Over the weekend of Friday 9th – Sunday 11th May members of the Auckland International Yachting Fellowship (IYFR) came north to be (mostly) home – hosted by members of the Bay of Islands IYFR Fleet and to join in various activities that had been arranged for them.
The weekend began a great deal of anxiety, especially for BOI Fleet Commodore Ann, who was hoping that the weather forecast was accurate and that the heavy rain we had on Friday would (a) not deter any of our visitors from driving north and (b) would ease in the afternoon when the first of the activities we had planned began. As it turned out, the forecast was accurate and no one was deterred from making the trip north from Auckland and as far away as Thames.
The first activity was a visit to the Opua Commercial Estate to look over the historic steamship, Minerva,” originally built in 1910 and used as a ferry on the Waitemata Harbour, which a dedicated group of volunteers from the Kerikeri Steam Trust is restoring.
We were shown over the ship and could readily see the huge amount of work that has been done but also the large amount of work still needing to be done before she can be re-launched. We looked at pictures of the engines which are undergoing restoration at another site in Kerikeri and learned about the almost insurmountable hurdles the volunteers have had to cross so far to achieve their goal of getting a working vintage steamship, able to carry passengers, operating in the Bay of Islands. We thanked the volunteers and wished them well in their endeavours before retiring to the Opua Cruising Club for drinks and dinner.
The following morning the sun came out and we met for a self-guided tour of Ruapekapeka, the site of the last battle of the Northern New Zealand Wars between Maori and British Troops in 1846. tour. The tour takes in the former British positions (front and rear) and the Pa site and includes a pleasant bush walk between them. It is well sign posted and here are excellent interpretation panels telling the story of the battle as well as events leading up to it and its aftermath. It is surprising how few people know about this really significant part of our country’s history so it is always good to be able to share it when the opportunity arises.
After a picnic lunch at Ruapekapeka we headed back to Opua to board “Steadfast”, a replica of a 1913 French Pilot Cutter, which once operated in the Marlborough Sounds and is now based in Opua. Built in Perth, Western Australia, “Steadfast” is a big, heavy boat, representative of her era. Back in the day boats like her would likely have been manned only by a skipper a deck hand and the Pilot (when he was on board), but we were fortunate to have a crew of five looking after us. “Steadfast” really needs a good breeze to get her going, but the wind gods were kind and once we had cleared the Opua Cruising Club jetty and hoisted sail she was soon bowling along downwind towards Russell. Several of us took turns on the helm and soon learned that the reaction to steering movements on a ship like “Steadfast” are typically a lot slower than on or own boats and require more forward planning than we are used to. We ran down towards Russell with a side excursion into Matauwhi Bay to look at a really old yacht (over 100 years old) moored there and then proceeded upwind back to Opua where we disembarked and headed for further conviviality over drinks and dinner at the Phathouse Brewery in Haruru.
The following morning some of us paid a visit to the Kawiti Glowworm Caves at Waiomio while others began their journey back home.
Overall it was a lovely, albeit busy, Mother’s Day weekend enjoyed by visitors and hosts alike.
EXPLANATION: While Rotary does much great service in the local and global community it also has activities for its members and their family and friends that help build a wonderful camaraderie. Included in this are over 130 recreational Fellowship spanning the world that any Rotarian can belong to and the yachting fellowship is one of these.