Seresin NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show - March 7+8

Seresin NZ Antique and Classic Boat Show - March 7 & 8

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The Seresin NZ Antique and Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, in a weekend full to the gunnels with boating action and nostalgia.

Organiser Pete Rainey said when he came up with the classic boat show 10 years ago he had no idea how the show would develop.

"That first year we had 35 entries and this year we are expecting close to two hundred boats ranging from newly built mahogany kayaks to clinker dinghies with a long working life behind them."

Rainey says high interest entries include a 14 foot popper from Banks Peninsula, built in 1940 and originally rowed with three pairs of oars before being converted to a popper in the 1950s. There are also restoration stories like the 18ft launch from Picton, ŒNo Catchem', the former winner of the Rotoiti Power Boat Club's Round the Lake race in 1927 that was rescued from under blackberry in 1984 and bought for $50.

Rainey puts the success of the show down to the passion of classic boating enthusiasts.

"It's a part of our heritage that people can really get involved in, and one that hasn't fallen victim to over-legislation," he said. "Our past winners are testimony to the skills of backyard boat builders who find a heap of planks and strakes under a hedge and take hours rebuilding a vessel of beauty and function."

After a decade the event has developed a format that suits boat owners and boat viewers. Boats register on Saturday morning (March 7) and line up for viewing on the dry, then there is a sail past and an afternoon of action on the water with events ranging from the Seagull outboard race (with Le Mans start) through to the children's rowing race. Sunday follows the same schedule.

Rainey says the judges of the Jens Hansen cup for the overall winning boat consider many factors: "The way the boat looks, the story behind the boat, the condition of the boat, the way it is constructed and engineered - it's not the most valuable or expensive boat that wins the ultimate prize at the show."

Previous winners have included an original Hamilton jet, a locally restored idle-along, an almost original 50s speedboat from a Blenheim farm shed, a clinker that took 380 hours to restore and last year's winner, a 1902 Logan Brothers oil launch from Lyttelton.

This year's after-match function will be back in a big marquee on the lake-front, as it was in the early days of the event. Trophies will be awarded at the dine and dance, with music from Christchurch sax legend Stu Buchanan in combo with Tom Rainey and friends.

The boat show is an eco-friendly event and people are asked to respect the venue. DOC have released kiwi into the National Park very close to where the show takes place, so it is essential the NO DOGS rule is upheld. All boats will be checked for noxious aquatic weeds, and oil leaks. Boats will also be sprayed for didymo on Sunday when leaving for freshwater destinations.

ENDS

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