“How does it feel to be part of an eccentric outfit?” I asked Vinnie, the younger of the Seagull Smiths of Havelock in the Marlborough Sounds.
“Mate, it’s way worse than that,” he allowed. “It’s a full-on obsession.”
And I reckon he’s right. For between them, the Smith family – patriarch Graham, kuia Sharyn and other brother Jason – own around 200 British Seagull outboard motors. Exclamation mark. Make that a couple more.
And here’s the thing: this isn’t the biggest Seagull collection in New Zealand. That accolade currently goes to Graeme and Jan Keegan of Waitara in the ‘Naki (yes, where all the hard-case characters come from).
They also run a business called Simply Seagulls, supplying spare parts and free advice to the many other Seagull fans throughout the country. They meld the business with
