Cox’s Bay | Chris Gregory's Alphathreads

Cox’s Bay at Sunset

For many years, before the construction of the North Western Motorway, one of the main routes out of the City of Auckland to its western suburbs was via the West End Road which passes Cox’s Bay where Cox’s Creek enters the Waitemata Harbour. My childhood memories of driving past this bay are of old sailing craft anchored at moorings, or resting on the mud flats at low tide. In those days there were a number of “Mullet Boats” moored in the bay. These boats, hailing from the 1880’s, were shallow draft centre board yachts designed for easy handling by a man and a boy with a rig that could easily be reduced to cope with the ever changeable Auckland weather. Although the Mullet Boat was originally designed as a fishing vessel, it became a popular racing class in the 1920’s and still has a small but enthusiastic following today.

This image was taken at Cox’s Bay, Auckland at Sunset last Saturday. The old boat easing its way into the steps by the bridge over the creek looks very much like and old mullet boat that has been converted into a launch. The lines are similar but the mast is missing and the cockpit and cabin appear to have been enlarged. Please be aware that this is my uninformed observation. That aside, it was a beautiful sunset that night.