The Rakino Pirates
An enterprising school and a badly-damaged wreck come together in an inspiring restoration project.
An enterprising school and an old wreck become friends in a project that promises to enrich lives.
Rakino – a 28-foot Woollacott ketch – had endured countless Wellington gales on her Evans Bay mooring, when the weather gods decreed that her time was up.
It was a particularly ferocious April northerly which drove her ashore last year, smashing not just the four planks and two frames at the turn of her starboard bilge, but also a long-nurtured dream of sailing back into tropical waters for her owner Jim Horgan.
Prospects for this sturdy old vessel looked bleak. Craned out onto the Evans Bay hardstand, her engine flushed and filled with oil, the authorities took control, and the salvage and hardstand costs began to mount. But sometimes it seems even old yachts have a fairy godmother.
A mere 45km to her northwest on Wellington’s Kapiti Coast, the planets had aligned for Rakino in the form of an unstoppable combination of two sailing-mad trade technology teachers, a progressive principal and a core of enthusiastic students.
It isn’t clear who saw the Trade Me advertisement first, but with Kapiti College’s principal Tony Kane on-side, the modest purchase price was no obstacle. On the last day of the 2016 school year Rakino was craned onto a solid cradle in the school grounds, and a fresh chapter in her life began under an unconventional form of ownership.
The concept of incorporating a restoration project into the school programme is not new – schools have been known to take on old cars or lawnmowers for rebuilding by engineering classes. Rakino, however, required a considerably larger skill combination and financial commitment.
But teachers Martin Vieregg and Clive Stephenson were undaunted. With thousands of ocean miles under their belts (Clive sailed here from the Middle East), and a set of school workshops which would make many boatbuilders drool, the pair set to work utilising the College’s ‘Club’ programme to best advantage.
Within a week of the 2017 first term, the Rakino Pirates came into existence in the form of about 80
enthusiastic students aged from 12 to 18.
Interest in the Rakino Pirates’ Facebook page blossomed. Before long the local community was also caught up in the action. The Wednesday lunch and afternoon time-tabled Club time, which saw dozens of students scraping spars or stripping the hull, was soon augmented by weekend working bees, which brought in extra adult volunteers.
Alongside assorted parents with their sandwiches and brass polish, the deputy Mayor, Janet Holborow, even turned up with her varnish brush, and the legendary Roger Carter stumped up on his wooden leg to teach knots and splicing. (Roger has a background in tall ships, and is a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers!)
Another local ‘just happened to have’ a few baulks of kauri to donate, while Foxton boatbuilder Bert Reeves put his hand up to pass on a lifetime of traditional skills. With such support, perhaps a few planks of teak decking may yet materialise, sufficient to make good the damaged foredeck.
In particular, two individuals stand out as key supporters of the Pirates’ project. Kapiti College Old Boy Alistair Mckenzie brought his marine surveying skills and Maritime Museum background into the planning aspects of the programme, making himself
available for think-tank meetings with Clive and Martin. On another level, Jeff Ashby, owner of Webster Drilling and Exploration, came up with a unique offer to partially underwrite the project in a manner which other businesses would do well to emulate.
Jeff’s offer to become the principal sponsor was not as simple as an open chequebook. He stipulated that students were to provide him with a business plan for each stage of the reconstruction. This enlightened approach would require materials lists, quantity estimations, and even priority scheduling.
Furthermore, Webster arranged to take the ailing three-cylinder Volvo diesel into his engineering shop on condition that four selected Year 12 students would be available to assist in its rebuild as part of their educational programme. It would be a win-win for the college and the company, as Webster will certainly be assessing these students’ aptitude as potential future apprentices.
The pair of coordinating teachers were realistic about the financial challenges of a project of this nature. There were specialist tools to purchase, along with fastenings, paint, rigging and even electronics. (Luckily, the sails and running rigging were salvaged intact.)
Shortly after the Rakino Pirates club was formed, its members swung into action with a major fundraising exercise which included a public Givealittle campaign with a $10,000 goal. When the club’s year 12 student captain Luke Ferriera approached the Kapiti Coast District Council for assistance, the councillors were so impressed with his passion for the project that they offered the team a Think Big grant.
There is even a possibility that some Ministry of Education funding may come available in conjunction with the NCEA qualifying units associated with the overall project.
A project like this rebuild is certainly not for the faint-hearted – many a re-abandoned hulk can be found in the paddocks and mudflats around the country. But this is not a naïve one-man dream. The collective determination of a core of talented young individuals is at work here.
“From the outset, Martin and I were well aware that we’d need to allocate different aspects of the programme to students with a variety of skills – both practical and organisational,” says Clive. “We’ve got a key group of about 15 seniors, mostly year 12 students, who’ve been delegated a wide variety of tasks.
“Some have internet skills which are great for research and running the Facebook page, and others have amazing practical talents. We’ve been able to incorporate some of the background work they do, as well as the more obvious efforts of our Trades students, into various NZCEA unit standards assessments.”
Coordinating 80 keen young Pirates is a daunting task. Where possible, the senior students have been given the reins during the club workdays. By allocating subgroups to tackle specific sections (decks, spars, port, starboard, engine) a sense of order can prevail. Additionally, the Pirates are receiving instruction in seamanship and sailing, with some even studying for a Boatmaster’s qualification.
Back in the College’s Building/construction workshop (woodwork is no longer the terminology), Martin lays out a set of beautifully-finished kauri foredeck beams alongside the rotten and damaged originals.
“We have some exceptional team members in the Trade Skills subject area – girls as well as boys – who really value quality workmanship. There are year 12 students among them who now plan to stay on into year 13 (seventh form for us oldies) next year so that they can be a part of the later stage of Rakino’s restoration.”
As he speaks, a confident senior student strides into the workshop, and is introduced as Luke Ferriera, the Pirates’ club captain. Immediately we see the passion that had impressed the Kapiti Council. Here is a young man who is living his dream. “I
totally love working with wood,” he explains, “but someone once told me I was born a century too late! Being involved with Rakino is a dream come true for me.”
Luke has practical knowledge well beyond his years, with work experience on a superyacht in Hobsonville already under his belt. “It was a great opportunity,” he continues, “but I couldn’t spend my life working with fibreglass and resins. I plan to stay until Rakino is back in the water, then find somewhere in the world that I can build wooden boats.”
This brings the discussion towards the end-goals of the whole project. Would it be enough to simply see the 63-year old ketch returned to the water fully shipshape? Clearly not. Two ambitious outcomes are riding on the back of all this youthful energy.
The first is already underway in the form of an ongoing film-making project. Every stage is being captured on video, and edited in the school media suite. With film-maker Dick van den Oever on the College Board of Trustees, the prospect of a featurelength documentary film is becoming a very real possibility.
But it is the second goal which really captures the essence of what these teachers and their young pirates are striving towards. Across the Tasman, Hobart’s Wooden Boat festival beckons. “We obviously can’t take students as crew,” winks Clive, “but by the time Rakino is ready for a voyage like this, some of our senior key Pirates will be out in the workforce and legally free to sign on.”
I sense a slight movement somewhere up on the old hull just over his shoulder. Could it be that Rakino just gave a little shiver of anticipation?