The weather had been deteriorating for the last two days. It was windy when we got here on Tuesday. Wednesday was gusty with strong winds. We had a difficult time just walking to the store in some intense headwinds. It was much easier to walk back as we had a tail wind to scoot us along. Thursday was supposed to be a ferry ride to Tiritiri Matangi Island but it was canceled due to the continued wind advisory. The rain was continuous, ranging from a drizzle to a hard rain. This kind of weather calls for a museum and the Maritime Museum was right next door. This museum was a real treat. At the beginning we learned about a few New Zealand endurance boaters. One pf them was the first person to circumnavigate both the North and South Islands of New Zealand in a kayak. Paul Caffyn also took his kayak all the way around Japan, Australia and Great Britain. Then there was the father / son team who each rowed solo from New Zealand to Australia, Colin Quincey and his son Shaun. These feats of athleticism were astounding but the mental toughness to persevere is most impressive. Next came displays about the evolution of outboard motors and of lighthouses. The native Māori had a sizeable presence with displays of their fishing tools, boat styles and decorations as well as very cool talking video portraits. There was a discussion of how the Māori fit into the whole of the exploration and settlement of Oceana long before the European explorers. The museum then had a section showing ports and support equipment. Immigration had a big section showing personal stories and showcasing the lives of some immigrants to New Zealand, At the end of the museum many ships of various sizes were housed. From the 1992 America Cup winning NLZ32 super yacht to tiny Z class sailing ships that were could be sailed by a singe person. There were big items, full sized ships and small items, trophies and socks. It takes all sorts of items to tell a story.
The spin of the winds can be seen to the left while the North Island is to the right. Auckland is in the red zone of high winds
The museum from the outside
A break in the rain exposed the Sky Tower
We like to play the game "Yacht or Not?" This one got a yes.
Boats on display outside
It looks like a water tight cabin on top of this catamaran
The kayak that Paul Caffyn used to go round New Zealand
His kayaking successes
I would not want to arm wrestle this guy
Very impressive deeds
This is the row boat that Colin Quincy used to go from New Zealand to Australia in 1977
Stats of the row boat. 20 feet long 6 feet 4 inches across!
The path of father Colin, New Zealand to Australia in 63 days, and of the son, Shaun, Australia to New Zealand in 53 days
The evolution of the outboard motor
Not a motorcycle to bicycle
It is an Indian outboard motor with sleek art deco lines
The competition was not sleek at all
A very extensive display about lighthouses. Details on construction, the life of the lighthouse keepers and their families as well as the evolution of the designs.
I liked the detailed optical explanations
The Tiritiri Matangi lighthouse was one of the first in New Zealand and the brightest. It could be seen 30 km out to sea.
A cut away view of the optics used in lighthouses
These types of lenses would be used for smaller light houses placed on buoys
Various Māori fish hooks
A muscle rake for harvesting shellfish
A model of a Māori war canoe
Two examples of the artistic decorations on the prow of their canoes
The craftmanship and artistry is amazing
This item came from the rear of the canoe and was 6 feet tall
A fishing canoe from Vanatau
This was a tool used to mark specific star constellations
Even though the Polynesians began exploring Oceana 6000 years earlier they did not make it to New Zealand until fairly recently
Yet they settled Hawaii 1000 years before that
Easter Island is considered the most remote place in the world
This was a ship from the Solomon Islands
One of the talking portraits
A model of the Niagara to the right and a diorama of the salvage attempts to the left. The divers blasted holes in the hull to retrieve some of the 590 gold bars that sank with the Niagara
This greyhound was given to the captain that made the fastest ferry crossing
There were dozens of models of ships. Some were 15 feet long and some were only a foot or two.
An early spear gun
The Taratai was build without any iron fasteners, just rope. James Siers sailed this 70 foot long craft 1500 miles from the Gilbert Islands to Fiji in 1976. The multi plank design leaked and they had to pump continuously. After only 300 miles the foremast was broken in a storm and they had to patch it up as best they could . They stopped in Rotuma to fix the mast but the ship ended its voyage in Fiji instead of the planned trip to Samoa
This was a piece of pig iron ballast salvaged off of the Great Barrier Reef where Captain Cook ran aground with the Endeavor in 1770.
An old time telephone in the display of a shipping office
New information about ship building
A model of a steam powered dredge
Pipes of all things
We could pick a ticket and imagine we were new immigrants
I don't think I would like being a sheep farmer either
This graphic showed how long it took to travel from Great Britain to New Zealand
A whaling hut build from salvaged drift wood and whale bones
This ship won the America's cup and it was massive!
Hull designs
Rows of sailboats of all sizes
Various trophies for sailing races
Choppy seas and squally weather
It was too difficult to read but the design just screams 1920's
This one was tiny and one of the earliest used of a fiberglass hull
A row of sailing boats of various classes
A model of the ship that won all the legs of the Whitbread Around the World Race skippered by Peter Blake
A copy of the America's Cup
A traditional Māori symbol
I have similar symbol I am wearing on a pendant in the background
rThe lucky red socks of Skipper Peter Blake a sailing legend. He won the 1990 Whitbread Around the World race, the America's Cup twice and held the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop navigation around the world by sail in 74 days
A guide to the meaning of various tattoos that a sailor may have gotten back in the day
So many ship models!
A very formal figurehead
Off to the ball, or perhaps royalty
No explanation for this item...at first I thought it was a cape but it is the front of a small boat with little boat shaped items glued to it
Knot art or is it?
Scrimshaw whale teeth and a pastry tool
The "Puke"
It is the oldest working steamboat. It used to haul logs but now just putts around the harbor. Puke is the name of the boat not the side effect
It has been 214 days since we began our Migration
