Classic beauty still draws long, lingering looks

Forget loud ostentation, it's quiet, classy sophistication that turns most heads, writes COLIN MOORE.

There are millions of gleaming dollars tied up in the Viaduct Harbour, but the young Dutch backpacker ignores the ostentatious super yachts.

She leans over the pier rail, ogling the varnished coach roof and shining brass of Tawera, a classic New Zealand A-class yacht from the design board of Arch Logan.

There is no doubting her interest.

"Do you want to come for a sail," asks Tawera skipper Chad Thompson as he and his two crew prepare the keeler for a Thursday evening rum race.

"When?" she asks, a little uncertainly, unable to believe her luck.

"Right now," says Thompson.

Within minutes Hester and her partner Berents are on board, hauling sails and getting sheets in order.

She sails classic yachts in Holland; he has been a merchant seaman and knows a thing or two about ropes and knots. Both are unable to contain their pleasure at being on the Waitemata on board a grand old lady of sail.

Classic yachts do that to people. They captivate with their rich wood and brass, fine lines and unmistakable craftsmanship. History surrounds these boats with an aura and is willingly shared with any passing strangers who share the passion.

The backpackers were fortunate, however, because the 15.2m Tawera, built in 1935 for the Wilson family, one of the founding owners of the New Zealand Herald, normally hosts classic yacht devotees from around the world as paying customers.

Chad Thompson, owner of the yacht charter company New Zealand Classic Yachts, was born in a classic yacht family and has been captivated all his life.

His father, Bressin Thompson, bought the Charles Bailey jun A-class classic, Prize, in 1943. She was built for noted Auckland barrister W.P. Endean in 1923 and named after First World War submarine hunter HMS Prize, on which Lieutenant Commander W.E. Sanders, of Takapuna, won the Victoria Cross.

At 13.1m excluding her bowsprit, Prize soon became a noted Hauraki Gulf racer, particularly in clashes with the older Logan-built speedster, Moana. The pair still duel on the gulf.

Chad took over the tiller from his father in 1993 and oversaw a major refit of the family heirloom in 1995. Her kauri hull was as good as new. Prize has always been Chad's passion, and when the Danish merchant shipping company Maersk chartered her for a summer for sail training, it encouraged him to turn his passion into a business.

Coincidentally, he was commissioned by Australian Philip Dickinson to find a New Zealand classic yacht to take back to Australia. Chad found Tawera, but because of restrictions on exporting antiquities he decided instead to form a partnership with Dickinson and put Prize and Tawera together for charter.

The yachts are available for short trips or overnight cruising throughout the Hauraki Gulf and have proved popular with overseas visitors. New Zealand companies have also used the yachts for team-building sessions and sail training.

Where Chad takes his guests tends to depend on how much time they have. "Some people have a lot of money and not much time," he says, "so we can position the boats where the guests want them and and they can get there by helicopter."

Chad gets a lot of satisfaction from watching his guests learn the ropes - literally. "A charter trip becomes more successful the less I have to do," he says.

So what is the attraction of a cruise on these old yachts?

"You saw the reaction of that couple," replies Chad, referring to the Dutch backpackers we shanghaied for the rum race. "There is a solidity about these boats and the way they move through the water. They reek of history and atmosphere."

The charter rate for Prize and Tawera is $1000 for a half-day or evening, $1500 for a day, and $1800 overnight. Extended trips are between $1200 and $1400 a day, and the cost may be reduced if crew are not required.

Contact: Chad Thompson, ph (09) 378 6271, (021) 995 754, e-mail chad@classicyachtnz.com website Classic Yachts