A different kind of craft

For someone who has spent most of his life on and around the sea, Wairarapa craftsman Richard Searle could be forgiven for now feeling a bit landlocked. But, no – he’s happy away from the hustle and bustle of America’s Cup and super-yacht sailing, quietly creating custom outdoor furniture in his workshop on the outskirts of Masterton. By Simon Burt. Photo by Lucia Zanmonti

 Richard and his partner Victoria Bamford moved from Auckland to their stylish Te Ore Ore home ten years ago. Wairarapa is Victoria’s patch – she grew up at coastal Homewood and went to school in Masterton, where her mother still lives. “We have four acres here, enough for a few sheep,” he says. “I’m loving the community, getting to know our neighbours. That doesn’t happen in Ponsonby.”Richard grew up in New Zealand’s sailing capital, the North Shore of Auckland, where he completed an apprenticeship with the prestigious Salthouse Boatbuilders. Although at the time more interested in playing rugby than in sailing, a series of events found him crewing at an A-Class regatta at St Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands. “I went there to get big-boat experience,” he says. “My aim was to join a round-the-world race team.”

 While in St Thomas, Richard was offered a job on the famous maxi-yacht Kialoa, later based in Antibes, France. From Kialoa he joined the 1992 Italian America’s Cup challenge, Il Moro di Venezia, as part of the mast development and tune-up team. Then, over ten years based in Newport, Rhode Island, “home” of the America’s Cup, Richard worked on several challenges for Japanese and American syndicates, including two campaigns for the inimitable and often controversial yachtsman Dennis Conner. Conner is also a four-time Cup-winning skipper and is known as “Mr America’s Cup”.

In 2003 Richard was lured back to Auckland by mastmakers Southern Spas to be their international service manager, working on super-yacht masts around the world. The contacts he made led to a seasonal crewing job on one of the most majestic of yachts, the 39-metre, 130 tonne J-Class Velsheda, built in 1933.

 There are currently only ten J-Class yachts afloat, of which seven were built as replicas during the last 15 years. Their wealthy owners compete in super-yacht regattas and demonstration races in exotic places such as St Tropez, Palma, Sardinia and Antigua. Richard usually spends half the year with Velsheda, managing mast modifications and as part of the regatta race crew. But with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, that has come to a (hopefully temporary) halt.

Meanwhile, using the woodworking skills he learned as a boat-building apprentice, Richard created an outdoor table for the barbecue area at the Te Ore Ore house. As the couple’s circle of friends grew, and the parties around the table increased, so did personal requests for custom-made tables. Recently, Richard decided to offer his services to the wider public under the brand Oldwoods Outdoor Furniture. “It’s my first venture into marketing and putting myself out there,” he says. “The timing wasn’t great, with the Covid thing, but I’m confident there are plenty of people around wanting good, solid, locally-made furniture.”

 Richard uses natural native and exotic timber from local merchants and will turn his hand to anything. He particularly enjoys renovating outdoor wrought iron seats, replacing the wooden elements and reconditioning the metal. He particularly enjoys renovating outdoor wrought iron seats, replacing the wooden elements and reconditioning the metal.

“I like that a few hours’ work will give the piece another fifty years of life in the garden,” he says. www.oldwoods.co.nz