Pride of the fleet

By ROBIN BAILEY

Designed by Arch Logan in 1905 and built by Logan Brothers at St Mary's Bay in 1906, the cutter Frances will enter a new stage in her long life on Monday.

After racing from Mahurangi to Orakei Wharf with the classic yacht fleet as part of the New Zealand Herald Auckland Anniversary Regatta, the gaff-rigged beauty will move to a berth at the Maritime Museum at Hobson Wharf.

A workboat for the Shakespear family of Whangaparaoa from 1908 to 1991, Frances has since been in the care of Auckland brothers Paul and Adam Cato, who have gifted her to the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust. Their generous action means that after 98 years the yacht will generate the sort of public profile her heritage deserves.

Chairman John Street says Frances is a wonderful addition to the trust's fleet.

"For the first part of her long life Frances was sailed out of Whangaparaoa, then in 1991 she went to a mooring on the Weiti River.

"Now, thanks to the generous action of the Cato family, she will be on public view for the first time.

"Not only is Frances a marvellous addition to our fleet, she will be another permanent attraction for the museum."

Frances joins the yachts Waitangi and Gloriana and the 1920 Auckland Harbour Board tug Te Hauraki in the trust's growing fleet of maritime treasures whose preservation is assured.

Marine surveyor John Harrison, reporting on Frances for Mrs Verna Shakespear in September 1991, said in a covering letter: "I found her to be in good condition, without significant defects. Indeed she is exceptional for her age and it was particularly pleasing to be asked to express an opinion of a vessel of her type which has obviously been well looked after and has not been subjected to all manner of ill-advised modifications as is so often the case. I hope that if she is to be sold the purchaser will be selected with great care as she is unique and irreplaceable."

The Cato family proved to be the owners Harrison had in mind. They carried out a major refurbishment of the yacht late in 1999, including refastening the topsides and giving her a new deck and deck beams.

Sailed out of the Weiti Boating Club, Frances has regularly taken part in heritage and classic regattas and cruised the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Islands.

Frances was first owned by an Auckland storekeeper, who used her as a fishing boat. In 1909 she was bought by Robert Shakespear, who had helped build her while serving his time at the Logan Brothers yard.

During her long service to four generations of the family, Frances carried all manner of cargo between Auckland and Whangaparaoa.

Anson Shakespear, Robert's son, said they could get nine bales of wool below decks and as much as four tonnes of cement. At the height of the season Frances would carry up to 600 big watermelons from the family farm at Te Whanga to the market in Auckland.

The yacht is 38ft (11.58m) long, has a beam of 9ft 4in (2.84m) and draws 5ft 9in (1.75m). Construction is three skins of kauri, two opposing diagonal over longitudinal stringers and the outer skin laid fore and aft. She displaces seven tonnes and combines a fixed keel and internal lead ballast. Power is provided by a 27hp Yanmar diesel.

Monday will see Frances (A11) joining the Anniversary Day action with the other classics, including Waitangi, Ariki, Ranger, Iorangi, Katrina, Little Jim, Prize, and Spray II. Paul Cato will be aboard and Weiti Boating Club stalwart Kelsey Gager will be on the helm as the yacht begins a new phase of her life at the gateway to the City of Sails.