Boating Heritage
Glorious hydrodynamic relaxation
Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park, framed by glacial slopes and native beech forest, comes to life every March t...
Belle of the Bay
By the time Aucklander Kate Farrant turned 30 in September, her 1960s kauri ex-Fullers ferry, the Bay Belle, was ready to hos...
The 580 Regal, twenty years on
The 580 Regal first appeared on the New Zealand boating scene under the Sea Nymph name. By the early 2000s, Sea Nymph was alr...
Brendon Cornes on retro boats and modern camaraderie
How a Facebook group has sparked a new community of classic boat enthusiasts across New Zealand.
Retro boats and caravans gather in Rotorua for swap meet
Retro boats and caravans come together in Rotorua on 19 October for a community sale and swap meet at Marist St Michaels.
125 years of Ponsonby Cruising Club: Auckland’s mullet boats and maritime heart
Ponsonby Cruising Club celebrates 125 years of mullet boats, Lipton Cup tradition, and Auckland sailing heritage.
Chillin’ in Taupō: retro boats make waves
Early starts for a big day
For many, Saturday's Chillin’ in Taupō began in the dark. Some had towed down the night before, w...
Chillin’ in Taupō: NZ Retro Boats mid-winter meet-up
Scheduled for Saturday 23 August, the latest NZ Retro Boats event—titled Chillin’ in Taupō—will see a convoy of classic fibre...
The Yates family of the Far North and their Bailey & Lowe launches Part II: Tui Silver Bell
Joseph William (Joe) Conrad, who bought the bigger Tui (now Silver Bell) from Gus Yates in 1914, often used his Māori names, ...
Tribute evening for Kiwi yacht designer Paul Whiting
A public tribute evening honouring one of New Zealand’s most influential yacht designers, Paul Whiting, will be held at the P...
RV Kaharoa: The end of an era for NIWA’s “Little Ship That Can”
14 April 2025 marks a memorable turning point for New Zealand’s marine science community. After more than four decades of ste...
The Yates family of the far north and their Bailey & Lowe launches
The Yates family had extensive holdings in the Far North around the turn of the 20th century. Samuel Yates was born in London...
Personal Water Craft (‘jetskis’)
Welcome to ‘A very brief history of…’ researching the history of everyday marine technology, innovation and events kiwi boati...
Happy anniversary: 25th NZ Antique and Classic Boat Show
Blue skies, sparkling water, big crowds and a record number of interesting boats
of every sort made the 25th anniversary of...
Dynamic duo: The John and Linda Parrish story
Race management is one of those critical jobs that has to be done just right and where accuracy is everything. With more than...
The New Zealand Raters – Export
In December 1898 a major yachting event was held in Auckland, the first with any true international content. The North Shore ...
A spectacular showcase of classic boating at Lake Rotoiti
The 2025 NZ Antique and Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes, was nothing short of spectacular. With more than 150...
The 1895 8-raters
In an international context, perhaps the most extraordinary feature of the Auckland-built raters I have described so far in t...
Bumper Tugboat Fleet Race set to thrill at 185th Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta launch
Auckland’s 185th birthday celebrations on Monday, 27 January, will feature a spectacular tugboat race as part of the Auckland...
Farr reaching success: The Farr 1020 story
One of the most successful one-design keelers in New Zealand has been the Farr 1020. Designed by Bruce Farr and his team in 1...
Classic yachts (and launches) as ‘Protected New Zealand Objects’
Formed in the mid-1990s, The Classic Yacht Association was at the forefront of protecting classic yachts from unlawful export...
Brest Maritime Festival 2024: World classics extravaganza
Every four years since the 1990s, Brittany’s largest port, Brest, has played host to a gathering of traditional craft from ar...
James Bond would have been very pleased with the NZ Retro Boats gathering 2024 at Lake Tarawera
This past weekend, the shimmering waters of Lake Tarawera just outside of Rotorua were alive with nostalgia, as the NZ Retro ...
Boatshed 6054, Riverside Drive, Whangarei – A Piece of Whangarei’s Maritime History is F...
Nestled along the picturesque Hatea River, Shed 6154 at 50 Riverside Drive stands as a testament to Whangarei's rich maritime...
Lake Brunner Classic Boats Get Together: A Celebration of Maritime Heritage
Every year, boating enthusiasts gather for the Lake Brunner Classic Boats Get Together, an annual event celebrating the beaut...
The Raters
Over two hundred years ago, yachting was a brand-new amateur sport of the moneyed classes in England, Scotland and Ireland. I...
The Evolution of AC75: From Concept to Cutting-Edge Racing Yacht
The world of competitive sailing has been profoundly transformed by the introduction of the AC75 class of racing yachts. Thes...
Antifoul – The Boatie’s Friend
While today’s antifoul coatings come in a wide range of brands, types and colours, the evolution of how we got here
is quite ...
The Tattersfield Brothers Part 4; The Tattersfield brothers go to war
The war years couldn’t dampen the Tattersfield family’s enthusiasm for boating, bringing new boats, new duties, and a family ...
The Tattersfield Brothers; Racing years with Altair Part 3
In December 1934 the Tattersfield brothers missed out the Tauranga race in Janet for the first time in many years, probably b...
Arakana and Tamariki Jnr Standing Out from the Crowd
Passionate, enthusiastic boat owners and their devotees were everywhere you looked at the inaugural Wooden Boat Festival, hel...
The Tattersfield Brothers; Janet and the TransTasman Part 2
In December 1928 Guy and Noel Tattersfield were well pleased with their new purchase, the 32ft keel yacht Janet.
The Tattersfield Bothers; The 24ft Linear Raters Part 1
In the February issue I left Lt. Home Kidson arriving back in England in late 1935 to marry the lovely Lady Georgianna Curzon...
Lieutenant Home Kidston and his toys Part 3
I left Sub Lt R. H. (Home) A. Kidston aboard H.M.S. Diomede at Suva in June 1934 with the newspapers trumpeting that he had e...
Lieutenant Home Kidston and his toys PART 2
When he first arrived in Auckland on August 2, 1933 to join HMS Diomede the Auckland Star called Sub-Lieutenant Home (pronoun...
Gybe-O; The storms and sun rays of my days
D. Ault Salt closed his eyes, tugged his grey beard, and thought: Life is good.
Lieutenant Kidston RN of HMS Diomede and his toys
Fresh from Eton and straight from the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, Lieutenant Home Reginald Arthur Kidston joined HMS Di...
Early Kaipara; The boats of the Bennetts of Port Albert
Small boats, under sail and later power, featured heavily in the history of Albertland.
THE SANDERSON BROTHERS; Truant and the rise of Manola
The Sanderson brothers; Frank Sanderson was the victor of the match race on the Waitematā on December 9, 1882 for a cup betwe...
The Sanderson Brothers; The loss of Truant, the Logan Alert
I left the Sanderson brothers in the winter of 1885. Frank put the half-decked centre-boarder Truant on the market. Fred had ...