an hour later after he’d just returned, my other son Alex came into the bay with a friend of his Sam on their identical Jet Skis. They had come around from Half Moon Bay which is by Pakuranga, probably about 10k’s or so.
The JetskisAlex refueling his Jetski
They were out for a fish but hadn’t had much luck, just like us… until we sat in 2-3 metres of water in the bay. We were just sitting there, having a drink and the rod just kept bringing them in. Andrew was filleting them and put them on a plate with soy sauce and wasabi. Fantastic. About 3 reasonable sized fish popped onto the plate during the afternoon 🙂 Yum!
L to R, Alex, Sam and Andrew. Sashimi in the middle
Later in the day, the time came for the boys to go with their Jetskis and try for a fish round the Rangitoto Channel.
The Boys setting offOn their way outTea is on
Andrew put the BBQ on and we settled down to listen to some good music. The Stereo is a monster with 3 amplifiers with a Subwoofer powered by a Solar backed 450 odd AH bank of House batteries so no danger of running out of anything!
Looking back to Auckland. North Shore in the distance
While we listening to the music, the bait runner ran again and this time, in came breakfast! Yippee!
End of a great day
After a nice bread crumbed pan fried Snapper and a cup of coffee, we tidied up the boat and got ready to head back to Milford Marina. A nice weekend and nice to see Alex and Sam come in too.
Auckland Anniversary always starts with the famous Tug Race which starts off Westhaven. They then head down towards Orakei to round a buoy and then back down to the bridge for the finish.
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One of the faster Classics Jeneusse
A few years ago when I was involved with the Classic Yacht Association Committee, I helped organise a few of the Launch races and for me it was really nice to see some of the old Launches in this race still going for it.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
The leaders
One of Aucklands older original Tugs Te Hauraki
Jeneusse off to the line
off to the line
Ronaki
Not to be outdone
Sterling always used to do well and it was nice to see Ronaki, Te Hauraki and Jeneusse out there too.
The Rudder cup was first run in 1908 and again on its 100th anniversary in 2008. The race involves some of NZ’s finest Classic launches racing overnight up to Sail Rock and back. This is the third time the full length race has been held.
Sail Rock is just over 100 nautical miles from Auckland and is just off the coast by Pakiri. north of Auckland.
At the visitors berth
In 2008, I was keen to run but Rorqual had an overheating problem and it would have been too risky but now that my son Drew has spent the last year going over the boat completely and has largely sorted out all these issues, we’re getting much closer but its great that he’s basically beaten it.
Because so much has been done on Rorqual recently and it has literally only just been put back together with so many changes, it was deemed to risky to go the whole distance but we thought we would show up on the start line and join in the fun and then peel off.
Click on an image for Hi Res
Jason’s boat My Girl with Rorqual and Meola behind
We left Milford on the tide around lunch time and headed down to Westhaven marina to the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron (Home of the Americas Cup for those overseas) which is a bout 40 minutes by water. There we were to join up with some of the other boats who were going to start the race.
Rorqual and My Girl at the visitors berth
We had a great afternoon at the Squadrons visitors berth catching up with everyone and checking out different boats.
Catch up time at the visitors berth. Drew in the white shirt next to Rorqual with My Girl behind.
With us at the visitors berth was Jason with his boat My Girl that he has been restoring over the last couple of years and she looks fabulous. It has a big Turbo charged Volvo in her so she was one of the race favorites for her class. Behind us was an old work boat owned by Ian called Meola. Ian invited us on board and and showed us around. He has repowered it with a 4 cylinder Gardner and she looks a picture.
Meola under the bridge waiting for the start.
Not long after we arrived, old friends Barb and Dave arrived with their old Salthouse classic Trinidad. It was nice to see them too.
David bringing Trinidad into the Squadron base from Bayswater
About 6:30, everyone started to head out towards the startline under the bridge. There were 14 boats racing and they were all ready to go. While we waiting there, race official Baden motored around in a tender and checked all the boats had all their safety gear.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slide show
Everyone milling around the bridge before the start
Jason’s crew with their Christmas gear on
Race officials in the tender.. Baden in the blue.
Ferro and Kumi getting ready
Getting ready to start. Kumi, left and My Girl
Alan on the bow of Trinidad
Ronaki
Waimiga and Meola
The good crew of Ferro
Waitangi won the vintage division
The weather forecast for the race was a little grim with heavy rain and thunderstorms predicted for most of the race area and Auckland and while we bobbed around waiting for the start time at 7pm, the patchy showers were heading across Auckland.
The Cannon sounded at 7pm and Drew opened up the noise and we were off. With a puff of black smoke we were heading off down to North Head at the entrance to Auckland Harbour. As there is a 12 knot limit in the harbour until you get to North Head, Drew kept Rorqual’s speed down until we got well past Devonport and then opened her up to 16 knots.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slide show
And we’re off.. Trinidad and Sterling
Sterling won the Veteran Division
Trinidad won the Classic Division
Lady Margaret with her new John Deere motors!
Under way
My Girl
Trinidad passing Takapuna Beach
By the time we got to Devonport Wharf which is about half way down the harbour, we were well ahead of most of the fleet and only one of Drew’s mates in a Thundercat with a 50HP Yamaha on the back was with us. He spent 10 minutes or so playing in our wake which provided some entertainment for us.
Our entertainment for the day.. the Thundercat with the big Yamaha
We got about half way across to Rangitoto light when Drew decided to withdraw from the race and we headed back sedately at around 15 knots.
Sterling won the Veteran Division and the Rudder Cup
Rorqual performed amazingly and I was really pleased that Drew has managed to crack the heating issue with only some small things to be done to finish things off.
Heading off towards the Tiri channel
They dropped me off in Viaduct Harbour and I caught the ferry home to Devonport. They went on to Islington Bay for a boys night away. A fun day!
Kumi and Meloa heading north
I was watching the race on my phone on a tracking app and I noticed some of the Rudder racers had returned back to the Squadron base in Westhaven by 3am in the morning which is great timing.
Every year at Waitangi weekend for the last 4 years , Alan and I have hit the road in Rafe and headed down to Lake Rotoiti and joined the Lake Rotoiti Classic Boat Association, who have a parade with their lovely boats and a picnic day out on the beach. Its a great occasion where the public can watch from the shore or any other vantage point they can find and enjoy the spectacle.
Click on any image for Hi Res or a slideshow
Rafe with Tim and Pams Chev and boat on behind.
We left Auckland in the middle of the day on the Friday to try and avoid some traffic. We were half successful and we arrived around 4pm and set Rafe up at the Lake Rotoiti Holiday Park. We were given a park right next to our friends from Taupo Shawn and Cathy. Just around the corner were Tim and Pam with their Chev and Miss Belair which they parked right next to us.
Shawn and Cathy’s car on the left with Tim and Pams boat in the middle with Rafe
After registration, a few drinks and a meal at the Pikiao Rugby League club we returned back to Rafe for a few drinks with our friends and neighbours, Tim, Pam, Shawn and Cathy.
Fraser showing Alan around the boat.
The next morning, we were up early as it was parade day. The previous Commodore of the Classic boats, Fraser had offered us the use of his Tender as a platform for taking some images from the water. Alan was driving so I could concentrate on getting the images and we could use them both here and on his blog, Waitematawoodys.com
Alan on the helm with Frasers house and boat behind
Fraser came and picked us up from the campground and after a look around his amazing waterfront house on the lake, we went and got settled with the boat.
Enjoy the images.. Click on an image below for a slideshow.
Shawn and Cathy’s new boat
Tim and Pam with Miss Belair
Time for a selfie
Friends from Auckland
Fraser’s Guests watching the parade
Vantage spots
It was a great day with lots of the Classic crews ready to show off their lovely boats and most were dressed in period costumes for the occasion. The winner of the costume award went to the crew of Alberta.
Winners of the costume awardAlberta
After the parade, everyone headed over to Wairau Bay for a picnic and catchup. It was great to catchup with old friends and meet some new people and see their boats.
The Barge at Wairau Bay
People getting ready to picnic
One of the things about the lakes is there are no tides so they run their boats up in the sand and step off their bows with ladders onto the beach. Some choose to anchor and get picked up by the barge.
A tough day at the office 🙂
A great day on the water finished off with a beer at a bar which was accessible by boat and then back to the camp.
There are lots and lots of pictures duplicated on Waitematawoodys.com taken by me with Alan on the helm.
Every year at this time, the Classic Yachts and Launches of the CYA race down and anchor at Patio Bay and enjoy a great knees up for Christmas.
The old girls (Wooden boats !) and their owners enjoy a few cold ones on their boats together before heading to shore to Bert and Margaret Woollicotts family Bach. Several Barbeques are setup(with wood) and everyone does their own thing.
Click on the images for hi res or a slideshow
Alan and I are both ex Launch Captains of the CYA and have been on the committee and helped organise different parts of this great annual event. My old boat Rorqual was still in bits in mid restoration by my son Andrew, so I was really pleased to be able to go down with Alan on his 1928 Lanes launch, Raindance.
Raindance ready to go
After getting things ready at Bayswater marina, we headed off to the start line of the yacht race at Orakei Wharf. It was going to be a long day as there was absolutely no wind. The sea was flat calm.
Alan at Bayswater getting ready to go.
Alan preparing his #1 tender “Peg”
Peg behind with the Auckland Harbour bridge behind.
The start boat Wild Duck with Tony on the bow
We hung around for 20 minutes or so to get some pictures and then handed down towards Waiheke. After a couple of hours or so so later, we arrived at the bottom end of Waiheke with quite a few boats already there, mostly from the day before making a weekend of it. The weather was just stunning even a little too hot.. Everyone was looking for shade and there was no wind at all.
Brian and Roseanne on their boat Silens
We visited Roseanne and Brian on their boat Silens which as anchored just behind us and later were visited by our friend Richard from the Devonport Yacht Club.
Around 5, the yachts had finally arrived and we headed into shore to enjoy a meal from heaven that Alan had already prepared. …Alan’s a great cook and is legendary for his skills in the galley 😀
A great night of catching up with old friends and we later headed back to Raindance.
In the morning, we were visited by Steve who had sailed down from Mahurangi for the event. Alan cooked up a great feed of Baked Beans on toast and several cups of tea to blow the cobwebs out for all three of us.
Patio Bay behind .. Heading to Bayswater
By 9ish, we were under way for the 3hr trip back to Bayswater. A great couple of days and nice to see everyone.
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
Put together by experienced boating event organisers , Tony Stephenson and his wife Michelle and their team.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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