Kerry Blaymires, a key figure within the H28 Yacht Owners Association,
tragically lost his life in a yachting accident off the Taranaki Coast in
May 2004.
He was an experienced sailor whose achievements included a number of
delivery voyages both offshore and around New Zealand.
Kerry took a leading role within the Association and was also a member
of the Cruising and Navigators Association among others. He was
instrumental in the placement of a navigation light at Mahurangi. Kerry
was generous with his time and shared his extensive technical and
practical knowledge willingly with others. Much of this knowledge he
gained while researching and building his own H28 yacht.
He had a life long passion for sailing and one of his goals was to
do more blue water sailing and spend more time enjoying the New Zealand
coast.
Kerry wrote the following self-introduction for the Association...
Introducing Kerry Blaymires our Technical and Blue Water
Officer
My
earliest recollections of the sea and
boats was Takapuna beach where we spent
a lot of time when we lived where Shore
City now resides. I can remember
learning to swim ("well dog paddle
then") at Narrow Neck Beach. During
one of our enforced 1 hour rests, after
eating lunch, I wandered down to where
some Frostbites and Sabots were being
made ready for sailing. It was then that
I became enthralled with boats. I would
have been 5 or 6 at the time.
After
that I pestered my parents for a boat
but alas money was tight as they had
just bought a bigger property at
Glenfield. So it was car tubes, Lilo's,
pine & wattle trees and a vivid
imagination that filled the gap. Trees I
hear you ask? Well yes I set up two
trees as Square riggers, with yard arms
of bamboo and sails of mothers best
double sheets, not to forget the clothes
line that I used. The first one, which
was the wattle, was down the back of our
2 acres, right on the boundary fence.
One Saturday, I left the sails unfurled
and a Sou-wester sprang up in the night.
The tree was a bit over canvassed and
blew down, taking the fence with it and
letting out the small flock of sheep
that we had. The first we knew of this
"shipwreck" was early next
morning when Dad got a call from an
Irate neighbor to say that our sheep had
eaten out his vegetable garden.
I also
seem to recall that it was about this
time that my mother found out where her
good sheets had gone and I found out
that you can't sit down for a while
after a !!!!!!!!*@^^. I think that Dad
had a sympathetic spot for me though, as
I know he was a frustrated sailor too,
so I probably got off lightly. The other
tree was rigged after this incident, and
outside the back door so they could keep
an eye on me.
Over
the next few years my friend & I
built tin canoes, tied them together to
make a catamaran with a sheet sail, and
sailed it in ponds that were located
down where Wairau Park is now.
When I
was 10, I got a paper run and saved up
for a "P" class. Dad found one
for 12 pounds ($24.00) which was more
than I had, so he put in the rest of the
money. P76 was built of Kauri with a
cotton mainsail and gunter rigged. We
got the boat on a Saturday and my first
sail was next morning. I went out, with
one of the boys who sailed their boats
on Lake Pupuke, for about 1/2 an hour to
learn the ropes. That afternoon I
entered my first race, lasted about 20
mins, capsized, got the boat up and back
to shore. After that it was down to the
Lake every chance I got.
Three
years later we sold the P and bought a
Zeddie, Z46, called "Iris".
This boat was in the family until 1977.
My friend Alistair and I raced and
cruised all over the place in this boat,
even up to Bream Head.
Over
the next few years there was a
succession of boats, some of which I
rebuilt. they included a Sunbeam cat,
MK2 Cherub, Q class, OK dinghy and Al’s
Dad bought a modified Flying Fifteen, in
which we cruised one Christmas.
My
first job was with Sydney Woodroffe
& Sons the ship chandlers in Anzac
Ave. Between myself and two other
friends, one of whom was a boat builder
and the other a sailmaker, we had all
the necessary supplies well covered.
In
1980 Robin and I bought a Mummery
"Nirimba" called Windance; a
25ft Keeler. We rebuilt this boat and
sold her in 1982 in order to buy a new
house.
We
decided shortly after this that the next
time we had a boat it would be an H28.
In 1986 I heard that there were some
hull & decks for sale at Collet
& Fleming. When I inquired I found
out that they had all just been sold but
if I wanted a new boat I could buy the
moulds. This I did. We moulded our boat
in 1992, slowly finished it off and
launched it in December 1995.
Hirondelle
is a hand laid glass hull with a timber
deck and house and teak laid decks over
fibre glassed ply. She is cutter rigged
and we are very happy with her. My long
term goals are to do some blue water
racing and cruising, (not in Hirondelle)
and for Robin & I to continue
enjoying sailing the beautiful NZ coast.
CAPT’N K