I have had the distinct honour to travel to New Zealand several times from the United States. My visits, both in 2020 (pre-pandemic) and early in March of 2024, were exclusively to sample your astounding on-the-water opportunities, and to embrace and visually absorb the purest principles and boating lifeblood of your two islands; to savour your boating culture, personalities, personae, and playgrounds.
Without having been there before, I had no idea as to the enchanting townships, lakes, fjords, snow-covered mountains, cliffs, dunes, waterfalls, river valleys, geothermal springs and national parks.
Notwithstanding the vibe and individual personalities of Auckland (and the Waitematā Harbour), Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, and Queenstown, which were integral segments of my itineraries, for me, it would be ‘the waters’ that would (remind and) bind: the comparative and parallel on-the-water lifestyles that have become mainstays within the American boating regimen and that of your own, as well. How blessed you truly are to have certain gifts of Mother Nature to be able to include boating in your daily routines… as routine as a morning cup o’ Jo – or tea – lamb, fish and chips, or whitebait for supper; kumara or feijoa, and of course, kiwifruit or hokey pokey icecream.
On the water, how accomplished you are in the sailing world, what with your ongoing maritime accomplishments via The America’s Cup. Congratulations, again, on your most recent successes at Barcelona, Spain! I am reminded that my first Cup experience was attending the Cup Defence at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1983. Subsequently, thanks to my camera skills, I gained credentials to be able to witness and photograph the Cup Defence activities in San Diego (leading up to) your challenge against Oracle in San Francisco in 2013. And now look at you: three times the defender!
But Kiwis’ enthusiasm for boating runs deeper still, via the niche known as wooden or veteran runabouts. As a child growing up at Lake Tahoe, California, where the wooden boats have been integral to that geography since the 1920s, I developed a keen eye and desire to own, maintain, and (obviously) photograph, and chronicle, the histories of these still-with-us relics. In a curious twist of fate, one of my father’s former boats was purchased by a New Zealander and transported from Tahoe to the South Island in 2007. Knowing that, and becoming good friends with the present owner, Philip Andrew of Wellington, my first visit to New Zealand was well overdue. How enjoyable it would be to reconnect with my family’s past – and now your future!
Philip’s boat, Miss Tahoe, is one of many similar craft that now call New Zealand home. Indeed, there is a most admired, esteemed and diverse Kiwi wooden boat inventory that has grown in number and stature for over 30 years. Boats from American builders and designers such as Chris-Craft, Gar Wood, Century, Fairliner, Hacker and Nevins, dating from over 100 years ago, plus famed Italian brands like Riva, are now maintained and respectfully enjoyed by many of you. These artifacts became known to New Zealanders thanks to books, artwork, conversations with other afficionados, and nowadays virtually online.
Besides these various methods for discovering and exchanging information pertaining to veteran wooden runabouts, there is each March a ‘boating weekend’ which after 20 years has become a cornerstone for the celebration of the niche in New Zealand. Simply, it is known as the New Zealand Antique and Classic Boat Weekend, held at St. Arnaud, Kerr Bay, on the foreshore of Lake Rotoiti, part of the Nelson Lakes National Park. It annually attracts a great group of people, and the local community embraces enthusiastic ‘boaties’ from around the world. Pete Rainey has been the organiser since its inception.
Display entries have included the various brands noted above, as well as outboards, one-off vintage racers, replica steamers, sailboats, rowing skiffs and even a foiling bathtub (you folks are ingenious!) Two full days of ‘hydromatic’ relaxation, per Mr. Rainey, has made this occasion the premier veteran boat show in New Zealand where owners come to showcase their boats on-and-off the water. Entrants and spectators arrive ‘dressed to the nines,’ with picnic baskets and beach gear for comfort. Boats date from 1900 onwards and take centre stage. As Lake Rotoiti lies 100 kilometres south of Blenheim, there’s the added pleasure of the lovely drive through the Marlborough wine growing region enroute to the venue. If you have not attended, you should ‘bucket list’ this spot for March 2025.
USA a “Woody Heaven”
Should you also give serious thought to taking a gander at your woody cousins in the USA? You bet! While the distance there is hardly insignificant, what awaits you within that woody world will make your jaws drop… among other things. Where I grew up at Lake Tahoe, we collectively called the inventory of veteran boats “woody heaven.” Back then, circa 1970, there were over 1,500 mahogany runabouts of every vintage, length, model, and brand. That collective has now spread, or relocated, to other parts of the country for a variety of reasons and, as illustrated by these pictures, represents a palette of colour and history beyond compare. The ni plus ultra of vintage wooden runabouts resides in ‘the lower forty-eight.’
There is a variety of inland waterways in the United States where veteran wooden boats have a foothold. In addition to Lake Tahoe, they include Coeur d’ Alene and Priest Lake, Idaho; Whitefish Lake, Montana; Lake Okoboji, Iowa; Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Lake George, New York; Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire; and Gull Lake, Minnesota. But Gull Lake is now perhaps the hub – a hotbed for the most significant relics, if not the crème de la crème.
Gull Lake is in Northern Minnesota, a state reputed to encompass 10,000 lakes! Indeed, more than enough water to provide some of the most peaceful inland waterways for these classics. Gull Lake is also home to two charming and deeply devoted wooden boat devotees/collectors in Lee Anderson and John Allen. Since before 2000, they have amassed a combined mahogany masterpiece collection representing over five dozen benchmark vessels. Some of them presented on these pages.
But why not jump on a flight across the Pacific for a one-on-one acquaintance? On any summer afternoon, from May to September, you may observe each of these wonderful remainders of times past – they have become the custodial chattels of steadfast individuals.
Within the John Allen collection, are the two oldest operating Chris-Craft hulls on the planet: Miss Algonac and Godfather, both built in 1922 following the breakup of a mutual venture between Chris Smith and Gar Wood. Equally renowned are Sister Syn, the personal race craft of car-builder Horace Dodge, and Teaser, a 1924 40-foot speedster built by Henry B. Nevins, which ‘raced’ the train known as the 20th Century Limited, down the Hudson River, in New York state – and beat it!
John’s latest acquisition is Hornet II. She is formerly from Lake Tahoe, and originally purchased (and reconfigured with the aluminum superstructure/deck) by Henry Kaiser, Sr., from Gar Wood; her original configuration was as a traditional three-cockpit speedboat, including a one-step keel. The reconfiguration that included the aluminum deck was made while Kaiser attempted to win speedboat races in the 1930s at Tahoe and “hadn’t quite hit the mark.” Kaiser went to his friend, Howard Hughes, who proposed and provided the new, lighter-weight decking. Hornet II never lost a race after that radical remedy.
Now, at Gull Lake, Hornet is potentially poised to match race with any of John’s other icons. Hornet II has no equal or look-alike! See her, and the others, for yourself when you visit Gull Lake, Minnesota, in the United States.
These words, and pictures, should make it crystal-clear: were it not for water, our collective and mutual interest in boats – wooden boats – would not be possible. Our water planet is a playground for aquatic contentment. Water is in our souls, proverbially and literally.
Kia ora.
Steven Lapkin is a renowned photographer specialising in boats and maritime themes. He will be attending and photographing this year’s Antiques and Classics Boat Show at St Arnaud.
Words and Pictures by: Steven Lapkin
