Lost story of the lone Ranger

A book entitled Ranger: The making of a New Zealand Yachting Legend has just been launched. It is a long title, but it is only half the story covered in 227 pages.

Besides recounting the history of one of Auckland's most successful racing yachts, the book reveals the amazing life and times of Ranger's designer and skipper, the truly legendary Lou Tercel. The yacht enabled the harbour board crane driver to race against, and beat, some of Auckland's most powerful merchants.

The son of immigrant parents, Lou inherited a love of the sea from his Slovenian seaman father Frank. In 1883 Frank was 41 when he married his Irish-born wife Kate Ryan (23) in Paparoa. The family lived at Whakapirau on the Kaipara where Frank was a boatman.

In 1901, with five children and yet another on the way, the Tercel family moved to Whangarei, where their parents ran a boarding house. There Lou and his siblings learned to sail with their father in a 2.5m (8ft) dinghy and were soon off on expeditions on their own as they grew older.

Times changed and the family moved to Auckland, where Kate became a widow at 42 with a baby and seven other children to support, the oldest aged just 18. Times were tough but the elder Tercel boys were able to plunge into the local yachting scene with an enthusiasm that for Lou remained until his death in 1990, just 10 days short of his 93rd birthday.

In 1914, only 18 months after their father's death, Lou and brothers Frank and Cyril had built Naiad, a 25ft 9in (7m) gaff-rigged version of the CD Mower Sea Bird adapted by Lou.

Next came Restless, at 40-ft (12.19m), an ambitious project for the three young boatbuilders. Lou followed that with Pal-O-Mine, a V-bottom powerboat with an aero engine that had a top speed of 24 knots and cruised at 16 knots, getting from Auckland to Russell in 6hrs 54m.

He raced the powerboat until the onset of the depression. These were straightened times for the Tercels as with everyone else. The boys' boatbuilding skills and the reputation established with the Restless build enabled them to earn commissions that supplemented the family finances.

By 1935 Lou was almost 40, had built Naiad and Restless to go cruising, raced other people's boats and dabbled on power. Now he wanted to build a boat that would challenge the best on the Waitemata.

The chapter in the book on Ranger's creation recalls that in the years since her launch in 1904 the Arch Logan creation Ariki dominated A-class racing. As the economy picked up after the depression came refits for some of the other big keelers, some newcomers and proven campaigners changing hands. Engrossing stuff for everyone interested in our sailing history.

Much was written in sailing magazines and the daily newspapers of the time about the design origins of Ranger. Home built under a Ponsonby house by a local crane driver - how could the yacht be taken seriously?

That was all prior to Ranger's launch on December 22, 1938. Her first race was the Macky Memorial Cup at the end of January and Ranger took the gun, a prelude to her performance in the 1939 Auckland Anniversary Regatta a week after the Macky Cup win. An Auckland Star preview told how Ariki had lost her scratch position in the fleet for the first time in 30 years with that honour going to Ranger. It was the beginning of a new reign.

Like the rest of the racing fleet, Ranger was laid up during World War II but resumed her dominance of the A-Class scene when racing began after 1945. Her career on the water is covered in depth in the book as is the contribution made by her dedicated crew, many of them who were at the launch at the Royal New Zealand Squadron last week.

One of these was Mac Redmond, who began sailing with Lou at 13 and was his leading hand for more than 40 years. He recalled many of the moments of excitement experienced aboard Ranger on the race track as well as cruising with his maritime mentor.

Another speaker was Ranger's present 'custodian' Ian Cook. He tendered for the yacht, restored it over 18 months before taking it to the America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes in 2001. Ranger got the gun, but was beaten on handicap. In Cook's hands Ranger will continue to race with the Auckland classic yacht regattas.

The book is a tribute to the research skills of co-authors Aroha Tercel and Sandra Gorter. Apart from the boating stuff it reveals the jealously guarded relationship Lou enjoyed with Aileen O'Connor for 60 years.

A great read well illustrated.

* Ranger: The making of a New Zealand Yachting Legend published by New Holland is out in softback, priced $39.95.