Living classics

Auckland Anniversary Regatta is always a special event – a rich, colourful celebration of the city’s maritime legacy and relationship with the sea. It’s a heritage that deserves to be cherished – and so it is – even by those whose tummies resist the appeal of wind, flying spray and rolling decks.

It’s widely-considered one of the world’s largest and most diverse regattas – not only in terms of numbers but also in the variety of vessels. Where else do you find ancient yachts, classic launches, modern power boats, mullet boats, dinghies, tugs and cruisers – and others – all sharing the same space, united in one celebration?

But for me this year’s event – some 177 years after the first regatta was held in 1842 – holds a particular significance. This Anniversary Regatta sees a revival of one of the Waitemata’s greatest yacht-racing rivalries.

Two beautifully restored classics meet again some 80 years after they first squared off on Auckland’s harbour – the 1904 gaff-rigger Ariki (Arch Logan-designed) – and Ranger (designed and built by local crane driver Lou Tercel), launched in 1938.

Ariki’s speed and dominance – evident from the day she was launched – came to an abrupt end with the arrival of Ranger, a speedster that eventually went on to become her nemesis. So this tussel is bound to be fascinating.

The Ariki-ranger rivalry is intriguing on many levels – not least because it represents a snapshot of New Zealand’s evolving social order in the early part of the 20th century. Ariki was a blue-blood, a boat built for the toffs operating at the upper levels of society. Ranger was designed and built by wharfies – people grinding out an existence at the other end. The common man rose up and won.

Of course, purists will scoff and point out that it’s no longer a real contest. Ariki carries her original, complicated gaff rig – Ranger has for many years carried an aluminium, Bermudan upgrade. But I think that argument is a little myopic and misses the point.

What’s important is that we have the privilege of seeing these gladiators from a bygone era in action – and in Ariki’s case, resplendent in her originality. They’re still alive and racing. Complete with the crews’ fist-shakes and mouth-foaming oaths.

Restoring – and maintaining – vessels like these isn’t easy or cheap. I’ve spoken to the owners of both vessels – and one can only marvel at their passion.

Long may it last. Lawrence Schäffler Editor