Sailing is no name for it – flying is better. Out into the bay she skipped, boys yelling with delight on the uplifted outrigger, spray from the lee bow and steering oar riven into vapor by the speed blowing to leeward.

“A Flying Proa” R. M. Munroe, The Rudder, June 1898 (found on Wikipedia)

Last year, our eccentric and inventive friend Dominic built a Pacific-style proa, a kind of outrigger, out of plywood, bamboo and fibreglass. As one of its first open-ocean tests, Dominic sailed it all the way from Hamilton to Waiheke Island. How do you do that? Well, if you’re Dominic, you sail/paddle the 16-foot craft down the Waikato river all the way to Port Waikato (3 days), haul it 12 km up the coast to Waiuku, sail up the Waiuku river and across the Manukau Harbour, then use the attached bicycle wheels as an improvised trolley to carry it across the Auckland isthmus. After that, it’s just a couple of hours sailing across the Hauraki Gulf to the beautiful isle of Waiheke. Seven days total. (corrected)

So, knowing this, when me and Luke left for Waiheke in late December for a holiday, we arranged for Dominic to sail up and meet us. This is a photographic record of our sailing adventure on a home-made proa. Thrills and spills follow:

Apart from the first one, photos are taken from Dominic’s Flickr page.

Luke in the little bay where Dominic tied up (and slept).

The view as Dominic sailed out to Waiheke. Awesome.

Me and Luke. What an amazing experience! You’re so low to the surface that you feel every ripple in the water, and you experience the speed as if you’re gliding directly over the waves. You can really feel the power of the breeze, too.

Dominic himself – the skipper. Obviously having the time of his life!

And thats because disaster struck. First when we ran aground and Dominic had to jump out to dislodge us from the rocks, and later (possibly as a result) when the aka (holding the outrigger on) came loose. The inner-tube lashing had failed, and it seemed like the boat was about to disintegrate completely! Kind of tense but really fun at the same time. Well, we handled it like true sailors (except for Luke – LOL!).

Afterwards, Dominic went to Great Barrier Island for a visit to some more remote locations. Photos also on his Flickr page. I hear he can still be found in the Hamilton region these days, with his homemade proa – and he has plans for a bigger, better model. I can’t wait!

Posted by Phil on Saturday, March 17th, 2007 at 5:58 pm.