First female winner for Nelson's Antique & Classic Boat Show

Media Release – female and teen winners surprise judges at Antique and Classic Boat Show

The weekend’s Antique & Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti had its first female winner of the top prize, with the Jens Hansen Cup for the Best Vessel Overall going to the classy runabout, Summertime, owned and built by Rosie Lees of Blenheim.

Lees says she saw a boat of this design, ‘Fullafun’ at the Boat Show in 2012 and started looking on Trademe for something similar.

“I showed a family friend, Frank Pelin, some photos of ‘Fullafun’ and he recognised it as a Venturer, one of his designs,” she says. “I didn’t have any luck buying something similar on Trademe, but I did find Venturer plans and built the boat with my father’s help at our boatyard at Sandspit, Warkworth.”

Ms Lees (26) works in environmental monitoring for the Marlborough District Council.

Youth was also to the fore in the other top boat – the winner of People’s Choice and Best New Craft, Mrs Robinson, owned by 14-year-old Oli Malthus of Wellington. He built the smart red and white 9’10” hydroplane to the Jupiter design last year as a year-10 school project. This type of boat, designed by Hal Kelly, was a popular racer in New Zealand in the 50s through to the early 70s, and in 1963 reached 79mph to set an Australian speed record for its class.

Judges Ben Cox and John Harris paid tribute to the dedication that had gone into the new builds and restored craft on show.

Harris said the age of the owner-builders of the top two boats came as surprise: “To be honest we wouldn’t expect boats to be built to such a high standard by the younger generation. It’s great to see young people getting involved in the classic boat community, showing an interest in boating history and winning competitions with such skilful builds of wooden boats.”

Organiser Pete Rainey said the weather affected turnout, though the show did go ahead on Saturday in heavy showers, with a small crowd of mainly boat owners and die-hard enthusiasts.

“The weather came right in the afternoon and we got the boats on the lake but didn’t run any of the scheduled races,” he said. “Then yesterday (Sunday) the summer weather returned and we had a good crowd of spectators for a great day of racing and general ‘messing about in boats’ on the shore and on the lake.”

The full list of awards made at the Antique and Classic Boat Show:

Best New Craft: Mrs Robinson, owned by Oli Malthus of Wellington;

Best Restoration: Svago, owned by Mark O’Neill of Nelson;

Port Nelson House Parts: Best Rowed Craft, Maggie, owned by John McConway of Picton;

CWF Hamilton Trophy for the Best Jet Propelled Craft: Impulse II, owned by Matt Wicken of Christchurch;

Johnson Family Trophy for the Best Sail Powered Craft: Boat 101, owned by Keith Hensen of Picton;

Mathieson Jeffcott Trophy for the Best Motor Powered Craft: Principessa, owned by Philip Andrew of Wellingon;

Best Outboard Motor Boat: Keeper, owned by Todd Johnson of Leithfeild, Canterbury;

Eventiac Award for the Best Themed Display: PT109, owned by Michael Sharratt of Christchurch;

Ron Culley Trophy for the Best Steam Boat: India, owned by Rick Osborne of Renwick;

People’s Choice, voted for on the day: Mrs Robinson, owned by Oli Malthus of Wellington;

Jens Hansen Cup for the Best Vessel Overall: Summertime, owned by Rosie Lees of Blenheim.

Ends

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