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Under Goldwater and Denby’s ownership she was raced
consistently and immediately recorded a first in a RNZYS ocean
race in February 1921, and recorded another Auckland Anniversary
Regatta win in the same year, racing with the second class keelers
after, according to the Auckland Star, "Walking away from the others in her class". The effort was repeated in 1923 but she lost her first place on handicap. In their last season with her, she won the RNZYS L R Bloomfield prize. Goldwater and Denby sold her to WS (Jim) Goodison in 1925 who was Commodore of the Ponsonby Cruising Club. Goodison had failed in his attempt to purchase the Rainbow from Arch Buchanan and settled on Little Jim instead. Goodison installed a new galley, electric lights, and gave her an overhaul. Goodison returned her largely to cruising with some racing (another Auckland Anniversary Regatta won in 1928) until 1931. Little Jim had no motor but instead had rollocks on each rail abaft of the cockpit and used large sweep oars, operated standing up, facing forward. She had a reputation for being very fast in heavy weather and Goodison’s son, Jim Goodison, reports beating the new “Ngatoa” home from Kawau in a south westerly gale. She was sold to her final owners, a syndicate headed by E J (Jim) Mitchelson. The syndicate included, in addition to Mitchelson, Stan Jervis, Ben Tossw ell, Hal Newcomb, and Gordon Haslett w ho had previously owned and raced an old E class yacht the “Orangi” which was purchased with six putting in £5 each. “Orangi” was sold and “ Waima”, a mullet boat, was purchased (amazingly still in existence but now with a keel, and moored off Herne Bay near Watchman Island). Waima was sold for £70 when Jimmy Mitchelson purchased Little Jim for £300. The proceeds of the sale of Waima went towards her purchase and Mitchelson’s Aunt Bertha Wilson, of the New Zealand Herald family, made up the difference, a generous gesture which was to be repeated 2 years later. She raced in all major keel yacht events until her premature end on Xmas day 1933 at Katherine Bay, Great Barrier Island. Xmas Day in 1933 fell on a Monday and her crew had to return to work on the day follow ing Boxing Day. They set of f on Xmas Eve and sailed overnight for Tryphena Harbour. The following day they sailed into Fitzroy via Governors Pass where they enjoyed several days before heading off for Kawau for a Xmas Day party. It was blowing hard that Xmas Day and a double reef was put in the main. Half way to Little Barrier the mast broke in two about 6 to 7 feet above the deck where the jaws of the gaff met the mast. According to Stan Jervis, then the last living member of that crew , the probable cause was a new mast which had been installed after losing a mast the previous Easter on the way back f rom Kawau, was 18 inches higher and had the ef fect of lif ting the hounds which subsequently reduced the angle of strain of the rigging, particularly the top mast shroud. If wider cross trees to suit a higher mast had been used, Stan Jervis believes they would have had Xmas dinner at Kawau, rather than amongst the scrub at Katherine Bay. The mast went over the side, the boom fell on the deck and broke the painter, losing the dingy. Mitchelson stopped Jervis f rom leaping af ter the dingy as the oars were stowed on Little Jim, otherwise Jervis would have been lost with the dinghy. All the rigging was cut away with a bread knife and the entire rig was cast away. But no sooner was this done than the sea picked her up and cast her onto the sail and rigging. This was the undoing of Little Jim when a shackle caught between the rudder and the stern post making a huge sea anchor, taking her leeward. A jury rig was set up with the spinnaker pole but head way was impossible, as was cutting away the rigging. She began to drift into Katherine Bay where it w as intended to anchor her, await the storm to abate and attend to repairs. Two anchors were put out which held her for a while, but Little Jim was doomed when one parted following the warp f raying, even though the crew had lashed the warp w ith towels to prevent fraying, she dragged her remaining anchor and wasdriven against a rocky clif f on an outgoing tide. She hit the rock bottom and split in half along her keel and the counter stern broke of f before she broke up completely. The crew tied up a canvas kit bag containing dry clothes, matches, towels, and the old outboard. Geof f Ellison swam to a rocky bay, walked around the rocks and established a line ashore. The canvas bag was taken ashore and the rest of the crew swam ashore along the line . A f ire was built and fortunately a leg of bacon was washed ashore which became the crew’s Xmas dinner. Next morning the sea w as quieter and the crew spent several hours taking off what gear could be salvaged. A 20 mile walk to Fitzroy was then begun. Af ter several hours they arrived towards the end of Katherine Bay and found a f ishing boat tied up to an old jetty. They were received with great surprise. After explaining how they had come to be wrecked, the fishermen gave them a meal and a beer and took them to Fitzroy after collecting the gear f rom the wreck site. A few days later they were taken home on a much delayed ferry trip on the ”Rangitoto” which hadn’t been able to sail for several days due to the weather. The new s of the wreck was in the papers before their arrival back in Auckland and on their arrival, their photograph was taken and published, all looking the part as shipwrecked sailors in borrowed clothes. After returning, a former owner recounted a makatu or a curse put on the first Little Jim some years earlier by local Katherine Bay Maori. It was fashionable amongst the cruising fleet to collect old Maori bones which could be found in great numbers about the Gulf . When at Katherine Bay a skull was collected, local Maori were quite naturally upset and on Little Jim leaving the Bay, her crew told if she returned without the skull she would never leave the Bay. This is of course precisely what happened. The w recking and the curse is told in Ewen Ellison’s (the father of Geoff Ellison one of the wrecked crew ) book, “A New Zealander Looks Back” and is briefly recounted in Ronald Carters classic "Little Ships" where the drawings and story of her replacement are published. |
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