Lake Rotoiti - Nelson Lakes National Park
March 3 & 4 2007

A restored clinker sailing dinghy from Picton was the overall winner of the Jens Hansen Cup at the eighth Seresin Estate Antique and Classic Boat Show, held at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park over the weekend.

'Stiffy' was built in 1948 for the Auckland sea-scouts - but had been abandoned and until a year ago was derelict. 380 hours of work by Harold Gratton of Picton transformed the boat and won the trophy for Harold and his wife Noelene.

Judge John Moore said 'Stiffy' is the essence of what the boat show is all about.

"It is about respect for old vessels and the New Zealand boating heritage they represent," said Moore. "The winner is a 'do it yourself' restoration by someone who is not a professional boat builder - we were impressed that he had sought out the authentic blue colour of the boat to paint her rather than going for a glossy varnished finish."

Other awards included: Best Original Row Boat: a 10foot clinker built, Noel, owned by Ian Stewart of Nelson. Best Jet Boat: a 15foot, Jet 30 Hamilton, built in 1961 and restored in 2000, owned by Laurie Payne of Lyttelton, Christchurch. Best non powered craft: the Whitby, a 3.5metre sea scout cutter built in 1960 by A Westrupp and restored in 2004, owned by Graham Allan of Nelson. Best powered craft: Renaissance, a 21foot Chris Craft replica runabout built at Jack Guard's workshop in Nelson in 2004 by Chris Guard and Paul Glover.

Organiser Pete Rainey said the Seresin Estate Antique and Classic Boat Show had gained a reputation that was drawing significant craft and their owners from right around New Zealand.

"The great thing is that with a larger number of vessels in each class the owners can enjoy swapping stories and racing against each other - for example we had eight steam launches and around the same number of classic Hamilton jets this year," he said.

Over three thousand people attended the vent over two days.

ENDS

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