THE M.V. RAKAIA - ANECDOTES

Brian Jones has written his memoirs, and these include a chapter on his time as a deck apprentice on Rakaia in the 1950s. This chapter, which is packed full of interesting and amusing stories, is available for download as a pdf here.

Conrod provides a fascinating insight into his engineering apprenticeship in his article “Turning the Screw”. His account, which includes a voyage on Rakaia between 1958 and 1959, is available for download as a pdf here.

Jim Varney wrote an article for the Maori Club magazine in 1957 about the use of jury sails on Rakaia during a voyage from New York to Liverpool when she suffered a major engine malfunction. The attached article represents a compilation of the original text together with photographs and a water colour painting. This great story is available for download as a pdf here.

Frank Russell was the Bosun on Rakaia for thirty-five consecutive voyages, and those of you who served on her during that time will more than likely have at least one colourful memory of him! Please share those memories with us to add to the tribute to him, which is available for download as a pdf here.

It was customary for a formal Voyage Photo to be taken at the beginning of each of Rakaia’s voyages as a Cadet Training Ship. The intention is to reproduce these photos in an attempt to identify the cadets and to encourage the submission of supporting photos and anecdotal material to show what the cadets got up to whilst at work and at play! A collection of the Voyage Photos and supporting material that have been submitted so far is available for download as a pdf here.

John Crowder had a memorable voyage on Rakaia in 1965, during which he found himself assisting with an appendectomy! His account of this event is available for download as a pdf here.

Keith Everitt has produced a synopsis of Rakaia’s last two voyages as a Cadet Training Ship; it comprises the diary entries that he wrote at the time together with some colour photographs, and it is available for download as a pdf here.

Any anecdotes that you may have of Rakaia would be most gratefully received.

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