Page 12 - pākuViews Autumn/Winter 2013

10 PAKU VIEWS ISSUE 7 AUTUMN/WINTER 2013
Russell George (shown left) laughingly
remembers diving mate Kelly Tarlton
looking up at a reflection of himself in
a mirror after a hard night on the turps
saying “God, I’m an ugly bugger”!
“Now there was a man with a dream”, says
Russell, shaking his head.
If Russell had a big dream, it would involve the
sea. That’s for sure. He started diving in the 1950’s
and was a three times national spear fishing
champion, representing New Zealand in the 1975
world championships in Peru.
Coming from a long line of mad keen fishermen,
he said it was a strange feeling to be left boatless
after retiring from commercial crayfishing in 1994,
so he bought a small aluminium fun boat to soothe
his hankering.
But watching the missus shivering in her wet
weather gear, grasping her fishing pole as she
pitched from side to side, fed his guilt that wife
Betty deserved something better.
Russell envisioned owning “a cup of tea boat”,
one that would give him and his wife, or him and
his fishing mates, the latitude to overnight at the
Alderman Islands with all the comforts of home
at hand.
And that fancy – the big white boat dry-docked on
their Pepe Road property – has landed the Georges
a lot of flack over the years, most of it directed at
the length of time he’s taking to finish it.
“One lady who regularly walks past said ‘Better
hurry up or you won’t get your money’s worth’ “,
says the wiry 75-year-old.
The ‘never-finished’ boat with empty hull, no back
end and a rebuilt Gardener engine on the bilge
floor, was purchased and arrived on the couple’s
property twelve years ago, and says Betty, “It
hasn’t moved since”.
Betty is proud of her husband’s achievements
but admits to having felt ticked off occasionally
over the years, having to play second fiddle to
“Betty G”, so named, Russell noted, because that
was the only way he could get his hands on the
cheque book.
After some investigation, the boat appeared to
be sea worthy, but has never been on the water
except for its ride atop a barge from South Island to
Auckland.
• Sedan style, 15 tonne displacement launch
• Length: 12 metres in length, 4.2 metres abeam
• Draught of 1.4 metres
• Holding capacity: 700 litres water , 12 00 fuel
• Speed: Expected 8-9 knots, burning 8 litres fuel per hour .
The Legend
Of The Betty G,
A Dreamboat Built
for a “Cuppa Tea”
By Rowena Brown
The Betty G measures up!