New thread - we were getting off topic in the Footy Twin keels thread.
Yes Angus - he was a New Zealander, although largely (but not completely) ignored by New Zealand owners after he moved to Blighty before the war.
Robb was in the Wavy Navy, and this was his ticket to the UK in the 30s, so he could pursue his design career. When war broke out he was again involved via the Wavy Navy, and worked with Uffa Fox during the war, if I’m not wrong, on the airborne lifeboats.
His famous (from the NZ point of view) commission in New Zealand was Kahurangi - designed in 1950 for the late Lawrence Nathan. Kahurangi left New Zealand on a world cruise in '76 and was subsequently wrecked under new ownership abroad. I believe she may have been salvaged, restored, and is now living in the Med.
When I was a kid, one of my favourite boats was a lovely Robb designed 40 footer. Elegantly short ended and varnished in some kind of light, honey coloured timber. She came from Ulster and was not really part of our circuit and I’m damned if I can remember her name - although I do emember that her owner was Ivan Selig. Hadn’t thought of her for yeas.
Incidentlly, my father’s dreaded rival had some sort of New Zealand connection and owned two boats called Waikari and Taniwah. Any idea what the names mean?
“Taniwah” may actually have been “taniwha” - which is a mythical Maori water creature, monster, or dragon. They are sometimes benevolent, but not often. A major highway construction south of Auckland had to be diverted a few years ago because local iwi (a bit like a tribe) objected that the path of the highway would interupt a taniwha known to dwell thereabouts.
I’m afraid I don’t know the meaning of Waikari other than that it is a placename in Canterbury (South Island) - actually not really that far from Brett (well - at least by our standards of distance here in the US). “Wai” means water, so it is often used as a prefix. e.g. Waitemata (Auckland’s Harbour) = Sparkling Waters.
A quick look at an online Maori dictionary came up with “ditch” or “drain” - which explains the placename. I suspect the boat was named after the place.
She was indeed a water beast that was benevolent, but not often: a Van der Stadt designed plywood lightweight in the Zeevalk, Blaxk Soo tradition that was built by a very traditional yacht yard.Consequently she came out grossly overweight and leaked like basket into the bargain. Benevolent - but not often. I wonder if Alan Stead undeerstood the connotations!