In the late 90s Jim decided that he wanted to get back into sailing mullet boats in which his family had great tradition.  He bought Tamatea and press ganged his sons and a couple of other likely starters as crew.

Superb weather on the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Opening Day - and Roger Mills was at the start to record the Classic Yachts racing. They sailed a short harbour course for the season opener, in fresh south westerly winds and sunshine.

Six engaging speaker sessions will take place each day at the Maritime Museum, with films playing on rotation all weekend long. All are invited to join the celebration! Entry is free but bookings are recommended.

“One of the best things about the class, he says, is the people. “I've met a lot of good people and some of them are my best mates now which is pretty amazing. If they aren’t mates they become mates pretty quick.” 

Each of these boats has an inter-generational story to tell. They were handcrafted in a time when we still made things with our hands. Some carried across oceans some were traders serving communities up and down our coasts. They were our transport and our recreation.

The young colonial town of Auckland, built on the isthmus between the Waitemata and Manukau harbours, for centuries traversed by Maori waka, was completely dependent on sea transport.