The Waka Project

Mr. Norman, Dean Stanley, Glenn Stanley and Angus G. putting her in the water for the first time (above).

By:  Dr. Richardson, Kit Norman and Ben Young.

Rongotai - “The sound of the sea”.  That is the working name for our (nearly) finished sailboat that started with a realisation that Rongotai Boys (even in year nine) are a little too big for the sailboats provided by the Worser Bay Boating Club.  So started our journey to make our own in a way that could support our students and explore our deep and ancient relationship with the sea.

I spoke with a few students, teachers and community members who had this to say about their experience:

“I got involved in makerspace because I enjoy making things and wanted to use my skills to help the school and community” - Angus Galloway, Y13

“The journey of construction that has led to the completion of The Rongotai reflects the voyages that she will undergo in the future; through choppy, challenging seas, we cut, glued, and sanded as we sped in the direction of the vision of a finished boat, kept pointed in the right direction by Dr. Richardson, captain of the project. Along the way, I’ve had so much fun learning useful skills like fiberglassing and filleting for the first time, as well as having the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the project. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I can’t wait to see just how far our little boat can go.” - Ben Young, Y12

“The waka building project has provided us with an opportunity to build connections with Rongotai, both between teachers, and for our students to be part of something bigger than themselves. We were able to take a piece back to school and set up construction in one of our classrooms.  Working on the boat together sparked spontaneous contributions from girls who wanted to give it a go, and rich conversations about sailing, technology and culture.”  Hamish, Wellington East Girls’ College Teacher

"It was really cool working with a thousand year old design and modern technology (epoxy and fibreglass) to make a version of the boats that once sailed across the Pacific Ocean". - Kit Norman, RC Teacher

“We’ve been really impressed and humbled by the work that has been done to create the sailing waka. This is going to be an amazing vessel that will be used not only by Rongotai College students but by students from all schools across the Eastern Suburbs and beyond, connecting them to Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique settlement stories and voyaging history.” - Dean Stanley Boat and Beach Wise Trust Chairperson

“We had a great time connecting with the boys at Rongotai and helping in small ways with building the waka.” - Peter Sutton and Robbie Bryant RC old boys and Worser Bay Boating Club members.

Ben and Iani (Y12) cutting out the flatpack components (above left) - Mr. Norman and Zachery A. working on the hull (above right)

Soon (Y9) installing the webbing into one of the hulls (above left) - Mr. Norman and Dean Stanely working things out (above right)

The completed Waka in Worser Bay with Otto, Soon and Ben M (above)

The goal of the project was to encourage a deeper relationship with the sea and traditional sailing technology, hence our use of an outrigger sail boat with a claw sail design not dissimilar to what would have been used in the past in navigating to and around Aotearoa New Zealand by Pacific Peoples many centuries ago. We have the advantage of power tools, epoxy, plywood and fibreglass, but our largely hands-on-based construction throughout this year and discovery through making has been really cathartic and community building. 
Indeed, the work has fostered connections between with the wider community including the Beach and Boat Wise Trust, Worser Bay Boating Club,  SailGP, The Black Foils, Linton Sails, Wellington East Girls’ College, and Rongotai Old Boys Robbie Bryant, Tony Crew, Peter Sutton and Andrew Mackay to whom we are truly grateful for their contributions and guidance.  Through their support, all year nine students get some exposure to sailing at Worser Bay Boat Club, and through the hard work of Glenn and Dean Stanley, we’ve had several students take the Waka Hourua sailing journey in Auckland and others participate in the SailGP event in Christchurch (Iani Mataki).

Iani Mataki at the SailGP internship in Christchurch (above)

Our journey, of course, has only begun and we hope the Waka project and the waves it generates will trigger a deeper relationship with our wai (sea) through sailing and sailing technology.  We look forward to sailing with you all in 2025!