K Class-The Hauraki Gulf’s Iconic Cruiser Racer.
A History by Jenni Mence
While researching an article on New Zealand’s Mauharangi Regatta back in February I was told by Stephen Horsley of a new book coming out that he had designed and that was written by Jenni Mence. It’s subject is the Hauraki Gulf’s famous racers/cruiser, the K Class. Well things move slowly in the Classic Yacht world so 10 months later, having contacted Jenni, and very generously received a copy of her book we are now able to show you a sample and bring to you an account of how this wonderful project materialised. It’s interesting that the book links in so well with Charlie Salter’s piece on the UK/NZ designer Arthur Robb, the second part of which will be published on this site soon. Picking up the book is a pleasure in itself. When you feel the matt laminated hardback cover with a large embossed “K” in your hands and smell the fresh printers ink you know that this book can certainly be judged by it’s cover! …. and having spent some time engrossed in the pages, I suspect that any Classic Yacht enthusiast, on either side of the Tasman (or Pacific for that matter) won’t be disappointed.
Jenni Takes up the story in her wonderfully informal and informative style…….
I was inspired to write the book because we own a K Class yacht (K2, Bill Coudrey-designed JENANNE). Originally it was just going to be a small book with a few photos and information about each of the Ks - there were only 10 originally built, and three extra ‘ring-ins’, so 13 boats I thought - how hard could that be? Well! I am not a natural-born sailor, so I didn’t want to write a technical book about boats and wind direction and sail plans - I was (and still am) far more interested in the stories behind the boats and their people. What was life on the water like in the 1950s in Auckland, who were the people prepared to take on these boats, what about their families, what about the racing, what about the drinking…? The research into the boats and people turned into one very large rabbit-hole which took several years to emerge from! I have met some wonderful people along the way, many of them aged in their late 80s and 90s, who had the most wonderful stories to tell. Once I started down that track, I then set out to find as many of the original K Class owners/family members/boatbuilders/crew etc as possible. I have been blown away by the sheer number of people that could tell a story or three about the Ks - for a fleet of 13 boats, they certainly left a mark on many people. Even now, every time our K is out of the water, or we are in a bay around the Hauraki Gulf, there always seems to be someone around who has a memory of a K Class yacht. One memorable day on the Gulf saw two boats sail across to us to tell us their father/grandfather used to own our boat!
We have ended up with a large, glossy coffee table book full of photos, many of them previously unseen as they came from family photo albums, plenty of ‘boat porn’, and loads of great stories told by old sailors, wives, children, crew, and boat-builders. I have had great comments back from people who have read the book, saying it brought back many memories, and even those who are not sailors have enjoyed the book for the tales of life on wooden boats.
I am not sure how much you know about the Ks, so please bear with me if I am telling you something you already know.
The fleet developed from a competition run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron during the late 1940s. They wanted to build a fleet of yachts that would perform well in local conditions and satisfy both the serious sailor who wanted to go racing as well as the family that wanted to go cruising. The Squadron anticipated an influx of keen sailors returning from the war, and they thought a racer-cruiser yacht would meet their needs. There were many entries into this design competition, not just from New Zealand, but from around the world. It was eventually won by Arthur Robb, a Kiwi living and working in London at the time. The parameters for the design competition were clearly defined by the Squadron, with a view to developing a one-design class that would race competitively and cruise comfortably. This was a first for New Zealand yachting - up until then, the focus had been on racing, and the idea of taking the family out sailing was really quite a foreign concept. Unfortunately for the Squadron’s plans, each designer wanted to build their own entry, and so although the yachts are essentially the same, there are enough design differences within the Squadron’s parameters that the Ks became a restricted class rather than a one design class.
Photo-Warren Tuohey
Other renown NZ boat designers that took part in the competition included Bob Stewart, Jack Brooke, Bill Couldrey and Col Wild. While Robb won the competition, his winning design was never actually built. Major James Murray commissioned Scottish boat building firm Stebbings to build Robb’s design, but with several significant modifications as he wanted to race her in the UK. This yacht is MOKOIA. As a result of these changes, she is no longer met the specifications of the K Class yacht. MOKOIA was a bit of an urban myth around the Auckland boating scene as many people didn’t believe she had ever been built. She has sailed some magnificent races and covered many thousands of nautical miles, but has sadly never made it to New Zealand. Her story alone makes fantastic reading, and my husband and I were lucky enough to visit her in Australia, and meet one of the men who crewed on her during her lengthy and dramatic voyage from England to Australia. That was a real perk in my research of the Ks!
So, back to the fleet. Bob Stewart’s HELEN was the first K Class boat to be launched in Auckland to tremendous interest at the end of the 1940s. She raced hard and fast and generated plenty of excitement in the yachting world. By the early 1960s there were 10 Ks built and racing; and three other yachts, NGATIRA (Steve’s boat) designed by Charles Bailey jr, and GYPSY and WAIOMO both of whom were designed by the great Arch Logan, had been re-designed to comply with the K Class regulations and were regularly racing with the fleet. James McGruer and Olin Stephens had also both designed K Class yachts for NZ owners. Olin’s yacht is called SAPPHIRE and she is one of the better known Ks - her original owner had her designed and built with speed in mind as he wanted her to be the fastest in the class (he raced her rather than cruised her - they would take a ‘mother ship’ away with them on races so they had somewhere to sleep etc). Although there is only around 12 years difference between her and the early Ks, the changes in boat design, build practices, and materials was great in that time, and it is very interesting to compare the first and the last of the class. (We have done this on many occasions as my brother-in-law now owns SAPPHIRE, and she and JENANNE have just spent the past 2 years or so side by side in a shed undergoing extensive restoration work.)
Most of the Ks were built for Squadron members, and several RNZYS commodores had a K Class yacht. The other famous K Class owner was Sir Keith Park (of Battle of Britain fame). At a time when boats were commonly built in back-yards, the Ks were all professionally built. They were also among the first yachts to have a head included in the design as a nod to cruising comfort.
KATRINA II crosses RAINBOW- Photo Ivor Wilkins
As intended, the racing between the Ks was fierce. The Squadron was very proud of its fleet, and the boats took pride of place on many occasions. They were often referred to as the ‘elite’ class. Unlike the A Class yachts, the Ks could be sailed with a smaller crew, and were a lot more manageable. The K Class owners raced hard and partied hard. Up until the 1950s, women were a rarity on boats, and it was interesting to hear stories from both the sailors who loved the racing and the wives/families who loved the cruising; and discover the changes to the local yachting scene during this time.
Kawau Island, in the Hauraki Gulf features strongly in the K Class history. The Mansion House was the scene of many a great party and the stories that came from those times are fantastic! Including many tales of a bar called the ‘Snake Pit’ - which served so many drinks to already inebriated yachties that no-one is able to clearly recall just where it was or what it was like - but the older sailors all know they drank there!
HELEN on her way to Patio Bay- Photo Ivor Wilkins
After the hey-days of the ‘50s and ‘60s, the Ks dispersed a little, still racing and cruising, but not as intensely and not as a fleet any longer. The incredible thing is, after all these years, all but one of the Ks are still in existence, albeit in varying states. The one lost K was reportedly sunk in Nova Scotia (Sir Keith Park’s ex boat). Two of the ‘ring-ins’, NGATIRA and GYPSY have reverted back to their original design; while JENANNE, KATRINA, THELMA, HELEN, KIARIKI and SAPPHIRE have all had extensive restoration work carried out over the past few years. Interestingly, many of the Ks have been in the same family for decades, and have only had 3 or 4 owners during their life; while others keep in touch with ‘their’ yacht despite ownership changes. We were lucky enough to get a box of historical documents and photos, including the original logbook and photos when we purchased JENANNE, despite the fact that she has changed hands more than any other K and has had over 20 owners! We are also still in touch with members of her original family, who turned out in force for the book launch, and still consider JENANNE (and therefore us) to be part of their family! Such is the enchantment of these boats.
Rewa, Gwynne and Anne on Board JEANNE. Wiseman, Neary Family Collection.
Phew! I hope this gives you a bit more background to the Ks, and an idea of the content of my book. As I say, I spent a lot of time hearing about and writing about the wonderful life that owning a K Class yacht offered. We are in love with our K and can’t imagine life without her.
Well if that doesn’t make you want to rush out and find a copy…………But you don’t need to!