History

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Coastal navigation and leadline: how early sailors found their way along the shoreline
Modern boats carry everything. GPS, charts, sounders, radar.
It wasn’t always like that. Before i...

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Flak Too: The hydroplane that broke 100mph on Lake Rotoiti
In April 1968, on the long freshwater reach of Lake Rotoiti near Nelson, Flak Too became the first b...

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Beneteau First 30 at 50: how the yacht that launched the First range evolved
Next year, in 2027, the Beneteau First 30 turns 50. Few production yachts can claim that kind of lon...

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Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta 2026: Classic blustery racing across the harbour
Blustery winds tested crews, thinned some fleets, and delivered memorable racing as Auckland Anniver...

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Historic vessels confirmed as boat selection finalised for 2026 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival
The Auckland Wooden Boat Festival has completed its boat selection process for the 2026 event, confi...

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Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta showcases harbour-wide racing and working boat tradition
The Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta again lived up to its reputation as one of the most wide-rangin...

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The Power of Sail: Part 3
The Golden Age of Sail
The Golden Age of Sail (17th to the mid-19th centuries) was an era that saw ...

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The Power of Sail: Part 2
Welcome to ‘A very brief history of…’ researching the history of everyday marine technology, innovat...

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The second yacht named Tawera
In my last article I wrote about the strong relationship between the menfolk of the Wilson and the H...

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The Power of Sail – Part 1
Welcome to ‘A very brief history of ...’ researching the history of everyday marine technology, inno...
The Outboard
Also in 1906, a young man named Ole Evinrude was asked by his girlfriend Bess to row across a lake o...
Riverhead reflections
Two ferries operate this route, the Red Boats and the Riverhead Ferry, sailing times being dependent...












