Belle of the regatta

After a century of riding the waves, the classic yacht Waitangi is shipshape for the Auckland Anniversary regatta, reports ROBIN BAILEY.

Big, black and beautiful. She's Waitangi, the magnificent Robert Logan Snr masterpiece that is coming back to Auckland to join the classic yachts parading in the 2003 New Zealand Herald Anniversary regatta on Monday, January 27.

Waitangi was launched on December 13, 1894 and just four months later won the Wellington Anniversary Regatta on her first competitive outing, the beginning of a long and distinguished racing career.

The yacht has been bought from a Melbourne syndicate as the second acquisition of the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust, formed by Auckland marine identity John Street and a group of fellow enthusiasts determined to preserve New Zealand's yachting history in a positive way.

Waitangi joins another classic Logan, the 110-year-old Gloriana, built by the sons of Robert Logan and bought for the trust just over a month ago.

John Street says: "We are probably moving a bit more swiftly than was first envisaged, but when we found Waitangi was being offered on the international market by the Melbourne syndicate that had spent years restoring her, we had to act quickly."

It was encouraging that the owners made a significant concession in the asking price to ensure that the yacht would return to New Zealand waters to be treasured, sailed and properly maintained.

Even by today's standards, Waitangi was a big yacht - 58ft (17m) overall, 38ft (11m) on the waterline, with a beam of 11ft (3.3m) and drawing 9ft 7in (2.8m). Her sleek black hull finished with gold scrolls, tall cutter rig with jackyard topsail and long bowsprit made her a welcome visitor to regattas and cruises to ports all around the North Island.

Brought back to Auckland by a local syndicate, she was raced for several years as the undisputed mother ship of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, passing through the hands of five commodores.

In 1948 Waitangi was sold, re-rigged as a ketch, shorn of much of her former glory and moved across the Tasman to Sydney. She did charter work for a time before being rescued and taken to Melbourne, where she was used as a family yacht for many years.

Architect Doug Shields formed a syndicate to restore the famous yacht to her original condition in time for her 100th birthday. Before any work started, they spent four years researching the ship's history to ensure everything was done properly.

They showed typical Aussie ingenuity when it was discovered New Zealand regulations prevented them importing kauri to replace the 100-year-old deck planking.

Locating a supply of kauri from the demolition of the old Wanganui Railway Station, they had it packed in a pallet and shipped to Melbourne, described on the manifest as pine. They argued that as kauri is in fact a member of the pine family, there wasn't a problem. The decking was soon back to its original condition.

By November 1994 Waitangi was back in the water in time to celebrate her birthday on December 13. She spent some time in Sydney at the Australian National Maritime Museum where she fulfilled a number of public engagements before returning to Port Phillip Bay.

Last month Street and two of the foundation members of the Classic Yacht Trust, designer-boatbuilder Max Carter and film-maker Bill McCarthy, went to Melbourne to conclude the deal that will bring her back to Auckland in time for her Anniversary Regatta engagements.

Operating out of the National Maritime Museum, the trust aims to recruit a team of enthusiasts to sail and maintain the craft it acquires. It will be developing a scheme to enable young people from a variety of backgrounds to experience sailing as our forefathers enjoyed it.

Already work has begun on creating an archive to ensure the history of these wonderful sailboats is more widely available in print, photographs and on video.

Inquiries about the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust should be directed to Bill McCarthy at PO Box 24, Greenhithe, Auckland,
email maccom@xtra.co.nz.

New Zealand Herald Auckland Anniversary Regatta