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The Secret - Source: ONE News -
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It is Stewart Island's best kept secret - a locally built fishing boat named Secret that is 121 years old.
And now it is back in the water and back with the family that built it.
It was the Johnson family's proud moment as the lovingly restored Secret was re-launched back into the water and back in the colours of the well known Stewart Island fishing family.
Trevor Johnson, a descendent of the boat's builder, says the boat is good to handle.
"It's got a big rudder and it's probably easier to handle than some of the newer boats."
The Secret was built at Stewart Island's Horseshoe Bay by their forefather, Ned Johnson, in the 1880s.
Elaine Hamilton, another descendent of the builder, says his boats had interesting names.
"He had names like the Secret, the Mystery, the Myth, the Puzzle. And people used to wonder how he got his money, and the name reflected it."
The Secret spent generations in the family and helped pioneer Southland crayfishing.
"I fished on it with my uncle when I left school and fished on it with my father when he owned it," says Trevor.
When it finally fell into disrepair, the family sold the Secret to a local man who put so much effort into the restoration he died aboard from a heart attack.
For Trevor Johnson, the auction that followed was a nerve-wracking experience.
"(I was) very nervous. (I) didn't know who was going to bid for it, didn't know what was going to happen."
Having bought it back, the family say they will never let their Secret out again. The old kauri and totara ketch is now their sea-going holiday home.
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