Boating NZ October 2018

Judging by the level of activity on the hardstand area outside Boating’s Westhaven office window, summer is just around the corner. Similar scenes must be taking place up and down the country as keen boaters prepare their vessels for the summer season. About now is when we really start noticing the days warming up. Daylight saving kicks in, the cover comes off the BBQ and activities involving water become a lot more attractive. I always think October is filled with promise, not least because of my well documented addiction to recreational fishing! If you like to catch snapper, October is a very significant month. During October adult snapper of all sizes start to gather in large and small groups as they prepare to spawn. Find these aggregations and the fishing…

MARITIMO X60 Maritimo’s X60 is making waves everywhere it is shown, including at the Auckland On Water Boat Show. John Eichelsheim joined this stunning vessel for a cruise down the New South Wales coast before she made her way across the Tasman to New Zealand. HANSE 548 Hanse’s latest yacht is stylish and quick, with unrivalled accommodation below decks and brilliantly versatile outdoor spaces. Easy to sail and offering the sort of performance most cruising boats can only aspire to, she is an impressive yacht in every way. STINGER RESTORATION John Macfarlane chronicles the restoration of a Paul Whiting half-tonner built in 1973. Now called Stinger, her latest owner has given her a total makeover. AIRPORT HOVERCRAFT Auckland International Airport’s runway juts out into the Manukau Harbour, so emergency response…

One of our goals is to remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years A 2,000ft long floating boom, a collection device to corral plastic litter floating between California and Hawaii, set out from San Francisco in September. It was heading to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – an island of rubbish twice the size of Texas. The system was created by The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation founded by Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old innovator from the Netherlands. Boyan became passionate about cleaning the oceans at age 16 after seeing more plastic bags than fish while scuba diving in the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers with Slat’s organisation found plastic going back to the 1960s and 1970s bobbing in the garbage patch, illustrating how persistent plastic is in the environment.…

The controversial sale of council-owned marina land in Auckland for housing has been put on hold after a public backlash. Six of Auckland’s 12 marinas are privately owned with the remainder owned by council and operated by Panuku. Councillors at a planning committee meeting in early September decided to halt the sale of marina assets until a strategic plan is developed for the city’s 12 marinas, following vocal opposition by boaties and local communities. Several groups, including the Auckland Marina Users Association, oppose moves from the council’s development arm, Panuku, to sell marina assets from council-owned Pine Harbour, Bayswater and Hobsonville marinas for development. The council’s strategic approach to marinas was criticised by the association, which called for a halt on the sale of marina land until an independent strategy…

Young sailors Blake McGlashan and Seb Menzies won first place at the 2018 420 World Championships in August. The boys found their way to the podium in Newport, Rhode Island, USA by winning five of their 12 races, including two in the gold fleet. Their margin over the second-placed Spanish team was a massive 48 points. Remarkably, Menzies is just 13 years old and McGlashan 15, but the boys raced in the open division, having gained entry to the Worlds at the youth sailing world champs at Corpus Christi the month before, where they finished fifth. Menzies and McGlashan were one of five Kiwi teams competing at Newport. Making their achievement even more laudable is the fact the pair have only been sailing together for a little more than a…

At the beginning of September, Suzuki New Zealand Ltd took over New Zealand distribution of Suzuki marine engines. A subsidiary of Suzuki Motors Japan, Whanganui-based Suzuki New Zealand Ltd distributes Suzuki motor vehicles (cars, motor cycles and ATVs) in New Zealand. In recent years Suzuki outboards were distributed and marketed here by Haines Suzuki in Australia, but Suzuki New Zealand are no strangers to the marine market, having successfully marketed Suzuki outboards in this country for many years prior to Haines Suzuki Australia taking over. Suzuki New Zealand has appointed Simon Meade General Manager of Motorcycle, ATV and Marine Marketing. Suzuki New Zealand has held the number-one position for motorcycle sales since 1998 and enjoys a healthy and growing share of the small car market. Suzuki New Zealand is looking…