Indian Ocean conquerors' boat at Voyager for Boat Show

The 8.8m Rowing For Prostate boat that placed second in the first ever Indian Ocean Rowing Race in 2009 will be on display outside Voyager throughout the Auckland International Boat Show, 11-14 March.

Billy Gammon, Matthew Hampel, Pete Staples and Tom Wigram rowed their boat from Geraldton in Western Australia to Mauritius in 81 days between April and July last year, a distance of 5,472 kms. Their challenge attracted significant media attention when, 10 days out from the finish, communication with the crew was lost (NZ Herald story)– as it turned out, due to the eventual failure of the satellite communications equipment. Thankfully they overcame this (and many more mishaps) to finish second overall – a fine effort from four lads without any prior rowing experience.

Some of the other more memorable incidents included the flooding and subsequent loss of their forward cabin on day two, the failure of their seat rails on day four (effectively removing the power of their legs), loss of power on day 11 due to lack of solar power energy (the first of many), a capsize eight days out from the finish, and an unbearably close miss with an 800ft tanker just four days out.

The team also overcame a period of 2-3 weeks when the reality of their situation became all too apparent. Conversations, banter and camaraderie between the two shifts dried up - the fun was replaced with paranoia, the jokes with accusations. Thankfully, the team battled through to record 974 nonstop two hour rowing stints (shifts of two rowers) on their way to becoming the first Southern Hemisphere team to achieve the feat. An epic adventure that epitomises New Zealand’s explorative spirit.

You can read more at www.rowingforprostate.com

Grand old speedboat returns to Hobson Wharf

One of New Zealand’s most elegant early speed boats, Piri Pono, is back on display at Voyager following a period of time in storage. Taking her place at the northern end of Hobson Wharf between Blue Water Black Magic and Rapaki, Piri Pono is a twin-cockpit, 12-seat runabout commissioned by the founder of the Farmers Trading Company, Robert Laidlaw, for holiday use on Lake Taupo.

The 8.59m (28ft2in) Collings & Bell-built boat was launched in 1929, providing the Laidlaws with a fast and spacious vessel for exploring the many bays of Lake Taupo. Called up for service in WWII, Piri Pono was the Air Commodore’s barge at Hobsonville Air Base in Auckland’s upper Waitemata Harbour. A canopy was fitted to protect the occupants from the spray, while the varnished mahogany was covered with Air Force paint and roundels.

Repurchased by the Laidlaws following the war, Piri Pono went on to become a pioneering water-skiing boat, before changing hands several times and undergoing multiple restorations. Piri Pono was eventually gifted to the museum by Alan & Jenny Gibbs and Robin Cosgrove in the early 1990s.

As an aside, Piri Pono was given its name by Laidlaw, who himself was referred to by one of his close friends as his Piri Pono, or faithful friend. Laidlaw was seeking the same in a boat, so gave his new boat the same name. The literal translation for ‘piri’ as a verb is ‘cling to’ while ‘pono’ as a noun means ‘truth’. Not exactly the same, but both are great names for this sleek 81-year old.

Length: 8.59m

Beam: 2.13m

Engines: Twin 106hp Graymarine, six-cylinder, side valve, petrol

Speed: 30 knots

Piri Pono in her earlier days

Piri Pono on display at Voyager

Steam crane Rapaki open for inspection

Voyager’s steam crane, Rapaki, is open to visitors again following a period of refurbishment by our steam engineer, John Downie. Sitting proudly at the northern end of Hobson Wharf at the entrance to the museum marina, Rapaki represents a bygone era of shipbuilding and engineering dating from Victorian times – the ‘age of steam’.

Launched in 1926 in Scotland, Rapaki was purchased by the Lyttleton Harbour Board to meet the port’s demands for a heaving lift crane. The 80-ton (lifting capacity) self-propelled floating crane cost £4,200, and her delivery voyage took 109 days via the Panama Canal. Numerous storms and shortages of food and coal were all overcome in arriving in Lyttleton on July 27 1926. Rapaki’s career spanned 62 years, and included stints with the British Ministry of War in the Red Sea in 1941, and the three years following with the US Navy in New Caledonia to clear a backlog of having loads from Livery ships, and refloating damaged vessels from the Pacific war. Rapaki was finally retired by the Lyttleton Harbour Board in 1988.

Rapaki was purchased by Voyager from the Lyttleton Harbour Board in 1993. She was towed to Auckland in July 1993 by the Royal New Zealand Navy tug Arataki to take up residence at Voyager.

Length: 51.82m

Beam: 15.91m

Depth: 3.69m

Draught: 1.96m unladen

Gross tonnage: 745 ton

Displacement: 1415 ton

Builder: Fleming & Fergusson Ltd, Paisley, 1926

Crane Builder: Sir William Arrol & Co Ltd, Parkhead, Scotland

Engines: Two 400 HP Fleming & Ferguson vertical, two-cylinder, direct-acting steam compound

Boiler: Anderson Engineers Ltd Scotch-type wet-back, multi-tubular, 130 psi, installed 1979

Bunker capacity: 145 tons coal

Coal consumption: 2-3 tons per 8 hour shift

Lifting capacity: 80 ton @ 50 ft radius

All motions of the crane are steam powered and mechanically controlled. One engineer controls the hoisting and slewing from the house at the base of the jib and a second engineer controls the clutches inside the machinery room.

Boiler

Telegraph

Starboard main engine

Sleeping quarters

Telegraph

Machinery room

Crane turntable

Crane hook

Jib house

Rapaki crane jib

Meet Voyager's newest recruit

New Voyager staff member, Kate Ambury, says she was attracted to Voyager because of the essential role that New Zealand’s maritime heritage has played in our nation’s history. In the final stages of her Masters of Library and Information Science, Kate has been tasked with taking Voyager’s priceless Bill Laxon Collection – consisting of approximately 250,000 photos dating back to 1860, and making it a key library and museum resource.

This largely untapped resource illustrates New Zealand’s remarkable maritime history with unrivalled volume and detail. The collection includes many thousands of Bill Laxon’s own photographs, as well as many, many more collected by Bill during a lifetime of maritime interest and research.

Kate’s role is to sort through this impossibly large collection, cataloguing it to enable Voyager to better assist with research enquiries, identifying and recording streams which document specific aspects of our maritime history, and also considering ways to integrate the material into existing and future museum exhibitions.

As Kate sees it, she’s interpreting history, and she’s particularly excited about the contribution her work will make to our records of the not-so-distant history. “The most easily forgotten part of history is the recent past. Sometimes it’s not seen as being as valuable right now, but in 50 years times we’ll wish we had access to the information.”

Kate cites the examples of small working wharfs that were once located the length of New Zealand. “If it weren’t for the photos like those in the Bill Laxon Collection, they’d largely be forgotten.”

Great stuff, Kate. We’re all looking forward to seeing and sharing the gems you’ll no doubt be unearthing along the way.

Bill Laxon, for whom Voyager’s maritime library is also named after, was a founding member of the Auckland Maritime Society that developed the proposal for the current museum, and he was responsible for the establishment of the Auckland Maritime Society's library within the Bill Laxon Maritime Library collection.

Take the wheel in our new interactive

Kiwis and the Coast has a great new interactive that puts you in control of a boat on the Waitemata Harbour. Set up in a wheelhouse set amongst our Fishing display, the interactive utilises a genuine wheel and throttle control to control the boat's speed and direction.

Each player starts their voyage in one of a variety of locations throughout the Waitemata Harbour, or even the Hauraki Gulf, and using the onboard map (or perhaps their own knowledge of the area) they are tasked with guiding their boat back to Voyager's marina.

Along the way, players can check out the very detailed sights of the Waitemata Harbour, including the Port of Auckland, Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the North Shore. There's also the occasional cargo ship, naval craft, marker buoy or pleasure yacht to avoid, reflecting the very busy nature of Auckland city's harbour. Successful completion of the interactive occurs when the player gently docks their boat outside of Voyager, infront of The Waterfront Cafe.

Photos from BWBM opening 12.12.2009

Prime Minister John Key meets the Blake family at the opening to Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Auckland City Mayor John Banks speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Prime Minister John Key speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Pippa Lady Blake speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

James Blake reveals the exhibition plaque for Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, watched on by Sarah-Jane Blake and Pippa Lady Blake.

Prime Minister John Key tries out the 'Meet the Crew' interactive.

Voyager Chairman Alastair Aitken (right) talks Te Papa Chairman John Judge, Prime Minister John Key and Pippa Lady Blake through the NZ Post Limited Edition Sir Peter Blake stamps.

Some of the first members of the public exploring Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Up close with KZ1

KZ1 is Auckland City's official Christmas tree for 2009. A couple of us at Voyager took the opportunity this morning to head up onto the deck via a cherry picker while the Christmas lights installation team were doing their thing.

Without naming names, one of us is a little uncomfortable with heights, so the nine metre ride to KZ1's deck, although brief, was a less than ideal way to start a Friday morning. We'd also been warned that the deck could be a little slippery at the best of times, and with a touch of overnight rain, we should watch our steps. Awesome.

The step from the cherry picker to the deck was actually very comforting though, as the hulk of KZ1 barely registered our arrival. To our surprise the deck was incredibly grippy, which probably makes perfect sense as the last thing you'd want during a hotly contested match race is for crew to have to be concerned about their footing.

As a relative maritime novice, but avid sports fan, it was an immensely cool feeling to stand up the deck, and briefly take the helm.

We've been revising the object panel that sits below KZ1 so I'd recently been schooled up on all the details of the campaign and now better understand KZ1's place in our history.

Having checked out NZL32 Black Magic (our 1995 America's Cup-winning yacht) in our new exhibition, Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, it's amazing to think that these two yachts raced for the same trophy just 7 years apart. KZ1's deck really is quite massive.

The most surprising aspect though, was that most of the hardware was downstairs. Can't have been much fun. Mind you, the margins of victory by the Stars and Stripes catamaran over KZ1 meant up on deck probably wasn't much fun either.

One last insight into the 'Big Boat' - a bunch of people have written their names onto the inside of KZ1's hull. Some people have included labels with their name (e.g. painter) while others are recognisable as being intimately involved with KZ1's construction (Steve Marten).

Two lads, happy with their morning's work.