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(Cataldo family collection) The first woman to swim Cook Strait Meda McKenzie on the San Antonino, Crouched on the left is Tony Mullo, with Johnny Cataldo beside him.
A big part of the Island Bay Italian fishing history for half a century, the San Antonino is up for sale for the second time this year. (2016)
The 49 foot vessel built by Jack Guard for the Muollo family in 1965 was sold in April 2016 for a charter service on the Otago Harbour. However, a change in circumstances has led the owner to put the vessel up for sale again and at the time of writing it’s still for sale.
Carl Muollo, who, with Jack Guard, designed the boat with its distinctive” beamy lines” for Cook Strait conditions, says it felt like a member of the family was leaving when she steamed out of Wellington for her new life in Dunedin.
As well as its fishing history, the San Antonino was frequently involved in maritime rescues – one of them literally close to Carl Muollo’s heart:
“We were crayfishing up the East Coast off White Rock in a 40-50 knot North Westerly and there was a yacht on a delivery voyage from the United Kingdom, her sails had blown out and she had run out of diesel,” he recalls.
The experiences of one fisherman’s family (my grandfather Nicholas Wilson and his wife Elsie Ann) give an indication of the hardship many local families suffered. There was little money to buy groceries. Their youngest son remembers one day discovering a half crown when exploring in a high cupboard, and said, “It was like finding gold”. Groceries and clothes would be left anonymously on their doorstep. One day when they had absolutely no food at all, Nicholas’ wife sat down at the kitchen table and prayed, telling the four children that God would look after them. Some time later there was a knock at the door, and they opened it to find a box of food on the doorstep, but no one to be seen. There were several similar instances that the children remembered from this time.
Photo via Nici Gibbs | Fathom Consulting The Blessing of the boats 2006
The San Antonino came to her rescue and spent 11 hours towing her into Wellington. Once ashore Mr Muollo found out the man he had rescued was a heart specialist moving to Wellington to work. Soon after Mr Muollo had a heart attack and was admitted to Wellington Hospital. The first doctor to see him was the man he had rescued.
Carl Muollo became involved in fundraising for a new treadmill for Wellington Hospital, and was the first person to use it. His history of heart attacks and failing health led him to reluctantly sell the vessel that was part of his family for five decades. “I didn’t have the time and energy to keep her going.”
The San Antonino was involved in numerous rescues in Cook Strait and served as pilot boat for swimmers crossing Cook Strait.
Its skipper Johnny Cataldo was a member of the Wellington marine search and rescue committee. He received the Queen’s Service medal in 1986 in recognition of the role he played in Cook Strait search and rescue.
In her day San Antonino was a renowned for her success in the Cook Strait hapuku and bluenose fisheries. Carl Muollo worked closely with Jack Guard to design her for Cook Strait conditions.
“She’s as old as my son Tony – the boat was launched in September 1965 and Tony was born that November.”
The vessel drew big attention when she joined the Island Bay fleet – under the heading,” Smart Boat Joins The Fishing Fleet”, a newspaper story said the San Antonino was “one of the smartest boats to be seen in Wellington for some time”. It said it cost £16,000 to build. The story noted she was the ninth vessel built by the Guards, and the second built for the Muollo family. “Very strongly built, she has a large wheelhouse and is powered by a 150hp Gardner diesel engine. Capacity for fuel is 800 gallons, and the ship uses about six gallons an hour. The San Antonino is 48ft long, but has a surprisingly wide beam of 1.6ft and a draught of 6.9ft”. The current owner noted on Trade Me that it was an “incredibly regretful sale”.
“Given the exceptional maintenance, reliability and dimensions of this vessel, coupled with low running costs, I believe it very much has a place operating in a tourism role.”
San Antonino underwent considerable maintenance in 2013, when the hull was stripped back to bare timber and the underwater planking was refastened with 600 silicon bronze screws and many underwater seams were re-caulked, including both garboard seams. Above the waterline the entire vessel was also repainted. She was one of several Guard boats built for the Island Bay Italian fishing fleet, recalls Guard’s grandson Darren. They were “beamy” vessels with a “round bum” close to the water, steady and easy to haul catch on board, he says.
ATL PAColl-0614-1 The Blessing of the boats 1975
The Guards and the Island Bay Italian fishing families had a close relationship, he says, explaining that San Antonino like the other Guard vessels would have been designed with a scaled down half version of the final product, explains Darren. The design would then be mapped out on a white painted floor in the boat building shed, just like a “jigsaw”. The vessel would be built up from that.
When he worked for Maritime NZ and visited Wellington it made him feel closer to his grandfather to see San Antonino. Retired from fishing, San Antonino’s main role in recent years was to host the clergy for the annual Blessing of the Boats in Island Bay. This year was her last in that role.
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