Boating NZ April 2017

Architects, historians and art curators often bemoan the decisions town planners make in the name of progress. Nondescript, derelict buildings no one has glanced at for years suddenly become headline news when demolition is proposed to make way for a modern replacement. I’m ill-qualified to comment on the artistic (or otherwise) wisdom of preserving crumbling, dishevelled edifices – but I sympathise with the sentiment. How is a nation to understand its place in the world if it’s legacy and historical context is constantly eroded? So it’s with an element of satisfaction that I can celebrate the powerful legacy of preservation that permeates our maritime industry. There is rarely any argument about the wisdom (or otherwise) of restoring a dilapidated old hulk someone found rotting in a field. On the contrary,…

Game-fishing classic steals the show A BAY OF ISLANDS game-fishing boat, last in the water some 70 years ago, took top prize at this year’s NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show, held in March at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park. The event drew the owners of around 130 clinkers, steam launches, classic motorboats and sailing dinghies, with the Jens Hansen trophy for best vessel overall going to Malolo. She is owned by Max Cumming and Ra Tangaroa from Russell in the Bay of Islands. The 5.7m kauri launch was built in 1929 but taken out of the water during the war due to fuel rationing. She was relaunched briefly in 1946 and had sat in paddocks and sheds around the Bay of Islands until acquired by the…

We welcome your letters and feedback for publication. Address to: The Editor, Boating New Zealand, PO Box 301063 Albany, 0752, Auckland, or email editor@boatingnz.co.nz Method in the Madness Following your March issue’s article – Mooring Madness – I thought a comment about moorings may be of interest. The Environment Canterbury Navigation Safety Bylaw sets up a system for boaties to apply for a mooring place, once one becomes available. Due to the demand for mooring space, it is a first-in-first-served policy. As the holder of a mooring authorisation, a boatie can opt to place a brand new mooring, or buy an existing mooring from someone. The Harbourmaster’s Office has provided more space to moor vessels in some areas and is working to do that in other Canterbury locations. The new…

THE UPGRADED ROSS 930 Airship claimed top honours at the recent Line 7 Port Nicholson Regatta in Wellington – walking away with the PHRF title as well as the Ross Telford Memorial Trophy. “This has taken us a while,” said Airship skipper Dave Roberts. “Over the last three years this boat has really been transformed with a new rig, deep keel and a sail plan to match. At the same time we’ve developed as a team, and Rodney Keenan (Evolution Sails) has been a big part of both the boat and crew programme.” Wildly variable conditions shaped the regatta – light winds interspersed with wet, miserable and cold gloom, and a bit of thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure. The Newick trimaran St Laurence claimed overall Line Honours and…

A SURVEY OF THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTIONS of New Zealand’s environment shows that we have an overly positive view of our environment, but that we are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of our primary industries on nature. Respondents felt the most important environmental issues facing the country were water, followed by agricultural issues and climate change. “New Zealanders love their rivers and lakes, coastlines and oceans,” says Forest & Bird spokesperson Geoff Keey. “We are becoming more aware of the pressures placed on these resources by our primary industries.” 59 percent of respondents identified farming as a major cause of damage to the environment (up from 25 percent when the survey began in 2000). 65 percent of respondents thought management of farming effluent and runoff was bad or very bad.…

JUST OVER A CENTURY on from the advent of the Universal Rule, to which they were originally built, the J Class will this year stage its first-ever World Championship. The J Class Association recently became an affiliate member of the International Maxi Association (IMA). IMA administers the International Maxi Class, recognised by the sport’s governing body, World Sailing. This status permits the IMA to stage annual World Championships for maxi boats, notably the Maxi 72 World Championship, held every September in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. For the magnificent Js, their first World Championship will conclude a heavily America’s Cup-orientated 2017 season, following the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta and the America’s Cup J Class Regatta. Both will be held in Bermuda in June, the latter coinciding with the first two days of…