Let’s Go To New Zealand Next Weekend?

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A huge thanks to long time fellow Woody Boater  Alan Doak for sending us in this invitation to be at this years big show in New Zealand in a couple weeks. This is an amazing annual event. Maybe we will pop on over under and …Oh wait..

Air fares to NZ next week!

Dear GOD! And then I need to ship Stinky. Thats another $10K, and to make the show, maybe need to fly her over in a super cargo plane. Lets say that’s gonna be around $75K, So I suppose the $10K ticket is a bargain, for the Boatress and I? Duster says I can stay in his barn. Maybe next year?  Well, here is the invitation from Alan.

This year’s Antique and Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park celebrates 20 years of the beautiful and the bizarre among Kiwi heritage boats. At 640m above sea level it’s New Zealand’s highest altitude boating event, with the fine craftsmanship and unusual entries continuing to attract the crowds.

Organizer Pete Rainey boat owners are willing to admit it is a bit mad to hunt down old boats abandoned in sheds and spend years sanding, polishing and tracing boat history and boat bits. “Over the years we’ve seen different styles to the fore…sometimes it’s been jet boats sometimes clinkers and now we’re seeing a real interest in the big classic speed boats from mid-19th century, some imported and some New Zealand built,” he said. “The boat show’s consistent factors are the enthusiasm from boat lovers for a day out sharing their projects, the attraction this has for the wider public, and the really glorious setting on the shore Lake Rotoiti with the backdrop of the St Arnaud range and Mt Robert.” Pete Rainey says the format will stick to the ‘tried and tested’. “Why change when people love what we do?

The displays on the land in the morning are an opportunity to swap restoration stories and pore over the detail of the hardy clinkers, classic yachts, cedar kayaks, veteran jet-boats and replica steam-boats on display,” he said. “Then it’s time to take your picnic to the foreshore and watch the fun of the sail-past, the races for each category and the usually humorous ‘Le Mans’ beach start to the Seagull dinghy race.”A glossy hard-backed book documenting the 20 year history of the Antique & Classic Boat Show will be launched for sale at the event for the special price of $20 – normal retail $25.

Throughout the 20-year history of the event the winner has taken home the Jens Hansen silver cup, with a smaller version to keep. Pete Rainey says the support from the Jens Hansen workshop over the years has been outstanding, and the original cup is not only a magnificent object, but now established as a trophy well worth winning. Get ready for two days of glorious hydromatic relaxation at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park on the first weekend in March.

As the venue is in the National Park and close to the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project dogs are banned. Drones are also banned. Nelson Antique and Classic Boat Show, March 2 & 3; 10am – 4pm, displays on land in the morning and events on the lake in the afternoon, both days. more info at HERE Takes a while to load, hey, it’s gotta go around the world.

15 replies
    • Matt
      Matt says:

      It was a big seller here on WoodyBoater years ago. Come to Lake Dora this year to buy this years crop of shirts.

  1. Tim Robinson
    Tim Robinson says:

    I can see snow in the mountains and people with heavy jackets on. It is summer in New Zealand this time of year?

  2. Briant
    Briant says:

    Wow. Seeing that Evinrude on Norma Gee gave me “time as a kid” flashbacks… great times….

    And not to be a jerk but….what in the heck is that stupid white picket fence gate supposed to keep off of the dock?

  3. Bilge Rat
    Bilge Rat says:

    “what in the heck is that stupid white picket fence gate supposed to keep off of the dock?”

    Unattended small children I guess. A Kiwi bird could walk right through it.

    • Philip Andrew
      Philip Andrew says:

      Jim the boating regulations are strict in some areas and loose in others down here.
      Everyone on board must wear a life jacket.
      You are not required to register your boat.
      You do not need to sit any lisence to operate at all. Just plop your boat in the water and get out there. The life jacket requirement makes sense given the lack of other safety measures I reckon. I choose to wear one of the compact slim varieties that inflate when you fall in. That way it doesn’t spoil the look of my beautiful Century’s.

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