By Bob Gordon
My mind goes back to February 1971, when the M Class was extended an invitation to join the rest of the Squadron fleet at the inaugural Squadron Week at Kawau, as part of the centennial celebrations for the club.
This was my first season in the M’s as skipper and part-owner of Moonlight M8. Several committee meetings were held in the old Parliament Street clubrooms to organise the trip, and with Scott Colville (the RNZYS patrol vessel required for duty at Kawau), two patrol vessels, Hauanui (Harry Julian) and Kereru (Jock Noakes), were arranged by the Squadron with the decree that we were to stick closely together for the trip.
Seven M’s set out from Orakei Wharf on Saturday (Mirage, Moonlight, Mystery, Marquita, Matana, Moerangi, and Makura) in light easterly winds with somewhat meagre supplies of food, but ample supplies of beer and rum for the leisurely slide down to Kawau.
The crew on Moonlight were myself, Brett Neill, Paul Vahry, and Kevin Callinan, dressed in our matching football jerseys and shorts, not a life jacket or piece of wet-weather gear in sight.
Leading kites were set and carried until past Rangitoto Light when rapidly freshening winds, swinging to the northeast and increasing seas, saw the kites taken in. The fleet slid down for the long haul to Tiri Passage, fortunately beam-on to the rising swell.
Brett and I swapped helm and mainsheet duties clearing Tiri, with Kevin manning the jib and Paul valiantly bailing and unblocking the venturis with increasing frequency. After two and a half hours, both Brett and I were beginning to feel the situation. The Vahry family tent (our accommodation for Kawau) had come out of its bag and unravelled itself in the cockpit.
Clearing Tiri, the sea continued to build, with gusts increasing beam-on. Both Hauanui and Kereru found it difficult to keep station with the fleet, and from memory, Hauanui’s skipper later reported seeing her second-hand propeller eject the water, spinning wildly in reverse. Kereru was asked to return to port for increased speed as we made for Kawau.
The B-Class keeler Beyond was making steady progress across the Gulf and was to play a pivotal role in a rescue later.
As we approached Kawau, all the fleet were beating into strong and freshening easterlies. By now temperatures (I seem to recall there was even a summer hailstorm) had plummeted, and we were all soaked, beginning to think about our dry clothing stored in the tent on the stern, which was now unravelling and flying overboard.
Suddenly, we realised that Makura was missing. Fearing the worst, we were surprised to see her mast upright in the trough of a wave. She had gone down with all sails up, as the fleet beat into Kawau Channel in heavy seas, passing her partly submerged hull. Luckily, the crew were stumbled upon and rescued by the B-Class keeler Beyond, cruising up to join the rest of the Squadron fleet.
Given the deteriorating conditions, it was an amazing feat of seamanship, and as I understand it, it was a husband and wife team who effected the rescue.
On Moonlight, we reached at speed for Kawau, continually working both main and jib, unblocking venturis and bailing until we finally reached smoother water in the lee of the island. We flew past the Coppermine planing at speed in flat water, and rounding Momona Point we saw Ariki, heavily reefed, tack in front of us before being laid flat in a squall.
When it hit us, we let everything fly, rounded up, and just survived a capsize. The following M’s came in and alerted the committee on Nereides that Makura was in trouble.
The Squadron requested several launches to search, but given the sea state, they returned shortly after clearing Kawau.
Beyond brought the Makura crew to Kawau, and the following day, a search by several vessels was organised to locate and retrieve Makura. Sadly, after a full day searching, she was spotted late in the afternoon, heavily damaged on a reef off Saddle Island. She was beyond repair, so stripped of gear and fittings, what remained was burnt.
In my copy of the RNZYS Centenary Year Book / Annual Report for the 1970–1971 season, it mentions:
“Saturday dawned a threatening day with a windy sky in the southeast. By midday it was blowing 30 knots from the east with squalls to 40, but most of the fleet faced the starter for an exciting two legs around the usual Kawau course. The M’s had a stormy trip down in the afternoon. Makura capsized off Motuora, finally breaking up on Saddle Island.”
Yes, I can attest to the fact that it WAS indeed a stormy trip down!
