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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
114 Milton Mabee was the second owner from 1968 to 1976. Pandora moved down to Christchurch and was owned by M. Field,Wayne Saville & A. M. Morrison. In 1981 her next owners, Dr. Lance and Pat Austin brought Pandora back to Auckland from Lyttleton. Pandora was then owned for a while by David Crispin followed by Mark Pheloung & Barry Davies. Don and Jill Thomson purchased her in 1991. The boat was totally stripped back to bare wood in the winter of 1992. The teak was removed from the decks and fully glassed over and painted. The work was carried out by boat builder Phil Wilson. The Thomsons then cruised Pandora for 5 years. Pandora was purchased by Roger Goodenough in 1998. Kerry Gilbert purchased Pandora in 2001 for $24,000. Gilbert grew up with a family yacht in Wellington. He is a commercial skipper and has cruised the world extensively as the second mate on the superyacht Hetarios. Gilbert wrote:“Through a contact I found Pandora stuffed into a carport in Cockle Bay Auckland, with the rig out and the keel 20 kilometres away on a beach in Pine Harbour. She was in dire need of a refit having served her previous owner and family for many years as the‘family boat’ however was now gathering dust having been temporarily forgotten due to a marriage breakup. My partner Sacha and I checked her out on a number of occasions before buying her. On one occasion when we were there a past owner happened to walk by and recognised her. He shared stories of high seas and yacht races, lamenting the fact that she was now high and dry. We took this chance meeting as a good omen and decided to buy her. We transported her in bits to Okahu Bay Boat yard on the shores of the Waitemata. To get the keel out of its shallow grave at Pine Harbour took a truck, a crane and hours of mucking around only to find it had a ding and a hole in it. This was the start of a long, arduous process of refit, which took a lot more time and a lot more money than I had originally expected. All her major systems were overhauled and or replaced including replacing of the engine, rewiring, replacing the floor, new keel bolts, stripping and repainting both the hull and the rig,a new shaft and prop,etc. I removed the furling headsail,but put the original stainless steel rod rig and forestay in. I also removed the pulpit to allow easy access for sail operation. I wanted her to sail as best as she could and did everything I could to achieve that goal. The refit took over two years, which made me and broke me. We launched her, having a bit of a harrowing moment when the new engine initially failed to start, and sailed across to Waiheke Island, where we have lived ever since. Fatherhood dictates the reluctant sale of Pandora. She has been the ideal family boat and deserves to go to a good home.” Other owners are believed to be C.A. Porter and L.Austin. Pania Sail No. 812 Builder: Basil Kelly Launched: 5 November 1960 Construction: Kauri timber Sea Spray magazine in mid 1960 reported on the construction of Pania: “The timber is all heart kauri from a demolition job, so there is no doubt about it being well seasoned and free from any movement.” It goes on to say:“Basil is employing a boatbuilder, Roy Kendall, on the boat, and with planking nearly finished the hull looks extremely fair; however the interesting feature is that the cost of materials so far is only $50.” Basil Kelly at that time was a neighbour of Jim Davern’s. He owned a ship building yard, and enlisted the help of Roy Kendall and Maurie Palmer in her construction. Kelly and Palmer misinterpreted a slightly ambiguous specification in Bob Stewart’s plans which called for 10 stations (frames) and a length on the waterline of 29 feet. They spaced them 2 feet and 9 inches apart, not the specified 2.9 feet. (This was the only measurement on the plans using decimals as opposed to feet and inches). They never measured the overall length of the layout prior to construction, so Pania ended up being shorter by about l8 inches! Pania is essentially a Stewart 32.5, and although shorter and non-conforming,she was nonetheless accepted by the StewartAssociation, Despite being built 18 inches short and having an extended coach roof, Pania sailed well Wayne Taylor Collection