This 26-foot (8m) Raven 26 has been donated to a Whangārei-based charity that works with children and young people all over Northland. Photo / Supplied
This 26-foot (8m) Raven 26 has been donated to a Whangārei-based charity that works with children and young people all over Northland. Photo / Supplied
A group of young Northlanders are ''excited, humbled and blessed'' to be gifted a yacht by the family of its late owner, a Whangārei youth worker says.
Last week comedian and mental health campaigner Mike King appealed for help via social media to make a 26-foot yacht shipshape. Its ownerhad passed on and his children wanted to donate it to a charity working with disadvantaged kids, but first it needed anti-fouling and a new paint job.
King was inundated with offers of help from around the country. As a result the yacht, a 26-foot (8m) Raven 26, will be hauled out this morning in Auckland where an army of volunteers will spend Queen's Birthday weekend making it seaworthy.
This 26-foot (8m) Raven 26 has been donated to a Whangārei-based charity that works with children and young people all over Northland. Photo / Supplied
It will then be handed over to Whangārei's Jolene Busby and used to create new opportunities for Northland youth.
Busby runs tikanga Māori-based after-school and holiday programmes, called Kōhatu, in Whangārei, Paihia and Kawakawa.
She also provides youth mentoring and wrap-around care in schools, and looks after up to a dozen kids at her home at any time.
She also teaches young people about kaupapa waka and gives up the little time she has left to help maintain a pair of waka hourua (double-hulled sailing canoes) built by her great-grand-uncle Sir Hekenukumai Busby.
Busby said the gift would create new opportunities for young Northlanders and could pave a way to maritime careers.
''We know how to sail a double-hulled sailing canoe but this is new for all of us. The kids are really excited and humbled, and feel really blessed to be picked out of all the possible candidates.''
Jolene Busby (standing) teaches a group of children and young adults about kaupapa waka in a waka tētē built by her great-grand-uncle Sir Hekenukumai Busby. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The yacht, Katarina, belonged to Auckland man Wayne Robertson, who died two years ago.
He had previously donated a smaller boat to a Christchurch school so donating the yacht to a youth charity seemed the right thing to do, daughter Michelle Maihi said.
Neither she nor her brother knew a suitable group so she sent a message to King, who she'd never met, on the off-chance he'd read it and respond.
''He just popped into my mind because he's all about the kids. Within an hour he'd messaged me back. That proves the man he is.''
Maihi, who lives in Auckland, said she had been overwhelmed by the response to King's appeal for help.
She had since spoken to Busby about her plans for the boat.
''I take my hat off to people like her. They're saints really.''
Busby said King tracked her down after she appeared on TVNZ's Good Sorts.
She was still grieving the loss of ''Papa Hek'' (Sir Hekenukumai Busby) but seeing how many people had offered to give up their time to help with the boat had moved her to "happy tears".
The job of fixing up the yacht will be co-ordinated by Davin Whittaker, a self-employed boat builder and painter, who put his hand up after seeing King's Facebook post.
Several boatyards had offered to help but Orams Marine Services had been chosen because of its central Auckland location. Orams would provide the haul-out plus five days on the hard stand without charge.
A raft of painters and boat builders had already volunteered to help while businesses had donated paint and offered to work on the engine or electrics if needed.
King was also planning to drop in for a meet and greet, Whittaker said.
A mooring has been offered in Kerikeri but the boat's location has yet to be decided.
■ Anyone who wants to lend a hand is welcome from 9am on Friday to the end of Queen's Birthday weekend. Orams is on Beaumont St in Auckland, near the Viaduct. A Givealittle page to help cover ongoing costs is planned.
