Boating NZ March 2017

Only disturbed, cold-hearted viewers will have remained impassive to the hundreds of pilot whales committing mass suicide on the beaches of the ominously-named Farewell Spit. This recent iteration of what has become a depressingly common event along the New Zealand coastline ranks as one of the worst ever. And the most distressing part of it is that the whales’ motivation for mass suicide continues to elude the experts. Theories abound. Anything from: rookie navigational errors by the whales; geomagnetic anomalies interfering with their in-built GPS; sick whales just ‘wanting to end it all’; healthy whales foolishly following a pro-euthanasia whale into shallow water in a show of solidarity; frightened whales seeking refuge on land (really???); seismic activity; vibrations from passing ships causing navigational confusion; low-frequency signals from submarine espionage frying…

Undersea sculptures SPAIN HAS JUST opened what is being billed as the first underwater contemporary art museum in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean – and it’s geared to divers. Museo Atlantico – Atlantic Museum – is located off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain. The facility lies 14m beneath the surface and features some 300 sculptures by artist Jason deCaires Taylor. He has installed similar sculptures at underwater museums in the Bahamas, Mexico and the Antilles. Real-life models were used to make casts for his sculptures. The eerie human figures will help form part of an artificial reef, acting as a breeding site for local species. The sculptures are made from environment-friendly concrete, and depict scenes from everyday life. Taylor says the work aims to raise awareness about the ocean. “I…

1. True or false? A halo around the moon is an indication that bad weather may be on its way. 2. How many U-boats did Germany commission during WWII? a. 354 b. 754 c. 954 d. 1154 3. In which harbour is the Onerahi Yacht Club situated? 4. What would you do if you heard the word “SECURITE” (say-cur-etay) on your VHF? a. Switch channels as someone is sending a secure message? b. Ignore it as it only concerns big ships c. Listen carefully as an important meteorological or navigational message is about to be broadcast 5. Turning your boat hard to port or starboard then turning hard the other way to bring the boat back the way you came is known as a Williamson Turn. During what type of…

A REMOTE SIBERIAN beach once used as a dumping ground for millions of glass bottles has morphed into a tourist attraction following years of the sea’s gentle caressing. Located on Ussuri Bay, near Vladivostok, the beach was formerly a Soviet dump for old wine, vodka and beer bottles – together with waste from a nearby porcelain factory. Large trucks formed a daily procession, depositing tonnes of glass on the beach. Apart from the eyesore the debris created, the shards of broken glass also proved a danger to anyone attempting to visit the beach – and it remained off-limits for decades. Over the years, though, Nature patiently got stuck into the mess. The constant action of the waves has smoothed the broken glass into a vast kaleidoscopic vista of smooth, coloured…

With each new edition of the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show the gate prize seems to be even more impressive than the year before. The prize for this year’s show, May 18 to 21, is an awesome boating package comprising a new Surtees 700 Game Fisher on a deluxe, dualaxle, alloy-wheeled Epic trailer with Balex Automatic Boat Loader system. The hardtop rig is powered by a pair of 115hp Yamaha four-stroke outboards and features the latest Garmin electronics package. All up, including a comprehensive range of equipment and safety gear, the prize is worth more than $150,000. Boating New Zealand picked up the gate prize from Surtees dealer Fishing Boats NZ on Auckland’s North Shore, towed the rig to Gulf Harbour where we put it through its paces. Sevenmetre boats…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAEp3ZgMkNM Garmin GPSMap 7412 It’s possible the Garmin GPSMap 7412 is packed with more features than most owners will ever make use of. But as Kieran Andrews from Garmin NZ points out, modern marine electronics are more userfriendly than ever before, so it’s much easier to take advantage of their features. The touch-screen GPSMap 7412 aboard the Hutchwilco Boat Show Gate Prize is intuitive to use and can supply a dizzying array of data from a variety of sources. The 12-inch Garmin MFD displays dual Chirp sonar, XHD high-definition Radar with a nominal 42nm range, top of the line mapping and navigation functions, GPS data and Garmin’s SideVu and ClearVu sonars when the appropriate transducers are fitted. Charting includes separate navigation and fishing charts, the latter with more detailed depth…