The second time round for the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival set up an expectation for more to see and do.
Now a biannual event in phase with The Australian Wooden Boat Festival based in Hobart, Auckland delivered a more diverse and in-depth experience for visitors for this second edition.
Festival directors Michelle Khan and Tony Stevenson of the Tino Rawa Trust, with the help of their organising committee and funding from Tataki Auckland Major Events, found a wide range of exhibitors, including a contingent from Tasmania telling their wooden boat stories.
The festival spread across four iconic waterfront venues – Viaduct Events Centre, Jellicoe Harbour, New Zealand Maritime Museum, and the fully restored Percy Vos Boat Yard, open to the public for the first time.
The timing of the event was nicely-placed after the Auckland On Water Boat Show and the Classic Yacht Regatta the previous weekend, in which a number of Australians had travelled across the ditch to participate. I caught up with Larry Eastwood of ‘Restoring Petrel’ fame – Petrel is a 30ft Linear Rater designed by Arch Logan and built in 1900 by the renowned Logan Brothers boatbuilders in Auckland. Larry was having a yarn with Stephen Horsley who had restored Ngatira, a 1904 Chas Bailey Jnr-designed 27ft linear rater. They were comparing notes and organising the sharing of casting patterns.
Walking further along the dock, I was sidetracked by Angus Rogers and invited aboard Centaurus, his 42-foot 1967 Bailey & Son built bridgedecker launch.
He proudly showed off the 1.25-inch thick kauri hull – on Australian hardwood ribs – all in mint condition.
It was hard to get to the Percy Vos Shed as there were so many craft to admire along the way, but what a treat it was when you got there!
The NZ Traditional Boatbuilding School was constructing a kauri clinker Frostbite dinghy, and master carvers were working on the final stages of a waka hourua.
Inside the Events Centre the hall was filled with timber sailing dinghies, powerboats and all manner of craft. Ron Copeland’s stand stood out with detailed models and some lovely old tools. He proudly showed me a Norris A5, a highly regarded vintage British infill smoothing plane, often called the ‘Rolls Royce’ of planes.
Further along, children were having fun discovering how wind powers model ships along plastic gutters filled with water. Upstairs, beautiful model boats had people fascinated, their popularity limited the room to move around!
The Daring display was also a highlight, showcasing the trailer to a documentary on her discovery on Muriwai Beach and subsequent recovery. I look forward to seeing the full film.
Two-and-a-half days was only just enough time to take in all of the Festival, particularly with a great lineup of speakers in the Maritime Museum. Mark Chew gave a fascinating talk entitled ‘Disappearing Dhows’ – the sheer delight he captured on the faces of the sailors of these amazing craft remains etched in my memory. There was not enough time to listen to the whole speaker line up, which included John Welsford, Lin Pardey and Paul Stephanus from the Australian Wooden Boat Festival.
I rate the festival as a huge success judging by visitor engagement, diverse presentations, and beautiful wooden craft made accessible to the public. I look forward to the next event.
2026 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, 13-15 March
