Innehållsförteckning för April 2016 från Boating NZ

Wakatere is a 15.6m catamaran designed for transferring pilots to and from ships reliably and safely under all weather conditions. Specifically, the design brief demanded an ability to maintain precise station and stability at the foot of the pilot ladder dangling down a ship’s side. The brief also wanted economy and efficiency – a specified service speed of 28 to 30 knots – with requirements for low maintenance. So she’s conservatively rated – her twin 478 kW (640hp) Scania engines achieve a miserly fuel consumption of 3.8 litres per nautical mile at 30 knots. Wakatere displaces around 18 tonnes and the engines drive Hamilton Jet units giving exceptional manoeuvrability. At low speeds these can move the boat sideways. Agility and positioning can be even easier when using the Blue Arrow…

Last winter a pod of bottlenose dolphins came to live in our Great Barrier Island bay. At first they were good neighbours, coming and going quietly about their business from the eastern end of the bay. You could hear the gentle chooffing of their breath on still nights and see their exhaled water vapour against the bush backdrop during the day. My partner Aggie – who teaches paddle-boarding and who we think of as the Penny Whiting of paddle-boards – would angle across from the other side of the harbour in the mornings and sit astride her board chatting with the dolphins which lolled around her. One gentle mammal, enjoying the company of several other gentle mammals. We got our dolphin field guide out and looked under bottlenose. “Grows to…

“...if you like to fish and have a family to keep happy, this could be the boat for you...” It’s late afternoon in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Snapper season is just kicking into gear and the all-important tide change is not far away. Hmm, time to find a crew. My partner, Millie, hates the smell of fish, let alone catching one, but after inspecting the Whittley FF2100 she packs her favourite magazine and jumps aboard. Have I struck fishing pay-dirt? A girlfriend who actually wants to go fishing on a boat? We launch into a glassy Patterson River and make our way into the bay. With 15 knots on top, it’s hardly ideal fishing conditions. The FF2100 laps up the slop. After a short run to a popular reef, the…

Win big at the Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show THERE WILL BE multiple chances to win big at this year’s Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland, May 12-15. In addition to the $105,000 Surtees-Yamaha Grand Prize Package, given away on the last day of the show, there will be daily Heletranz heli-fishing trips and Viking Kayaks will each day give away two of its popular 2+1 family kayak packages. Heli-fishing trip winners will experience a helicopter flight from the Heletranz’s heliport in Albany to a specially-chosen, remote, secret fishing spot in the Hauraki Gulf. Enter the draw at the Heletranz stand in The Rock Fishing Hall. The Viking 2+1 is a versatile double-seat family kayak. It is quick and easy to paddle with one or…

Being a keen sailor and general lover of all things boating related, I thought that paddling for three days down a river was going to be a piece of cake. I mean I can row a dinghy – paddling a canoe surely can’t be that much harder, right? Well I was wrong… within two minutes of setting off, my 10-year-old son and I had gone down the first rapid backwards, taking a wave over the side of the boat and had come precariously close to tipping out. So we learnt very quickly that rivers are quite different to the ocean. With the first unsuccessful attempt out of the way, we had a chance to remember the tips we had been given while we continued paddling down the now serene stretch…

Puzzle no. 222 Across 1. Long curling sea waves (7) 5. Haul downwards with tackle (5) 8. Cargo ship designed to carry crude oil in bulk (5) 9. Strong resins used in boat-building (7) 10. Type of fishing lure (7) 11. Backbone of boat! (4) 13. Narrow pieces of land or sea such as isthmus or channel (5) 15. Shout encouragement during boat race (5) 16. Cargo boat with flat bottom used in Baltic (4) 18. Boat racing categories (7) 21. dolphin – small endangered NZ dolphin (7) 22. This connects hook to end of fishing line (5) 23. Decorate ship with flags for special occasion (5) 24. down – takes down sail or mast (7) Down 1. the Line – ship ceremony when going over equator for first time…

Astrolabe reserve? THIS IMAGE IS one of 14 sold at a recent fund-raiser at Tauranga’s Zeus Gallery – an event designed to promote the establishment of a marine reserve around the Bay of Plenty’s Astrolabe Reef. The reef’s future has been a controversial issue for Bay of Plenty residents, fishermen and divers following the grounding and subsequent break-up of the Rena container vessel in 2011. As a Maritime Safety Exclusion Zone the reef has been closed for the past four years. While sections of the wreck were removed, its remains have become a haven for marine life – as is reflected in the work of photographers such as Darryl Torckler who took this image. To protect the marine life, the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust, on behalf of Nga Hapu o…

Keeping guard on power WITH THE HCB Battery-Guard and free Apple or Android intAct Battery-Guard app, you can quickly and easily check your vehicle battery’s state of charge to help avoid flat batteries and low voltage issues. Only batteries in a constant, positive state of charge will deliver full capacity and reliable operation. With the Battery-Guard’s Bluetooth transmitter fitted to the battery, the real time voltage value can be retrieved by the smartphone app. The transmitter is suitable for 6V, 12V or 24V batteries and the Bluetooth range is approximately six metres. Power consumption is only about 2mW and there’s no damage to the transmitter or the battery if the polarity is reversed. Battery-Guard provides simple and effective monitoring for your boat, 4WD, car, truck, bike or any vehicle. It…

It had been a long time coming – this dream of owning Whitney Rose. It was 22 years ago that I had watched her being built and launched in Lyttelton. Her lines were striking and based on the traditional Bristol Channel workboat lineage that had been refined by her talented American designer Lyle Hess. The original design had been made famous by the wonderful voyages and books of Lin and Larry Pardey. Whitney Rose had been built and sailed by Mike Brown. Mike is an engineer by profession and he seems to be able to adapt his skill to any material from the Calophyllum strip-plank construction to the nickel-bronze fittings he had cast. Mike had sailed her around a corner of the South Pacific and had many great adventures on…

Skywalk stunt Having established himself as a daredevil of sailing, British round-the-world sailor Alex Thomson has completed a new challenge – this time on a kiteboard. Chasing his IMOCA Open 60 HUGO BOSS boat upwind, he attached himself via a line to the top of the boat’s mast. He then utilised the speed of the race boat to propel himself 85m into the air, sending him surfing above the yacht. At the peak of his flight, he detached himself from the boat and controlled his descent, landing the kiteboard on the water. This is the third stunt unveiled by the 41-year-old yachtsman and his team. Videos of The Keelwalk – a challenge which involved Thomson walking along the orange keel of his racing yacht, while heeled over and sailing at…

We welcome your letters and feedback for publication. Address to: The Editor, Boating New Zealand, PO Box 6341, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141, or email editor@boatingnz.co.nz Bird poo battles JUST ANOTHER IDEA that works on farms to keep seagulls way: at lambing time seagulls can be a menace to new-born lambs. If you ‘acquire’ a dead seagull, tie it to a fence with wings spread out – no other seagull will approach closer than half a kilometre. Works on the land. Mike Aldworth The James Davern Story CONGRATULATIONS ON A well-written article. One point which needs correction is the photo caption on pg 96. The photo is actually Fidelis on her maiden sail in the Anniversary Day Regatta January 27th 1964. Careful study of the photo reveals the original wooden mast…

The original Optimist was designed in 1947 by American Clark Mills at the request of the Optimist International service club, following a proposal by Major Clifford McKay to offer low-cost sailing for children. He designed a simple pram that could be built from three sheets of plywood and was as easy as a coffin to knock together. The design was slightly modified and introduced to Europe by the Dane Axel Damgaard and spread outwards across Europe from Scandinavia. New Zealand sailor Clive Roberts had noticed the Optimist on his travels as an international OK Dinghy sailor and had seen the effects on young Scandinavians who were being honed into great racing sailors in these humble little boats. Clive and Alf Locke were considering producing a line of Optimists in fibreglass…

After obtaining our Category One certificate in July and spending six weeks in Fiji we were reluctant to return home. It had been a great time – excellent sailing, fun people, lots of fish, fantastic swimming and snorkelling. The only downside was a semi-deafness from re-occurring swimmer’s ear. I was constantly rubbing my ear trying to clear it. “You know what will happen if we go home?” asked TPM (The Prudent Mariner). “Yep, that’s right,” he answered himself. “You’ll have to go back to work.” Definition of prudent: acting with or showing care and thought for the future. TPM had a plan. “Let’s sail to Australia. We can join our friends Ron and Emily and cruise the Queensland coast with them.” TPM is a very good sailor with over 20…

“...The Velasco's hull lifts smoothly on to the plane...” Sarah Anne is easily distinguished from the other boats on her pier at Picton Marina in the Marlborough Sounds. Her European styling follows the current trend for straight lines rather than the curvaceous flow of a few years ago and a lengthy flybridge includes a sunbed from where guests can enjoy the view in style. New Zealand’s agent for Jeanneau, Orakei Marine in Auckland, brought the Velasco 43F into the country and arranged for several customisations and upgrades to the owner’s request – mostly to improve its suitability for fishing and diving. Managing director Jason Snashall, a professional skipper, oversaw the modifications and delivered the boat from Auckland to Waikawa Bay via the North Island’s East Cape – a trip of…