Sail Number: 106
Type: Ketch
LOA: 43’0” / 13.10m – LOD: 38’0 / 11.58m – LWL: 34’0” / 10.36m – Beam: 11’0” / 3.35m – Draft: 6’0” / 1.82m – Sail Area: 1,300 ft² / 120.77m² – Hull material: Kauri – Displacement: 11 tonnes – Ballast: – Designer: T.C. Watson & Sons, Naval Architects. – Built by: T.C.A. (CES) WATSON, Boat builder – Original Name: Photina – Original Owner: Trevor Managh – Current Owner: David Cass – Year Built: 1966 – Engine:
Historical:
The ketch “Photina” has completed four circumnavigations since 1966 including an 2400 mile foray into the Amazon River. Owners Sandy and Bernie Watt sailed from their home in Auckland to Australia, and across the Indian Ocean to South Africa.. From there they crossed the South Atlantic to South America and then onto the Amazon River.
T.C. Watson
The design office was established by the founding principal T.C. (Ces) Watson in 1946. This practice has been responsible for the design of the most diverse range of motor and sailing vessels of any design office in New Zealand.
These craft have ranged from 30ft sail boats to Ocean Going Tugs, car ferries and include the largest vessel ever launched in New Zealand a 9000 DWT Barge.
Commissions have included such unusual projects as an “HMS Bounty” replica built in 1978 for the Dino de Laurentas film corporation. This included working drawings not only of the HMAS Bounty but also of the Bounty’s long boat, both of which required extensive research of the British Admiralty archives.
Many of these vessels were required to operate in very severe conditions requiring a high standard of hull strength, stability and sea keeping ability. This is influenced largely by conditions due to New Zealand’s geographic location which are summed up by Captain Cook’s 1769 comments on discovering the country:
“The coast of this country is pounded almost ceaselessly by a procession of great hollow swells and gale force winds which leads me to believe no other land lies within this latitude for fully 200 degrees longitude of the earth’s circumference”.
Known Restoration History:
Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):
Owner/Guardian: (1966) – Trevor Managh
Owner/Guardian: Sandy and Bernie Watt
Owner/Guardian: Mr. Suzuki, Japan
Owner/Guardian: (2016-present) – David Cass, Valencia, Philippines