We are uploading the early 1900's articles now, check back soon for the update!

History: The Classic Period of Yachting

Raters:
As the economic depression started to ease in the early 1890s, New Zealand yachtsmen ordered yachts known as raters, built to new overseas racing rules. They were keen to have the same type, even though truly international competition was unlikely.

From the end of 1892 until 1905 there was a golden age of keel-yacht building in Auckland – mainly the international 2½-raters, about 35 feet (10.7 metres) in deck length, and 5-raters.

The two principal builders were the Logan and Bailey families. Robert Logan worked with his sons, as did Charles Bailey. The rivalry between the family businesses was intense, and the racing improved the yachts. Each season, both produced new 2½- and 5-raters that engaged in fierce competition and caught the public’s imagination.

Australian interest:
By the mid-1890s Australian yachtsmen, who would come to purchase second-hand raters from Auckland, were soon commissioning new yachts from Logans and Baileys. Within a few years New Zealand’s yachts dominated keel-yacht racing in Sydney, just as its racehorses were beginning to shine in Australian thoroughbred racing.

Classic yachts:
The large number of raters and similar yachts built from 1890 to 1913 remained the major yachts in Auckland and other ports, especially Wellington, for another 40 years. The majority still survive because of the strong multiple-skin construction, the lasting qualities of kauri timber, and the love and care of their owners. These boats are at the core of the fleet maintained by the Classic Yacht Association.

Clubs:
By the 1890s there were yacht clubs in Auckland, Onehunga, Wellington, Nelson, the Christchurch estuary, Lyttelton, Dunedin and Invercargill. They organised racing outside the regatta days. From 1900 onwards the number of clubs increased, especially in Auckland. Apart from a brief period of New Zealand championships (1892–96), yachting remained largely a local sport.

Harold Kidd. 'Sailing and windsurfing', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 9-Jun-2006URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/RecreationSeaAndSky/SailingAndWindsurfing/en

History: 1880's & Increasing Sophisitication

Club racing: Despite the long economic depression in the 1880s, yachting became an important sport in the four main ports: Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin. It also appeared in provincial ports such as Nelson and Whāngārei. From the 1870s, regattas and clubs promoted yacht and open sailing-boat racing. The Ponsonby Regatta Committee was set up in 1879, and there were proper yacht clubs in the English and American model, such as the Auckland Yachting Club (1871) and Wellington’s Port Nicholson Yacht Club (1882). Match racing set boat against boat for wagers, or among several for sweepstakes. This fostered racing for both participants and spectators. Increasingly the participants were middle-class youth rather than Māori and European watermen. Many large keel yachts were built, while the open sailing-boat classes reached a peak of development. Sporting yachtsmen began ordering mullet boats built for racing, to a finish of yacht quality. When they were past their peak there was a ready sale for them in the fishing industry. There was a large interest for some years, too, in the worldwide craze for the clinker-built, wood-decked Rob Roy sailing canoe. Boat building: Specialist yacht builders set up in business, especially in Auckland. It had a generally good climate for the sport, and cruising grounds for the bigger boats in the Hauraki Gulf and along the Northland and Coromandel coasts. As the centre of the timber industry and the Pacific Islands trade, the city had chandlers, sail makers, riggers and other necessary businesses. A century at sea: In 1988, 100 years after she was built, the Akarana was restored by the New Zealand government and presented back to the Australian people to mark their bicentenary of European settlement. Using kauri: The native kauri is a light, strong timber, exceptionally resistant to rotting in sea water. Many kauri yachts built before 1900 are still in good condition today. New Zealand boat builders began using a multiple diagonal-skinned, frameless construction, introduced by Robert Logan. Most of the hull was kauri, making for a strong, durable structure. New Zealand builders continued to turn out safer and more useable craft than the British, whose rules led to yachts so deep and narrow as to be difficult to navigate. Exporting to Australia: Yacht building was also stimulated by the export of boats across the Tasman. The first export, Thomas Niccol’s Secret, was sailed to Australia in 1875. The success of Robert Logan’s Akarana (1888) brought prestige and pride to New Zealand boat builders. By the 1880s the family firms of Logans and Baileys had begun a long and productive rivalry. Harold Kidd. 'Sailing and windsurfing', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 9-Jun-2006URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/RecreationSeaAndSky/SailingAndWindsurfing/en