Tawera trawler rescues the yacht Astral

The trawler Tawera rescues the Astral in the 1951 centennial yacht race from Wellington to Lyttelton.

For their brave efforts rescuing the crew of the Astral, the Tawera's captain and its volunteer crew were honoured by the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand. The captain, George Edward Brasell, was awarded the society's gold medal. The other members of the crew, Arthur Henderson Childs, Raymond Ira Clark, Cecil Malvern Welsh, Charles Gerald Balfour and Patrick Reardon, were all awarded the bronze medal.

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What do you know?

peter connor

Posted: 15 Jun 2012

I was born in Wellington and in 1958 crewed on the yacht Malau, built and sailed by Bill Mason. Moored next to her in Port Nic was the Astral, sailed by a man by the name of Lysaght that Bill said was sistership to the Argo. She ran in to strife returning from the Christmas holiday in the sounds with the crew being taken off and the boat set adrift. Is this a different boat with the same name