The 25th NZ Antique and Classic Boat Show held at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park over the weekend (March 1-2) had all the usual ingredients – restored pleasure craft, hardy working boats and retro steam launches – and was capped off with perfect weather.
“We’ve held the show when the weather was so bad the Cook Strait Ferry couldn’t sail, we’ve turned out in gumboots and puffers and we ran a reduced show during Covid,” said founder Pete Rainey. “But on our 25th anniversary, we had blue skies, bright sunshine, and just enough wind for the sailing race – won by Nelsonian John Bailey in his Flying Dutchman dinghy in a record time.”
This year a record 158 boats and a crowd of more than two thousand were drawn to St Arnaud.
The Jens Hansen Trophy for the best vessel overall went to a 1961 UK-built speedboat, Robin. The 15ft boat is an Albatross Continental restored in 2023 by the current owners, the Green family of Oamaru.
“It’s a classic boat, but the twin cockpit and the rear-mounted Coventry Climax engine make it quite rare,” Rainey said. “These boats were used for hire in Wanaka and Queenstown in the 1960s.”
This year a new category, the Boating NZ Retro Boat Trophy, was won by a Savage Electra Glass Skiboat, built to an Australian design and manufactured in Christchurch in the 1970s. The boat is completely original including the seats and bimini. The ironically named Tugboat was repowered in 2020 and is owned by Duncan Eliot of Havelock North.
Another new award this year was the Keith Walker Memorial Trophy for a long-serving volunteer.
“We awarded it posthumously to Noel Johnson whose enthusiasm for the show was an inspiration and huge motivator for co-founder Glenn Common and me,” Rainey said. “Noel was one of many older people who just love seeing the boats of their youth restored to be enjoyed by a new generation. That’s what the Antique and Classic Boat Show is all about.”
Award Winners
Jens Hansen Cup for best vessel overall:
Robin, Green family, Oamaru.
Boating NZ Retro Boat Trophy:
Tugboat, Duncan Eliot, Havelock North
People’s Choice, by popular vote:
Firebird, Matthew Rigden, Kawakawa
Best New Craft: Bonnie Moon, Neil Moon, Richmond
Best Restoration: Gull, Dick and Rita Hall, Picton
Port Nelson House Parts best rowed craft:
Queen Mary, Ross Beech, Blenheim
CWF Hamilton Trophy best jet-propelled craft: Dowty Turbocraft, Geoff Neutze, Christchurch
Johnson Family Trophy best sail-powered craft: Flashdance, John Bailey, Nelson
Mathieson/Jeffcott Trophy best motor-powered craft: Bluebird, Kim Henderson, Havelock North
Best outboard motorboat:
Haines Hunter, Alan Smith, Westport
Best American craft: Monty, Jacob Whittaker, Picton
Best clinker craft: Jean, David Meier, Nelson
Spectacular paint job award:
Casper, Philip Andrew, Wellington
Keith Walker Memorial Trophy for a long-serving volunteer: Noel Johnson (awarded posthumously)
Best Steamboat and the Eventiac best themed display: Tui, Reece & Johanna Cobb, Wakefield
