Classic boats sail on in tricky waters
Reduced to one day on the water, there was no sinking of interest in the history and craftsmanship of the country’s most treasured classic boats at Lake Rotoiti.
Billed as an opportunity for ‘‘glorious hydromatic relaxation’’ by organisers, the New Zealand Antique and Classic Boat Show brought a wide range of clinkers, steam launches, classic motorboats and sailing dinghies to Nelson Lakes National Park yesterday.
Held annually since 1999, the show once again delivered on the nostalgic and the quirky – just as you’d expect from a boating event held 640 metres above sea level.
Organiser Pete Rainey said despite the constraints placed on the event through Covid-19 alert levels, the day had more than met expectations.
‘‘There’s always surprises with what we see and this year was no different.’’
Initial entries saw around 120 boats scheduled for display, with another 30 registering on the day to bring the total near 2020’s record number of 155.
Boaties towed their prized originals, restorations and rebuilds from as far away as Wanaka – and even a few from Auckland, who had left on a road trip well before the city went into lockdown last Sunday.
Among the fleet of vessels on display were a Great Lakes speedboat with a bootlegging past, an Edwardian steam-launch fired on Vietnamese anthracite, and a restored sailing dinghy crafted from kahikatea.
Normally a two-day affair, this year’s event was restricted to yesterday on the lake due to the elevated Covid-19 alert levels, while a planned dinner and prize-giving was cancelled on Saturday evening.
However, the return to level one at 6am yesterday ensured the event could proceed.
By 11am the Kerr Bay carpark was full, with hundreds making the trip to St Arnaud.
The judges were impressed with the overall standard of entries and with innovations such as Pete Murton’s fantailed clinker, which was now powered with an electric motor.
The six-metre wooden power boat Rita took the Jens Hansen Trophy, having been towed up from Tarras, Central Otago, by her owner, Michael Hayman.
Boat show judge John Harris said the winner was impressive as a 100-year-old veteran of the water, ‘‘still in relatively original condition and still enjoyed on the water by her owner.’’
Twelve other awards were presented on the day, including Port Nelson trophy for best row-boat to Murchison’s Kevin Hislop for his former Otago pilot boat built in the 1870s.