Build Date
Circa 1914
Boat Builder
Claude Wells
Length
30 Feet
Beam
6.5 Feet
Kelp and Olof Nielson
Kelp was built by Claude Wells at Wakatahuri in around 1914. He used kauri timber to build her with a double skin and low open cabin. She was installed with a 5hp Standard petrol engine.
Olof (Alf) Nielson of Bulwer is thought to have been Kelps first owner and he kept her until 1943 when he died. He moored Kelp in Bulwer Bay on a mooring as there was no wharf at this time.
In Boats for a Lifetime Yvonne Fell recounts how some visitors to Bulwer decided to play a prank on Nielson and let Kelp off her moorings. Nielson had been up the hill cutting wood when the visitors were in the bay but on seeing his boat drifting in the bay he ran down the hill and jumped in the tide to swim after her. Nielson had been in the Merchant Navy and was a strong swimmer so he managed to rescue his boat. But the next time these visitors came into the bay Nielson got his revenge by hiding their dinghy up the hill.
Commercial Fishing With Kelp
Nielson used Kelp for some commercial fishing and his granddaughters recall in Boats for a Lifetime that Kelp was Nielsons pride and joy. He is said to have kept the Kelp in top shape. They also tell of fishing with their grandfather on Kelp. They had to follow strict rules and keep fishing until they had a full load! This was then shipped to Havelock on the mailboat, destined for the fish and chip shop in Blenheim.
Nielson’s stepson Don Bourke used Kelp after Nielson’s death but she was later sold to Mr Walker of Okoha Bay. It was here that Kelp would end her days blown ashore during a storm. She is said to have been wrecked and what was left of her was left on the shore to rot away.
References
To research Kelp we used the book Boats for a Lifetime by Yvonne Fell.
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