Richard Whitney CS#70

Looking good! I am just putting the last coat of bottom/hull paint on Lapwing #4 this weekend.

She will be named Islay - an island off the Scottish coast where my favourite peaty malt whiskey is make ( a drop will go on the bow when she is launched)

It is the last day of 2014 here in New Zealand - 2015 will see Lapwing 4 finally completed. I have ordered a trailer and hope to have her finished within the next 4 months.

Thanks for the update Tom. The video spurs me on to finish my Lapwing - maybe 3 months away. Putting in centre and fore seats - then sand ready for cockpit undercoat. The hull already has an undercoat. Richard

Hi Carla and Graham Just caught up with your news. Hope the healing and next op go well. Best wishes from down under. Richard

After a long break (for multiple reasons) Easter saw me getting started again on Lapwing 4. I have put a coat of paint in the inside of the side seats and getting ready to put on the sideseat tops and hatches. i will update as I go. If I am lucky (focused) I should be in the water by our summer.

Happy belated birthday Tom. I am just starting to get back to my Lapwing build after a long 'stall'

I built and loved my CS17 Kokako. When I saw Lapwing - I fell in love - when I stand on a beach watching my boat swing on its mooring there is something about a rounded behind that I can not resist. The building is definitely more complex - but having built a couple of hard chine boat I wanted to try something different. For a number of reasons my build has 'stalled' but I am just getting ready to start again (hopefully complete by Jan 2012 to sail over the summer. To me all of Graham's boats perform - a knot here or there is not as important to me as sailing a well designed boat that fits my 'eye' (and that factor will be different for everyone)

Our news in NZ showing a big storm bearing down on the east coast - hope you are all safe and sound - hang in there!

Ken and I had the first 'New Zealand B & B Messabout'. We timed it 6 months after the home base version to fit the seasons - just starting to cool down (Ken explained in NC the bugs slow down a bit - we ended up with some mozzies but small ones). We were unable to messabout on the water with a 1/2 finished boat - but we did get a chance to view some America Cup Cats lifting hulls at high speed. We had a few beers, looked at boats, talk about boats, fantasied about boats we might build in the future. Ken's philosophy of 'go for the smallest boat the will meet your needs'. Fits for me at the moment (might be different if I won Lotto). Nice to meet you Ken. Fun talking to someone who has met lots of people on the Forum and who has seen some of my favorite boats in the flesh. Hope the wedding goes well.

Hi Ken Looked more carefully - see you are coming on Tues - I am definitely around. Email me backchannel to work out connecting up. richard@irwinwhitney.co.nz

see below

Hi Ken I am based near downtown Auckland. If I am in town (which I usually am) would love to have a beer (maybe look at my 1/2 finished Lapwing). Unfortunately don't have any means of getting out on the water at the moment other than a single kayak. Let me know when your plans shape up. Richard

Well done Team B&B. (nice to still see some races for mono hulls - lots of Americas Cup cats out on Auckland Harbour)

Hi John I am fine here in Auckland on the North Island. I was down near Christchurch doing a 4 day walk two weeks ago and was booked to fly down there for work at 5pm on the day of the earthquake - feels like a lucky miss. Looking at the latest news and estimates of people missing in building that have collapsed I would estimate there will be at least 170 people dead. The center of the city is a mess. It is the area I was staying in a couple of weeks ago and where I was going to be working. Thanks for your thoughts - sorry I did not log on sooner. Richard