KATABATIC’S BIRTH

Orchard’s route to chartering Katabatic is a story with many threads but one theme – commitment. How does a professional chef evolve into a charter boat skipper?

Marlborough locals will be aware that he comes from a long line of Orchards – the clan stretches back five generations. In maritime terms, his father (Bill) and grandfather (Fred) were perhaps the most dominant of them. Both were boatbuilders and made their living from the sea. But Orchards from earlier generations were mail boat operators in the Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds.

On leaving school, Bill was given a choice by his father – fisherman or boatbuilder? Boatbuilding won, and Bill completed his apprenticeship at Swanson’s Boatyard in the nearby Blackwood Bay. But he did migrate to fishing, owning and operating various vessels around the country, eventually securing a fishing quota in 1986. He also built five launches over the years – all for his own use.

As history often demonstrates, it has a knack of repeating itself. When Grant approached the end of his schooling, Bill presented him with a choice – “you can come commercial fishing – but you’re not staying at home without a job.” So he eventually ended up working on his dad’s tuna-trolling vessel – the Heritage. And at the time, he hated it.

“Dad was a hard man – and working for him wasn’t easy. We had a few rows and after one incandescent bust-up I decided to quit and told him I’d rather wash dishes.

“That decision was a spur-of-the-moment thing, triggered by a healthy measure of rebelliousness, but washing dishes led to me landing a 6,000-hour chef’s apprenticeship with the Puka Park Lodge in Pauanui. And that, in turn, led to a stint of cooking in Melbourne.

“But then Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer – and I came home. He had, in the meantime, begun building a new boat for himself – just a bare, half-completed hull. Of course, we’d reconciled our differences, and just before he died I told him I was going to finish his boat. I don’t think he believed me. It’s a great pity he never got to see the result.

“A cold-moulded construction – glass over meranti ply – she has white pine frames, ribs and stringers. Dad designed her – but she’s loosely-based on a Pelin – he really liked the Pelins. And I was committed to finishing her – I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. Working as an adult boatbuilding apprentice for $10 an hour wasn’t going to cut it. But, fuelled by the exuberance of youth, nothing was impossible and I pressed on!”

Over the next eight years, Orchard funded the building of the boat by working as chef on luxury superyachts in the Med, Caribbean and the US. It was a nomadic life, back and forth, funding the project piecemeal. He had also inherited a share of his father’s quota license – and sold it to help finish Katabatic.

“Much of my drive,” Orchard says, “came from a vision of what I wanted to do with my life – operate a charter boat in the Sounds, utilising my cooking skills. I never abandoned the goal. And fortunately, it’s worked out well – hospitality isn’t a job – it’s a lifestyle. But I love it!”