From the early days of settlement through to the hi-tech modern era, yachting has been arguably the quintessential summer leisure activity and sport for a wide cross-section of New Zealand society. It is a story of do-it-yourselfers, master yachtsmen, world-class yacht builders and designers, and many, many magnificent yachts.

 

‘Southern Breeze’ takes the reader on a rich and varied journey from the great yachts of the Logan-Bailey era, through the golden years of the first decade of this century, the popularising of centre-boarders, and the postwar explosion of new designs, to the international successes from Rainbow II, to the Olympic, Whitbread and ultimately America’s Cup glory. The very readable text is richly illustrated with a combination of paintings, postcards and photographs, many of them previously unpublished.

Meticulously researched and superbly illustrated, this is the history of New Zealand yachting as it has never been told before.