Saving UWHILNA
UWhilna is a North American Indian word for the osprey or ‘graceful bird’ – and that she is. Even with her missing masts and the extensive life scars, the grand old dame’s former elegance shines through.
The scars are the reminders of an extraordinary past. She’s survived 10 owners over the first 100 years of her life – roughly one per decade – and her current owner (a syndicate headed by Wellington filmmaker David Holley) is the 11th. She’s covered a lot of miles since her 1909 launching.
She was built in China by the Shanghai Kwong Fook Cheong boatyard (it no longer exists), constructed with 30mm teak planking over iroko frames. She was commissioned by the
