1651Hrs- Sad News

Neil — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:13:45 +0000

Being a bit of an internet geek I use Google Reader and Google Alerts to keep me up to date with all the various things I’m interested in and this morning, as usual, I got a couple of alerts on the subject of Wharram Cats. One of them was from a New Zealand news website called SunLive and it immediately caught my attention because of the headline - ‘Salvage Worry For Stranded Cat’. I hate these stories, it was the same when the pictures of Creed O’Hanlon’s Tiki 38 on the beach in Puket came through, it means someones hard work, dreams and hopes have been dashed and it’s tragic. My feelings of sorrow became even more intense though as I read further and realised that the boat in question was ‘Ika Roa’ the 42ft Narai built and owned by Tim & Heather Whelen.

As those of you who’ve read my ‘About’ page will know I got to know Tim and Heather in 1983 when they were berthed on Church Beach in Penryn next to ‘Morgwas’ . ‘Ika Roa’ had only just been launched and they had sailed her down from Hull to Falmouth to carry out their final preparations before heading South. ‘Ika Roa’ was the first Wharram catamaran I’d seen and the first I had the pleasure of going sailing on and she’s the boat that unbeknown to me at the time planted the seed that after many years became the ‘Gleda’ project. You can imagine how I felt as I read the story reproduced below:

The catamaran stranded on Matakana Island in Monday’s gale is seriously damaged.
Ika Roa’s port hull has opened below the waterline and is full of sand, says owner Tony Murray after inspecting the 42ft catamaran on Monday afternoon.

It means she cannot just be towed off the beach – or higher up the beach out of reach of the sea.
“It is the most gutting experience, ever,” says Tony.
James Wharram Polynesian style design broke free of her mooring in Pilot Bay about mid morning on Monday and blew ashore on Matakana Island.
The normally sheltered bay was subject to south easterly winds of about 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots.
At the time, the Port of Tauranga wave height reader on A beacon was recording six metre swells, which dropped during the day to five metres.
Ika Roa is upright on the beach with her bow pointing towards Tauranga

http://www.sunlive.co.nz/15824a1.page

This afternoon I received some sadder news in the form of a comment left on my ‘About’ page by Leo Murray the son of the owner:

‘Hey Neil. Ika Roa broke her mooring in Mt Maunganui and was washed ashore on Matakana Island yesterday (monday 5th July)’

‘After a night of 6 foot swells, and a few brutal tide cycles, she has returned to the sea. My father bought her from Tim Whelan in 1990, I was 3 years old and she is my first ever memory… She has instilled inspiration into many. In this respect we are much alike’

It’s a sad end for a boat that has inspired and given pleasure to so many, my sympathy goes to all involved with her.

As I worked at the barn today I was cheered however by the thought that the spirit of ‘Ika Roa’ is in some way part of ‘Gleda’ and that she will soon be sailing the oceans again.

The Gleda Project » Ika Roa

1651Hrs- Sad News