Waterline Magazine Dec2011

Dec/Jan 2011 Issue No 161 ple

The Bay of Plenty & Coromandel’s own watersports news. Phone 07 578 0030

ase take one

New radio room

Reluctant racer

King of the river

Clippers to the coast

02 WATERLINE

HIGH TIDES

Add one hour for daylight savings

DECEMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa

5:17 0:05 0:56 1:49 2:43 3:38 4:31 5:22 6:09 0:28 1:10 1:51 2:33 3:14 3:57 4:42 5:30 0:16 1:10 2:10 3:12 4:16 5:18 6:16 0:44 1:37 2:28 3:17 4:05 4:51 5:37

0.2 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.8 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3

11:46 1.8 6:07 0.3 6:58 0.3 7:50 0.4 8:45 0.5 9:39 0.5 10:32 0.5 11:22 0.5 12:09 0.5 6:53 1.7 7:36 1.7 8:17 1.7 8:58 1.8 9:39 1.8 10:21 1.8 11:05 1.8 11:51 1.8 6:20 0.2 7:15 0.3 8:14 0.3 9:15 0.3 10:17 0.3 11:19 0.3 12:19 0.2 7:12 1.9 8:05 1.9 8:56 1.9 9:44 1.9 10:31 1.9 11:17 1.8 12:02 1.8

JANUARY 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th

0:22 1:10 2:00 2:52 3:47 4:40 5:31 6:19 0:38 1:23 2:07 2:52 3:37 4:23 5:12 0:00 0:54 1:53 2:55

1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7

6:24 0.4 7:11 0.4 8:01 0.5 8:53 0.6 9:46 0.6 10:40 0.6 11:31 0.5 12:20 0.5 7:05 1.7 7:49 1.8 8:33 1.8 9:16 1.9 10:00 1.9 10:46 1.9 11:33 1.9 6:03 0.2 6:57 0.3 7:55 0.3 8:57 0.3

17:54 0.2 12:35 1.8 18:44 0.3 13:25 1.7 19:35 0.3 14:15 1.7 20:26 0.4 15:04 1.6 21:18 0.4 15:54 1.6 22:09 0.4 16:43 1.6 22:58 0.4 17:31 1.6 23:44 0.3 18:17 1.6 12:54 0.4 19:02 1.6 13:37 0.4 19:45 1.7 14:19 0.4 20:28 1.7 15:02 0.3 21:10 1.7 15:45 0.3 21:53 1.7 16:30 0.3 22:38 1.7 17:17 0.3 23:25 1.7 18:06 0.2 12:41 1.8 18:57 0.2 13:34 1.8 19:52 0.2 14:30 1.8 20:49 0.2 15:30 1.8 21:49 0.2 16:30 1.8 22:49 0.1 17:31 1.8 23:48 0.1 18:31 1.8 13:15 0.2 19:27 1.8 14:10 0.2 20:21 1.8 15:01 0.2 21:12 1.8 15:51 0.2 22:02 1.8 16:39 0.2 22:49 1.7 17:25 0.2 23:35 1.7 18:11 0.3 12:47 1.7 13:32 1.7 14:18 1.6 15:06 1.6 15:57 1.6 16:49 1.6 17:40 1.6 18:29 1.6 13:07 0.4 13:53 0.4 14:38 0.3 15:24 0.2 16:10 0.2 16:57 0.2 17:46 0.2 12:22 1.9 13:15 1.8 14:11 1.8 15:10 1.8

18:57 0.3 19:43 0.4 20:31 0.4 21:21 0.4 22:12 0.4 23:03 0.4 23:51 0.4 19:17 1.7 20:03 1.7 20:49 1.7 21:34 1.8 22:21 1.8 23:09 1.8 18:37 19:31 20:28 21:28

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Tauranga tide heights in metres.

Bowentown: subtract 5 minutes from Tauranga (both HW and LW) Katikati (Kauri Point): add 30 minutes to Tauranga (both HW and LW) Whitianga: High Water subtract 2 minutes from Tauranga HW tide; Low Water add 2 minutes to Tauranga Low Water.

Every effort has been made to ensure that these times and tides are correct, no responsibility will be accepted for any inaccuracies, omissions, or misuse or misinterpretation of the values for tides and times published. Times used in the tide predictions are in New Zealand Standard Time (NZST1).

Format and frequency changes for your Waterline Magazine Waterline turns sixteen years with this edition and, like most 16 year olds, there are some big changes happening.

Waterline Magazine will be bigger, going further and extending its print run, heading into 2012.

We’re changing the frequency, going quarterly, along with the increased circulation and paging.

There will be more Waterline news incorporated with our other highly successful publications, including the Bay’s leading newspaper, The Weekend Sun and the marine section of the region’s daily live news service, SunLive.co.nz When Waterline was launched in the summer of ’95 the internet was still a fairly new gimmick and emails were something that only geeks enthused about.

It is estimated that in 1993 the Internet carried only 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunication by 2000 this figure had grown to 51%, and by 2007 more than 97% of all telecommunicated information was carried over the Internet.

As the years have rolled by, the electronic communication age has played a rapidly increasing role in media and here at Waterline and Sun Media we’ve embraced that.

As the flagship of many boating clubs in the region, Waterline has performed a vital role for those organisations to connect with their members and promote their activities.

The advance of internet and email has changed the way clubs do that, and it’s timely that Waterline’s role is adjusted to reflect those changes.

We’ll be making full use of SunLive and the instantaneous benefits of the web, while continuing to produce a quality hands-on print publication. Waterline will also have a presence in the Sun’s fortnightly lift out automotive supplement, Bay Driver.

As of next year, Waterline Magazine will be published quarterly, with an increased print run, reaching more boaties throughout the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and beyond. Each edition will have more pages, more reading and more great deals from your marine industry.

We thank all our readers, clubs and advertisers for stoic support in the last 16 years and we hope you continue to enjoy and appreciate Waterline Magazine in its new format and frequency going into 2012.

Keep sending us your stories and pictures of your boating, fishing and watersports exploits – we’ll have more room than ever to showcase them.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and safe boating in the New Year. Sea you out there. Brian & Claire.

Waterline advertising & editorial deadlines Edition March 2012 June 2012

Deadline 24 Feb 2012 1 June 2012

Edition Sept 2012 Dec 2012

Deadline 31 August 2012 30 Nov2012

The Bay of Plenty’s own boating, fishing, diving, yachting and watersports news.

PH 07-578 0030 FAX 07-571 1116 PO Box 240, Tauranga.

1 The Strand, Tauranga email: brian@thesun.co.nz For advertising, call Sun Media’s specialist marine consultant Jo Dempsey 07 928 3041 email jo@thesun.co.nz www.facebook.com/Waterlinemagazine

COASTGUARD

WATERLINE 03

Radio room campaign underway A $1000 donation from the Tauranga Marine Industry Association marks the start of the Coastguard project to rebuild its radio room.

Coastguard operations manager Simon Barker says the donation part of the proceeds of the successful boat show will go towards the project.

The plans are expected to be finalised this month.

“Then we seek the money from various sources,” says Simon.

“Rather than going just to funders, we will do our own fundraising raffle that we are running now from December through the summer for the radio room as well.

“We want to put a reasonable amount of our own money into it.”

Unexpected donations like the TMIA’s will also be earmarked for the project, says Simon.

He’s hoping work will begin in the new year.

The radio room, which is the Coastguard’s main connection with boaties on the water, is to be transformed with the addition of modern digital gear.

The Coastguard will also be installing a back up generator with an uninterrupted power supply as part of the project.

“So if we have a power cut, which we do every few months, we will be able to carry on running,” says Simon.

“And also, if there’s a major power outage for a prolonged period, a lot of our building will be able to carry on running.

“When a lot of people around have no power we’ll actually be able to keep up and running.

“It will be a reasonable sized diesel generator and as long as we keep it fuelled it will just carry on powering all the radio gear and a lot of the other gear in the downstairs training room.” The UPS system keeps the power flowing to sensitive electronics from batteries while the back up

Only $59,000 to go. Simon Barker and Tauranga Marine Industry Association chairman Tony Hawker in the radio room. generator comes on line. They looked at solar panels but decided they don’t need them with the UPS and the genset. There are a few back up battery systems at present, which the new system will replace.

“With the new set up there will be a lot more electronic gear involved in it, computers and extra digital gear, so there will be quite a bit more that we have to keep running, otherwise we will lose the radio room,” says Simon.

“And there’s no point in having car batteries and stuff like that every-

where, so we will get rid of all those and do it properly.”

A raffle is being held to fundraise for the radio room project with tickets on sale at Tauranga Coastguard, Sun Media’s office at No.1 The Strand and during a street appeal.

HARBOURMASTER

04 WATERLINE

Keeping safe simple The water is steadily warming; the fish are biting – it’s time to dust off the dinghy and get out on the water.

Of course you know about the ‘rules of the road’ for use on the water – after all you’re reading this great magazine – but do you have the skills to keep you and your family safe on the seas this summer?

We know that there are about 15,000 new boaties taking to the water every year who haven’t learned the rules. In fact, we suspect that many of them don’t even know that the rules exist.

The Big Three

If I could simplify all the hundreds of boating rules into the three most important, these would be my choice: • Keep right • Go slow near the shore, other boats and people in the water • Give way to big ships You could argue that there are other rules equally as important – and I’m sure it would be an interesting argument, but if

every boatie could just follow these three rules, I’d almost be out of a job!

ships sufficient space to navigate the narrow channels safely.

Keeping right on

Keep right? It’s certainly not an instinctive thing to do as we spend all our time on the land keeping to the left, but those are the rules at sea.

Keep right in shipping channels and when another boat is approaching head-on.

Five what?

The speed limit when you’re within 200 metres of the shore is five knots – or a fast walking pace. The same speed limit applies within 50 metres of another boat or a person in the water.

Nothing new there and if you’re obeying this rule, then you probably don’t need to worry too much about the ‘wake rule’.

Keep clear of the big boys

Giving way to the big ships in or near harbours is just commonsense. The only tricky bit is deciding how much room to allow these floating giants.

Judging from the number of angry ship toots I hear, boaties aren’t giving the big

Deceptively swift

It’s easy to underestimate how fast those big vessels are moving. The average cargo ship moves across the harbour covering over 300 metres – or three football fields – in 60 seconds.

It takes the average boatie quite a few minutes to wind in the fishing lines; start the engine and heave up the anchor, so if you’re anchored in the channel, you need to allow plenty of time in case something goes wrong.

Don’t leave it until the last minute!

Work hard, Play hard Enjoy the summer!

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BOP REGIONAL COUNCIL

WATERLINE 05

Splendid view from the bridge Great view, but…

The captain’s view from the bridge of a ship is a splendid one, but he can’t see anything close in front of the ship. All ships have a ‘blind spot’ in front. How extensive this is depends on how high the cargo is stacked, but this blind spot can extend to around 1000 metres in front of the ship.

that pops up in front of you. Drive to the conditions – haven’t we heard that somewhere before?

Personally floating

Captain can’t see you

You know the drill on lifejackets or personal flotation devices, but an interesting exercise over summer when swimming from the boat would be to try to get into a lifejacket while floating in the water. It can be done by a normal strong and healthy person, but it’s not easy. You’ll find that the lifejacket wants to float annoyingly high up around your face unless it’s tightly secured around you. Give it a go!

Look out for loonies

Most boaties these days carry a mobile phone, but if your boat gets swamped, would you still be able to use your phone?

A waterproof bag for your phone is vital if you’re out in a small boat. Many boats carry a VHF radio. Do all your crew know how to use it in an emergency? Do they all know who to call and on what channel?

Other forms of communication could include flares, emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), personal locator

It’s just under 2000 metres in distance from Panepane Point on Matakana Island to Salisbury Wharf at Mount Maunganui, so that means once a ship comes in through the harbour entrance, the captain or pilot may not be able to see any small boats closer than about C4 beacon, or half the distance along the Cutter Channel. Now, that’s a scary thought… It’s just like the big trucks – if you can’t see the ‘driver’ then he can’t see you.

Look out and lifejackets deserve a mention, too. It’s the law that you must keep a good look out at all times. Just like on the road, you should travel at such speed that you can stop in time to avoid something

Calling for help

beacon (PLB), flags or even morse code SOS flashed out by a torch at night.

You may remember that one from your Boy Scout or Girl Guide days?

Three short, three long, three short flashes on a torch or toots on your fog signalling apparatus should do the trick.

Volunteer wardens

If you want to help to keep the harbours, lakes and rivers safe this summer, you might like to consider becoming a volunteer warden. The harbour masters in Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatane each coordinate a team of volunteer wardens who help to educate boaties. The wardens spend time on the boat ramps and beaches chatting to people and telling them about the rules that apply to their area.

They give away information brochures – and sometimes even give away packets of jelly beans with safety messages on them.

Training is given to all wardens on how to approach people and get the message across.

If you’d like to help this summer, contact your local harbour master.

Safe sailing and fine fishing!

Harbourmaster Jennifer Roberts

06 WATERLINE

TAURANGA BOAT EXPO

Caravel – Salthouse at his best The combination of a classic Salthouse design and a meticulous build by Millar and Tunnage has created a very unique vessel in Caravel. Style and grace emanate from this strong “go anywhere” boat.

Launched in 2004 and in current MSA Survey (inshore), no expense has been spared in maintaining her to a very high standard.

Caravel is just under 13 metres in length and displaces 19 tons. Her 6 Cylinder John Deere diesel provides a cruising speed of 8 knots and a top speed of 12 knots. Her full keel gives the boat a stable, comfortable ride. The Volvo bowthruster makes for easy manoeuvring when in confined areas.

A Kohler 6.5kw genset supplies auxiliary power.

Caravel features wide walk around decks with high bulwarks for extra safety. Access to the cabin is through sliding pilothouse doors on either side. The spacious saloon has the galley aft with settee table to port.

Cabins are split both fore and aft with each having its own head and shower for convenience and privacy. The attention to detail and use of nothing but the best materials is evident at every turn of the head. Custom countertops, leather upholstery and solid teak timbre are just a few examples.

Current owners have enjoyed endless hours of coastal cruising and exploration on Caravel with family and friends. Her design and build pedigree means that she is a boat that will provide the same type of enjoyment for many years to come. Caravel is offered for sale on behalf of the owners

by Tauranga Boat Sales for $495,000. Her 14m Sulphur Point Berth is available for purchase with the boat as well.

Tauranga Boat Expo a great success The recent Tauranga Boat Expo held in early November in downtown Tauranga on The Strand reclamation was a great success, both from the exhibitors and visitors perspectives.

The venue was superb, being able to mix in both the on-water and on-land exhibitor displays, as well as the on-water activities with the bath tub racing, yachting and rowing.

This expo was a TMIA initiative and was run by volunteers to help keep the costs down for the exhibitors and visitors.

TMIA members Tony Hawker and Brian Kent put in huge

efforts, and along with event coordinator Alison Stewart, the Tauranga City Council and the harbourmaster’s office, it all came together with a successful result.

It bodes well for the future and the expo can be grown to expand further up the Strand Reclamation area and in conjunction with downtown Tauranga, the whole ‘festival’ can only get bigger.

The TMIA is here to offer help and services to anybody who needs boating information or assistance and our membership includes loads of businesses that are able to help.

Visit www.tmia.co.nz and enjoy safe and happy boating over the summer.

Merry Christmas from the TMIA.

TAURANGA BOAT EXPO

WATERLINE 07

Have a Great Time Out On The Water. From the Crew At Tauranga Boat Sales Contact: Ian Thomas 0274 976 010 Brett Eaton 0274 592 982 Brian Kent 021 644 091

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STARLIGHT II is a very special vessel with an unmatched pedigree with multiple offshore travels. She is ready to go. Simply turn the key and begin your own new adventures. $950,000 Brian Kent 021 644 091

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12m Sulphur Point berth Available. $118,000 Brett Eaton 0274 592 982

mARInER 5000, 1988, Full Topsides & Hull Repaint 09/2010, Twin caterpillar 375Hp Diesels, new Electronics march 2011 (20K+), In outstanding condition, charter Potential Present Offers Brett Eaton 0274 592 982

Boat & 14m Berth Package

10.5m ScoTT RobSon Alloy catamaran, In Survey ( Just Renewed Expire 2015) 2007, Twin 225Hp Honda outboards. Either commercial or Recreational Fishing machine! $310,000 Ian Thomas 0274 976 010

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CLIPPER RACE

08 WATERLINE

Pony up for more clippers Tauranga’s been a great place for the Clipper Race to visit, everyone had a wonderful time, but Tauranga will have to pay up to guarantee their return.

“Somebody else could pop in and take that opportunity,” says Clipper Communications manager Heather Ewing.

“It’s $NZ2.5 million for the rights to a boat. Actually it’s quite a low cost investment for tourism trade promotion.”

It doesn’t have to be a straight up tourism sponsorship, says Heather. Lots of boats have links with industry supporters as well.

A trade delegation from Visit Yorkshire has visited Qindao. Cape Breton Island on the Canadian east coast at the mouth of the St Lawrence Seaway sponsored a boat in the last Clipper Race.

There is an apocryphal tale of the Cape Breton seafood delegation attending a dinner in Singapore where they were fed a local delicacy, sea cucumber. A Cape Breton delegate’s explanation that they use sea cucumber as bait sparked the development of a multi million dollar industry, says Heather.

“Tauranga has to decide whether they or the Bay of Plenty would like a boat in the next race maybe, and use it as a bill board,” says Heather.

“You certainly have enough to promote or use it like a business leverage which is what the others do. We had sponsors here as well from Western Australia.

“The British High Commission was here with guests from Welcome to Yorkshire, we had sponsors from De Lage Landen activating their sponsorship and making contact with businesses and media.”

De Lage Landen is an international finance house with offices in 40 countries. It uses its sponsorship of the Clipper Race as a way of bringing the international workforce together.

Derry Londonderry is promoting its role as City of Culture in 2013, and making connections with cultural organisations.

Geraldton Western Australia was used to promote the state as a possible venue for the ISAF Worlds

yachting, which is taking place there this month in Fremantle.

Qindao used the race to promote its bid for the Olympic sailing venue.

“When we first went there in 05/06 they were just building the Olympic marina then and that was a test event for the Olympics,” says Heather.

“And again in 07/08 Qindao was using the stopover there to promote the fact they were holding the sailing events, and that was again a test event,” says Heather.

“And now Qindao is considered China’s sailing capital - in no small part due the involvement of the clipper race. The Volvo race is up there in the last edition as well.

That’s why we go back there.

“You have the biggest port in terms of what goes out of New Zealand in Tauranga.

Lots of our sponsors are associated with port complexes as well.”

Tauranga was an enjoyable stopover for the clipper crews, says Heather. The fleet was also popular with locals with about 450-500 people turning up on the open days.

“The crews absolutely loved taking part in all the activities you have got going on here and I know the skippers enjoyed a bit more down time than they usually get. They were Blo Karting, they went to the hot pools, they had a really good time as well. It’s been absolutely fantastic.”

“There’s been a lot of interest in having the race comeback to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty. Hopefully people will talk about it.

“The whole point of the clipper race is involvement whether on the sailing side or the sponsorship side. So if we can help sponsors make connections that will benefit them, that is more power to us. We are like a big match making service in that respect.”

BOAT SAFETY

WATERLINE 09

www.adventuresmart.org.nz

The Boating Safety

CODE Before you go boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code, no matter what kind of boat you use.

5

simple rules to help you stay safe

1 Life jackets Take them – Wear them.

Know before you go

Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.

2 Skipper responsibility

New Zealand is a wonderful adventure playground with so many outdoor opportunities to enjoy.

From boating and fishing, camping and tramping, to swimming, surfing and skiing… the possibilities are endless.

To help you stay safe while you discover more of our beautiful country, know before you go – read and follow New Zealand’s boating, outdoor and water safety codes.

These simple rules are easy to remember and will give you the confidence to explore and enjoy, no matter what you choose to do.

It is really important that we are prepared and that we respect the environment we are in.

It can also be a good idea to attend some organised training such as a Coastguard Day skipper’s course before setting out.

Before going boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code.

Five simple rules will help you stay safe, no matter what kind of boat you use.

1. Life Jackets: Take them – Wear them. Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.

2. Skipper Responsibility: The skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone onboard and for the safe operation of the boat.

Stay within the limits of your vessel or your experience.

3. Communications: Take two separate waterproof ways of communicating in case you get into difficulties. We can’t help you if we don’t know you’re in trouble.

4. Marine weather: New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.

5. Avoid Alcohol: Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.

For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating experience visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz

The skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat. Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience.

3 Communications Take two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties.

4 Marine weather New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable.

Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.

5 Avoid alcohol Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.

Also available

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The Outdoor Safety

CODE 5

simple rules to help you stay safe

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The Water Safety

CODE 4

simple rules to help you stay safe

Get Ready, Get Outdoors

www.adventuresmart.org.nz

10 WATERLINE

CLUB NEWS

Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club

Tauranga Marine Industry Association

TYPBC Women on Water

Omokoroa Boat Club

Mt Maunganui Yacht Club

Young 88, 30 years old The Young 88 Keelboat celebrated its 30th anniversary recently.

The Class Association, which is very well organised, decided that the official birthday was the launching of Ross Field’s Paddy Wagon in December 1981.

Since then, 144 glass boats have come out of the mould and there are a number of cedar/glass boats as well.

The original plug for the mould turned into ‘Tickled Pink’ and has been sailed overseas. Capretta from Tauranga, now re-renamed to its original name of 5th Avenue, sailed the Tasman via Lord Howe to Sydney.

There are about 30 boats in Australia and others dotted around the world; probably enough to be an international class.

The 30th birthday was marked by a celebration event after sprint racing at the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron on Thursday, December 8.

Guests included Jim Young, class designer, Roger Land, glass boatbuilder, me, as the longest original boat owner at 27 years, and Colin

Carran at 25 years with ‘First Class’.

Jim is now in his mid-80s and is just as bright and feisty as he’s ever been.

One of the original idea thinkers of New Zealand yachting, Jim has been there and done that; Bruce Farr and Ron Holland both worked for Jim in his younger days.

His work included Tango, with one of the first spade rudders in NZ and Fiery Cross with a canting keel in the early 1950s, NZ 37s and one tonners (Heatwave) in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Half tonner Mama Cass evolved into the Young 88.

Launches were bread and butter and the Vindex in its many forms is a NZ icon. Multihulls too.

Past Commodore Dooley Wilson’s trimaran Atria, was one of Jim’s multihull designs.

In the ‘80s it was the Young 11s (Honeywell/Bee Bad was the plug for the mould) and the Young 99s in their various forms.

Jim told us the barn door rudder on the 88s was well thought out.

A big deep rudder means control when the wide stemmed boat is heeled over. It took a while to figure out, he said.

TYPBC NEWS

Colin Carran, Bill Faulkner, Jim Young, Grant Crawford (Class president) Roger Land.

On Thursday night there were three sprint races; about 1km windward/leewards. It’s kill or be killed stuff and talking to the back markers afterwards they were very enthusiastic participants.

They said it encouraged them to lift their skills, learn tactics, learn rules and tune their boats.

At the prizegiving, everyone was told that there would be on-thewater judges because “things got serious after Christmas” in the run up to the nationals.

Ex-Tauranga Jim Young design Positive Touch is now in Noumea.

Sailed up there single handed in a six and a half day passage – now that would be an experience.

I asked Jim what new design he would recommend for me today; ‘Take your 88, put a square top main, a 10 foot prod and a bulb keel four foot deeper than the existing one.’ Thanks Jim. By Bill Faulkner

TYPBC NEWS

Set for cruising to Slipper Tauranga Yacht Club keelers are all set for a cruise to Slipper Island on January 14.

This is an open event, with a special invitation to non club members to get together and enjoy a leisurely sail to Slipper Island, an afternoon on the beach, and just a bit of relaxing summer fun! It is NOT a race. The plan is that there is not really any plan. Leave when you like or group up with other boats and make your way along.

If you are thinking about going, but have not ventured this far before, just let us know and we can arrange for a buddy boat to offer some help. For more details, contact Lisa Knapton at 0274 530 939. Hope to see you there!

Peter and Blair off to the worlds We’ve been home in NZ for a couple of weeks after competing in the first World cup event of the year, Sail Melbourne.

Our 49er fleet was small but it included the 1st and 3rd World ranked crews. The regatta racing was extremely close ... we got off to a good start and led for the first few days but an unwanted capsize when we were pushing too hard in big waves on day 4 saw us drop to third overall.

With a variety of weather conditions this was an excellent regatta to do before

worlds. We have sailed 3 out of the last 4 days so our NZ training is now complete and we are looking forward to getting to Perth! Big thanks to Geoff Woolley who has spent time out on the water with us over the last couple of months. We fly to Perth where we will have 10 days lead up before our racing starts on 12 through to 18 Dec. The Perth Worlds regatta is our first chance to qualify NZ a place at the Olympics in the 49er class. Only the top 13 countries qualify from this regatta – the pressure will be on. We are expecting good solid breeze especially in the afternoon when a 20+ knot sea breeze usually

kicks in most days famously known as the “Fremantle Doctor”. Large steep waves due to the shallowness of the water where the racing takes place will also add to the challenge of racing. The Perth Worlds Web site where the racing can be followed … http://www.perth2011..com/ We will send out another update after the Worlds but you can view our facebook page to see latest news and photos. http://www. facebook.com/pages/Peteand- Blair-Sailing/304921076191482 A special thanks to all our family, sponsors and supporters.

Peter and Blair

School Holidays ‘Learn to Sail’ Programme BoPSAT the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club and Steve’s Marine, are offering 'Learn to Sail' programmes, which provides a pathway to take students through the YNZ syllabus, whilst providing time for fun and recreational sailing.

The holiday programmes consist of 3 day intensive courses. ‘Learn to Sail’ Aim: to provide the opportunity for students to

learn to sail and to promote regular club sailing. Target Market: students throughout the Bay of Plenty.

Age Range: 8 to 18 School Years: 4 to 13 Group Size: instructor ratio 1:6 Duration: each course consists of 3 full days Availability: during school holidays Qualification: Yachting New Zealand Level 1.

Cost: $245.00 per student, including; boat & kit hire, YNZ Logbook and Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club

junior membership. Deduct $50, if already a member of the Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club.

Further information and dates: contact Roy Pearson on 575 5302, 021 0275 0333 or Email - roy@oceanearth.co.nz Website – www.BoPSAT.com BoPSAT has recently received a grant from TECT for 6 Learn to Windsurf boards.

For Windsurfing programme information, please contact Stuart Pedersen on 574 1169, 021 878 882 or email stuart.pedersen@gmail.com

TAURANGA YACHT & POWERBOAT CLUB NEWS

WATERLINE 11

TYPBC NEWS

12 WATERLINE TAURANGA YACHT & POWERBOAT CLUB NEWS

Celebrating a milestone WOW Celebrates 10 years of Wild, Whimsical, Water-loving Women!

Megan Harris, chairwoman for Women On Water for 2011-12 delivered this speech at the party held to on Saturday 3 December to celebrate this milestone in the history of WOW. ‘Since I started WOW 9 years ago I’ve watched it grow in popularity each year from about 40-50 ladies back then to today’s staggering numbers of over 100. Of course, we totally rely on the generosity of our boat owners who make the time and have the patience to teach our ladies the art of sailing. The women have found that once they gain some skills and knowledge they are often invited to be regular crew giving more opportunities to sail in harbour and coastal races, holiday cruising and even ocean or blue water passage sailing.’

‘In recent times several of our ladies have become sole owners of their own boat which is a major achievement in my eyes. To have the confidence, determination and of course the bank balance to own your own yacht is one thing but to actually have the knowledge and skills to maintain and repair your own boat takes a lot of courage so I have great admiration and respect for these women. The idea of a separate women’s division within the club rattled the core of some stalwarts of TYPBC but once established the WOW division proved itself to be a valuable asset to the club and you’ll find most boat crews on a Wednesday night race now include at least one woman and they’re not just ballast! During my time in the club I’ve met some amazing women who’ve been sailing competitively for many years & one such woman is Lisa Knapton.

Born into a sailing family she raced in dinghies then trailer yachts & onto keel boats from the sweet age of 16. Now, after 27 years, she’s still out there on Wednesday nights mixing it with the best of them and showing the boys that women can sail just as well as them as long as they can keep up their fitness and strength.’ Lisa then spoke about how the ladies cup was competed for only once a year whereby a woman had to helm but with the usual male crew.

Slowly, more men allowed the women to join their crews then eventually they were allowed to fully crew the boat and use the spinnaker!

Captain Colin Harris & first mate Roy Pearson with their entourage of wild women & a mermaid.

Megan continued - ‘We’re here to celebrate the first 10 years of WOW. Promoted to the public as an opportunity for women to get out on the Tauranga harbour and enjoy what it’s got to offer, Lesley Grant, a Financial Planner, and Kath Brown, a school teacher, organized the first WOW sail for 13th December 2001. A gentile ride on a launch was offered to those not sure if sailing was for them and even a babysitting service was organized so the ladies had no excuse not to come. WOW continued the fortnightly Thursday sails through the summer and then combined with the weekend winter races until the next summer season. Ladies registered with the office and the WOW committee organized boats for them to sail on. Originally called ‘The WOW Factor, Women On Water’ it was accepted as a separate division of TYPBC in 2002 and was soon referred to as just WOW.’ ‘Lesley Grant moved out of town during 2002 and handed the reins to Coralie Houston, whose enthusiasm and boldness really got things happening. In association with the Breast Cancer Support Service the inaugural Breast Cancer Regatta was held on September 29th for which TYPBC provided keel boats for 125 pink-clad women & men to sail on.

The event was a huge success and was to be repeated annually for several more years.

BATTERY WAREHOUSE

Thrown into sailing Sailor Moon Fi Charman found herself a pirate along with the inseparable Paua Pair, Susie Pierce & Paul. Tessa Denniston was all tied up so it was Simon Ward’s shout!

Mills Reef Winery came on board as our key sponsor in early 2003 offering bottles of wine for prizes in the winter and summer series as well as a $200 meal voucher for the winning women’s race team. We held a Wine Education evening hosted by Ollie Pasquale to promote Mills Reef wines. Ollie took his wines very seriously and so wasn’t very impressed with us when the following year we combined the wine tasting with a fundraiser auction for the Pacific Rim Challenge team going to Russia. Needless to say the wine was flowing freely. Many thanks go to Nick

BOAT SUPPLIES

Aleksich, Sales Manager for Mills Reef Winery, who still supports WOW today but unfortunately couldn’t make it here tonight. It was 2004, Sally Clark became chairwoman & I joined Coralie & a crew of 5 other WOW women onboard the 51 ft ex Whitbread Round the World race boat called Outward Bound. With only 3 men aboard we competed in the Auckland Tauranga Race, my first overnight race & not one to forget. Women’s racing was now combined with WOW forming the two divisions we have today. You may remember such boats as The Butcher, Midnight Express, Melting Pot, Panama Jack, Drop Dead Fred, Howzat whose skippers were willing to allow a full crew of women to race their beloved yachts making full use of all the equipment and sails available. Terry Spitz of Sea Beagle & Murray Crapp of Little Gem were amongst the WOW cruising division boats who loved to pass on their vast knowledge to our ladies.’

‘After 2 years at the helm, Sally resigned and Rhonda Richie stepped into the breach having been to WOW for only one season. The following year, 2007, Leisa Managh took the top job in which time

WATER SPORTS

WATERLINE 13

Lise Mackie had come onto the scene as a first time sailor and absolutely threw herself into sailing. By 2009 Lise was chomping at the bit to be chairwoman as her leadership skills and personal drive were exceptional. Our registration became computerized making it much easier to organize more women and more boats to the point now where we can cope with up to 135 people. We have a great committee of women who work together to make WOW what it is today. Thankyou TYPBC and our wonderful boat owners for allowing us to learn and experience sailing the way we like to – the WOW way!’

Lisa & I then proceeded to cut the beautifully iced cake made by The Bake Shack.

Many of us made the effort to dress to the theme of WILD, WHIMSICAL, WATERY so we had lots of mermaids, ships captains, a sea gull, beach bums, paua shells, fish among other creatures.

We danced the night away to the great sounds of SPARX and drank plenty of rums. All in all, it was a fitting celebration for the occasion and I look forward to the next 10 years of Women On Water.

By Megan Harris

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TAURANGA YACHT & POWERBOAT CLUB NEWS

TYPBC NEWS

MMYC NEWS

14 WATERLINE MOUNT MAUNGANUI YACHT CLUB NEWS

Four days of regatta Four Powerco employees were lucky enough to take part in the 2011 Mount Maunganui Yacht Club Legends Regatta after winning a staff competition on water safety.

Along with their partners, they spent four days on the catamaran ‘Wizzard’, crewed by Doug Harrison, and Tricia Haine from Maketu.

Powerco is proud to support events and projects in the communities in which it operates.

The electricity and gas distribution company’s networks cover the upper-central, central and lower North Island.

Sponsoring the regatta is one example of getting behind a local event while also giving staff members the opportunity to experience it themselves.

It was the second time Powerco’s Jacqueline Barnes had joined Doug on the ‘Wizzard’. “Doug has a presence that can quickly relax the most novice sailor,” says Jacqueline.

Getting to the starting point was hampered by car trouble, but the Wizzard quickly made up for the late start by travelling at speeds of up to 16.1 knots.

Jacqueline said meeting other participants in the regatta was a highlight of the weekend. “They welcomed us on board as if they’d known us for years. We were fortunate to meet some amazing people on our travels.”

The timing of the regatta coincided with the Rugby World Cup final but that didn’t mean the crews missed out on the nail-biting game. The regatta committee arranged for a big screen on a private island so everyone could watch it.

“The weekend seemed to last forever there were scallops frying, fish jumping, drinks flowing, food spilling, laughter and tears with many stories being told,” Jacqueline says.

Weeks of preparation of ‘Wizzard’ fixing all the things that should have been done over winter is a great start to the summer cruising. The Legends regatta has that effect especially now PowerCo staff were

going to be on board. They had arrived from Wellington and New Plymouth the night before and were staying in the nice hotel on Devonport, getting them to arrive early was never going to be easy.

We loaded at Sulphur Point and picked the car drivers up at the Mount where the cars were going to be stored for the weekend.

Arriving at ‘A’ beacon for the start at 9:30am the wind was fresh and almost on the nose and having to make Karewa it left nowhere to run, just tough it out, not the best beginning for my new sailors.

After the island we were able to ease sheets and run off in the gusts which made it a lot more comfortable.

Soon we were catching those who had started earlier and were reefing down, still

getting along at 10 – 14 knots and reaching 16.1 at one stage.

With double reefs in and just off Castle Rock one of the new skipper did not bear away soon enough and at speed we dig in a hull and spin on the spot, not that dangerous with the little bit of sail but still an interesting experience. A few things are scattered in the saloon and we motored into the lee of the rock to tidy things up.

I decided it would be more sense to motor across the bay and on reaching Opito Bay at 3:30pm the wind was just howling and for the comfort of our PowerCo people decided that a bit of fishing in the lee was a good idea. The anchoring clause in the Legends Regatta allows this and we stayed till 7pm when the wind had eased a little. It was still a bit rough in crossing to the Cove and we arrived just before dark and had our evening meal along with a few drinks.

The next morning after breakfast we slip

out to gather a few scallops and look at doing a bit of fishing but it is still a little rough, we pop back into the ‘Cove’ for a quiet lunch and prize giving on the beach later.

Sunday morning is perfect and we have breakfast while gathering scallops and then head out for a fish.

Unfortunately most of them are undersize and as the afternoon begins the breeze gentle fills and we are ready for the ‘Round the Island‘ race.

We got off to a slow start but ‘Wizzard’ is doing her magic and we head down the back in second place. The bottom corner always the tricky spot and we take the close in course, getting out of it quite nicely, and remain ahead of the rest of the chasing fleet.

After finishing second we anchor near the rocks for a spot of fishing and are visited by a runabout bearing gifts, much to the pleasure of our PowerCo visitors.

We return to the ‘Cove’ for prize giving, to watch the final of the rugby world cup on the big screen organised by the Legends committee.

We party on and at 12:15am are at the start line heading home, there is a gentle breeze and at times we get to 8 knots. Soon everyone else is asleep and we are below Whangamata by morning and stop under the cliffs for breakfast and a swim.

The wind has dropped away and we motor home arriving at 2:30pm with my crew refreshed from a good night’s sleep and ready for their journey home.

Another fantastic ‘Legends Weekend’, next year will be the ninth hope to see you there.

Doug ‘Wizzard’

CLUB NEWS

WATERLINE 15

I now know what it is to feel extreme panic.

I’ve been a dedicated Mount Yachtie for some years now, but do slip across the harbour occasionally to sail on Windsheer.

Our beloved Windsheer broke a couple of weeks ago so I decided to put my Wednesday nights to good use.... having a go at steering the waka!

Thanks to those yachties that gave us tips on how to go faster.

Thanks to Chris in seat five for keeping a lookout.

Special thanks to the novice waka crew that paddled us out of harm’s way.

I think I’ll stick to sailing!

By Carol Andrews

This is what it looks like to have the entire Wednesday night fleet, running you down.

Plenty of social events at the club Although some time off the planning for next years Fishing Contest is under way.

In the past we have been supported by very generous sponsors. The level of sponsorship however has declined due to current times. If any members know of potential new sponsors please contact Lex Bacon. Small donations are equally as valuable.

Between now and Christmas a variety of social events has been organised. The success of these is dependent upon membership participation. Let’s get in behind the Social Committee and have fun.

On boating matters the Tauranga Coastguard will run a number of courses at the OBC. A discount rate will be offered to club members ~ Rules of the Road at Sea and Day Skipper Course. Our Club supports the community in a number of ways. Members may not be aware that we host a Christmas Function for Acacia Park residents, invite Normandy Vets to a luncheon, while the proceeds from the annual Duck Race have in the past gone to the Omokoroa Point School. I hope all members have enjoyed the RWC series and made the most of the TECT extension.

A good number of visitors and members turned up to officially open the new Tect Room and cordially have a refreshment from Antony’s Bar. The day started with a Maori Blessing, followed by words from our Commodore Phil Cox, Mayor Ross Patterson and representing Tect Bruce Cronin.

The ribbon was cut by Steven Avery, brother of Anthony - the master planner and designer for the extension who sadly passed away late last year. A big thanks to everybody involved with the day and a spe-

cial thanks to those wonderful committee members who make everything tick away behind the scenes.

Kitchen committee

Omokoroa Boat Club Catering Services.

The Committee are pleased to be able to inform you that a contract for the provision of catering services at the Club has been signed.

Our new caterers will be Wayne Butler and Dennis Evans. Both Wayne and Dennis are chefs in their own right.

Wayne has worked at the Lobster Club and Dennis and his partner, Alan, were the owners of Le Petite Café business in Omokoroa for a couple of years. Wayne and Dennis take over the catering contract on Wednesday 16 November 2011 and will be open for business shortly afterwards.

We wish them well in their new venture and welcome them to our Club.

David and Shelley Futter, our current caterers, have now completed their last weekend of service.

We would like to pass on to them our best wishes for the future.

Sailing news

Following Saturday’s juniors, a dark blue full zip hooded fleece was left in my gear.

It is in good nick and of small fit. It is by Maya. I can deliver or sort out its return!

Thanks, John Ph 548 1180

Senior Fleet

No sailing for you this weekend but you are required on Saturday 17 December 2011 at 9am briefing, for the “Kids on Keelers” event.

Here are the placings after the first 5 sailed events of 2011.

Overall the leader on Line honours is

Wave Dancer (Tom and Janet Barratt) with 17 points, (it pays to go on the off shore events!!)

Second on 16 points is Keith Heron with Bente .

Third is John Budden with Piccaninny with 14 points.

Fourth equal is Geoff Davis and Phillip Olds with Jamima on 11 points Fifth is Brendon Cooney with Konini with 10 points and Sixth is Lloyd Berendt with Culprit on 3 points. In the Handicap area there is a change!! 1st is Keith Heron with 16, 2nd equal is Tom and Janet Barratt and Geoff Davis on 14 3rd is John Budden on 12 4th is Brendon Cooney on 10, 5th equal is Lloyd Berendt and Phillip Olds on 8.

In the divisions , Keelers are led by the Barratts, followed by Brendon and Lloyd.

Trailer Yachts are led by Keith Heron followed by John and Phillip.

Multi hulls are all alone with Geoff Davis in the lead!!

Ladies Event; currently Sydney Budden on Piccaninny is one up in the series, more will follow in the New Year.

Well done every one and thanks for taking part in what we consider to be fun and enjoyable trips around our harbour and ocean.

Juniors

We have had a regular turn out of 12 to 18 young sailors in some pretty awful conditions but they still come back. We round up the first half with Kids On Keelers on 17th December and re star in the New Year see the Club programme.

We probably have the youngest set of sailors and thanks to the Omokoroa Pahoia Sea Scouts for their role as leaders and helpers each time we sail.

MOUNT MAUNGANUI YACHT CLUB NEWS

Waka way on the water

CLIPPER RACER

16 WATERLINE

Reluctant racer nearly free

Dale Blackwood and Mererid Hunt, have been repairing Singapore’s spinnaker in the scout hall under the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club.

Dale Blackwood, who had never sailed before, signed up for four legs of the Clipper Round the World Race.

“I’ve never sailed before in my life,” says Dale.

“Never raced, didn’t realise how different it was to a cruise.”

The IT manager has since discovered the joys of sea sickness on a boat weeks from shore with nothing to look forward to but being thrown around below decks and hanging on while on deck.

“The South Atlantic is hell on Earth,” says Dale.

“I’ve been onboard since July 3, and I’m really looking forward to getting off the boat in Southport.”

He remembers a big broach before they reached Cape Town with the boom in the water.

That was near where they also ran into an albatross. The bird struck the forestay and went into the water.

“It was hit and run, the bird went, not the forestay, and fell into the water. We’ve got it on footage.”

He jokingly blames the boat’s run of bad luck since on the albatross – misfortune which culminated in the boat losing wheel steering south of the Great Australian Bight, forcing them to make for Queenscliff at the entrance to Port Philip Bay for repairs.

But the abandonment of the leg meant Singapore arrived in Tauranga via North Cape, and the crew missed out on the gruelling beat round East Cape and across

the Bay of Plenty into the teeth of the souwester that resulted in several torn mainsails.

Dale and Mererid Hunt, a retired teacher from Wales, have been repairing Singapore’s spinnaker in the scout hall under the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club.

The space has been made available as a temporary loft for the clipper crews.

Mererid has spent a lot of the last leg sewing.

She was taken off watch and spent three hour days sewing repairs on sails that succumbed to the changeable conditions that characterised the leg.

Now ashore in Tauranga, she’s sewing again, sewing and ironing patches onto Singapore’s spinnaker.

Mererid’s previous sailing experience is on dinghies in lakes.

By Andrew Campbell

SKI RACING

WATERLINE 17

Kane’s King of the rivers Tauranga water ski racer Kane Carter has cemented his position at the top of the under 19 national rankings following the Bridge to Bridge in the Waikato.

Held the first weekend in December, Hamilton’s Bridge to Bridge ski race is a weekend event with a variety of racing over the two days.

“We went pretty good, we got second under 19s, and overall got King Of The River under 19s, because we had a race on the Paeroa river two weeks before that and the times from both the races come together,” says Kane.

“We got the fastest time for that and then we won F2 and set a new record.”

Formula 2 is for engines under 300hp.

Kane skied with Daniel Tuffin, with Sam Fenwick driving the boat Smokin’ and Chris Wilkins as observer.

“A lot of training went into it, a

lot of perfecting. I think that was my fourth bridge to bridge, but it was just starts and stuff getting them nailed. Making sure you get a fast start, getting engines heights and stuff so we can get as much speed as we can out of the river.”

Tauranga skier Matt Strong, a 15 year old Aquinas student was part of the winning team in the under 19s. He skied with Bridge to Bridge marketing and media director Brad Dutton.

Kane is the only Tauranga member of his Auckland based crew, and Matt was the only Tauranga member of an otherwise all-Hamilton crew.

Kane Carter was part of the winning team in the under 19s at the Bridge to Bridge race in Hamilton.

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MARINE NEWS

18 WATERLINE

Groomed for home trip At the end of November about a third of the 300 or so Little Blue Penguins were returned to their natural habitat from the Wildlife Rescue Centre where they have spent the spring.

The LBPs are being released in time to fatten up on summer fishing before moulting.

LBPs moult every year.

They sit in their burrows and shed their old feathers and grow new ones.

The process takes about two weeks and during that time they don’t want to be seen in public.

The penguins can’t swim or fish until the new feathers have grown and they survive on the big feed up over the summer.

The Rena oil spill survivors face a timing issue, getting their burrows and foreshores cleaned up in time to get them back to the wild and put on enough condition to survive the moult.

“With most of these sea birds they start moulting after they finish breeding,” says ornithologist Dr Brent Stephenson.

“It’s not necessarily an exact date because if they fail breeding, they will initiate moulting earlier.”

The Rena survivors were taken out of the wild and away from their breeding, which put an end to their breeding season.

Being in captivity at the centre at Te Maunga will have changed things as well.

“There’s no exact date – you can’t say LBPs will start moulting on December 1.

“It’s individually dependent as well.”

Some of the birds are fat enough to survive a two week fast, but they may not be triggered to moult until they get back into their normal environment, says Brent.

“We just don’t know. They are complex little critters I’m afraid.”

Normally out in the environment moulting takes place sometime between February and March.

“Even in the wild there are differences in locations,” says Brent.

“Birds in the north will start before birds in the south. So there’s a progression through there.

“During that time when they are moulting they are kind of vulnerable, stuck on land and it’s obviously not a pleasant time for them.

“They don’t look great and that’s often when people pick them up as well.

“They are just undergoing a normal, natural moult process.”

Initial penguin releases were for Rabbit Island penguins.

In late November four penguins were released to their Waihi Beach habitat and the last two shags were also released at Mount Maunganui.

Wildlife Response Centre manager Kerri Morgan says about 240 penguins are still at the centre while their habitats are checked to ensure they are clean enough to return them to.

With no oiled birds found in the last couple of weeks, intake sections of the centre are being minimised, but can be ramped up quickly if there is another spill.

“Only a small number of oiled birds have been found in the last few weeks, but we are still looking,” says Kerri.

The oiled wildlife response team is also checking the non oiled birds, and microchipping them as well so the two populations can be monitored and compared over the next few years.

“We will be able to follow them to see what happens to breeding patterns and other factors,” says Kerri.

The New Zealand dotterels are also beginning their release programme.

Seventeen were released in late November leaving 43 still captive.

Their habitat has to be cleared before they can be returned. People who find oiled birds, dead or alive are asked to phone 0800 333 771.

By Andrew Campbell

Katikati channel ready for the summer The channel up to Katikati has had its spring check-up and clean ready for the influx of boaties that come up to enjoy the mural town during the summer.

The new marker buoys that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council installed in place of solid steel poles have proved their worth with two being moved slightly to show a slight shift of the channel.

This can now be done by the local

boat club instead of waiting months for the barge to come up from Tauranga.

This historic channel was once the only way general goods were brought in to this settlement and the old green goods shed is still there by the town jetty.

Make Katikati a destination for you this summer by boat.

By Don Wallis

Katikati contractor Ash Smith removes a stump from the channel which was washed down in a winter flood.

MARINE NEWS

WATERLINE 19

Last race for the current Clippers There are no fridges onboard the Round the World Clipper Race fleet yachts.

It was one of the first things picked up on by the Tauranga crew taken for a sail on Qindao while the fleet was in.

It’s the first time the Clipper Round the World Race has called at Tauranga and many locals helped that happen.

These included Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club officers, Tauranga Bridge Marina staff and others.

Qindao skipper Ollie Osborne took the boat out with a reef in the main, but shook that out after he saw how the ‘steering committee’ handled the boat, setting staysail and yankee and tacking without any trouble.

He was so impressed he invited them, and Fred Jeanes from the bridge marina, to crew on the round the world race.

The local lads reciprocated with an invite to the Wednesday night racing.

It worked out well for Ollie.

Yacht club commodore Wayne Eaton was able to give him some good advice about picking the route across the Tasman to Southport.

Ollie’s keen to take a gold pennant off Gold Coast Australia, which has led Visit Finland into port on each of the five legs so far.

Visit Finland is lying second overall and Tauranga is its third podium finish.

An easterly breeze a bit over 10 knots and a moderate swell of about one metre didn’t stretch the boat, or come close to the recent experiences of looking up at seas off East Cape and screaming down wind at 26 knots in the Southern Ocean.

But even in a light breeze, Qindao has long legs, scooting out of the harbour and sailing past A Beacon in what seemed like no time.

She’s a nimble boat too. On our return to the bridge marina, Ollie spun Qindao about in the gap between A and B piers, then ferry glided in reverse across the running ebb tide to slot her neatly alongside the berth.

The 20.7 metre masthead cutters are solid racing shells, and touted on the race website as ‘stripped down racing yachts’ but compared to the insides of Volvo racer Camper, she’s positively luxurious.

The crew have actual bunks instead of pipe berths.

There are decks laid over the floors, and there’s a galley, and there are two heads – so one is operable when the boat is laid over.

This is the last race for the current fleet, which is about to be replaced by 21.3m

(70ft) racers more in the Volvo style; flatter, wider at the stern with two wheels, twin skeg rudders and a bulb keel.

The life rafts have been moved from the bow to the stern and the ‘snake pit’ handling lines and winches for the foresails, done away with.

The interior build remains Spartan, but not hardcore.

Most of the accommodation on the new boats is moved aft of the mast and the galley shifted amidships.

The third generation clippers are under construction in Qindao and will enter service in the Clipper 13-14 Round the World Race.

The Clipper 70 is designed by Tony Castro Naval Architects in close consultation with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and key members of the race team.

They drew on 15 years of experience in running eight successful races on the original Clipper 60s and the Clipper 68s.

By Andrew Campbell

Dolphin watchers back in business The dolphin watchers are back in business after being forced ashore during spring by the Rena’s wreck and ensuing exclusions zones.

Butler’s Swim With Dolphins is back in the water after taking an enforced maintenance lay up.

Dolphin Seafaris was also on the hard.

Two other dolphin operators have gotten day jobs, says Graeme.

“There were some whales sighted last week, a blue whale and calf out by Motiti, and one out by Tuhua Reef,” says Graeme.

“People have reported quite a few whales.

There have been a couple of reports of dol-

phins from locals, but not thick and fast.

“The summer’s happening. It’s quite interesting. I’m just hanging out to get out so that we can see what’s out there in terms of sun fish and all the rest of the carry on.

“We need to have a look at what’s going on there.”

The dolphin watching business has been out of action since Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef on October 5.

The oil spill and subsequent exclusion zones encompassed a lot of the whale and dolphin watching range.

“We just put the boat up on the hard and decided we would do as much as we could while she was out, and one thing led to another, as it does.”

Tonnes of lead ballast has been taken out of Gemini Galaxsea’s keel and melted down into ingots.

“With a steel vessel you have to have an ongoing maintenance plan, especially with one that’s old.

“There’s no use sitting around feeling miserable.

“It hasn’t been much fun though, not being able to sail – and not knowing the state of the business, or what’s going to happen from now on.”

By Andrew Campbell

TRANS TASMAN

20 WATERLINE

There and back again – across the Tasman There’s a near 40ft wave piercing, foam core, carbon fibre rowboat taking shape at Pachoud’s that Danny Sunkel plans to row across the Tasman – and back.

Unlike most long distance rower, Danny Sunkel of Tauranga doesn’t have a rowing background.

He’s had a fair bit of general and offshore boating experience and believes New Zealanders are better at thinking their way round problems.

The porpoise like wave piercing bow of Danny’s boat is a solution to a big problem facing long distance rowers – the boat slows down every time it encounters a wave.

When the boat weighs close to a tonne and the waves are ocean rollers, a rower can easily go backwards.

The wave piercing bow breaks the wave allowing the boat through the crest with reduced loss of momentum and less effort.

LOMOcean Earth Race designer Craig Loomes’ shop designed the self-righting multi hull.

“It’s pretty cool when you watch it do it,” says Danny.

The main hull is 10.8m. With the side hulls the length overall will be about 11.8m.

A porpoise brow-like curl back from the prow breaks the wave, preventing the boat from becoming a submarine, or burying itself when running down a trough.

Fully loaded it will weigh about 900-1000kg with Danny onboard.

It’s about the same or slightly heavier than most solo boats which are in the region of 800-1000kg, says Danny, but more efficient in many ways.

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background or taken a standard boat and tried to get themselves through by muscling their way,” says Danny.

Danny’s lost 15kg since starting his train up for the event about five months back, but he says a big part of his experience is in the technical side of problem solving, and that approach has resulted in the wave piercing design.

He’s also got some ideas about other common rowing problems and promises to unveil them as the project progresses.

He’s hoping to launch the as yet unnamed rowboat in January, February or March, which will give him a year in the water with it before he sets out, probably from the Hokianga.

Danny’s hoping for landfall somewhere in the northern NSWGold Coast region.

The return journey will be attempted later the same year when he hopes to pick up the westerlies towards the end of SeptemberOctober.

“I’ll probably leave from southern New South Wales northern Victoria.

“It’s two and a half years to get to this stage of the project, which means we are only about halfway through.”

In a way it is a bit like cancer research, says Danny.

The work goes in for a while without any obvious result.

Cancer research is a driving force behind the venture as Danny’s father died of adrenal cancer, both his father-in-law and brotherin-law died of bowel cancer, and other family and friends have also struggled with the disease.

“I always wanted to do something to raise funds specifically for cancer research,” says Danny.

“I’ve got a whole series of product sponsors onboard; High Modulus, Kilwell Fibre Tube, Styrobeck, 3M and Laminex, who have provided the build materials and consumables, LOMOcean and Pachoud’s, who came onboard early, have been supporting me as far as they can, and we have been funding the labour.

“I haven’t asked anyone for cash yet. I was trying to build the boat and then go out and try and fill the hole.”

If anyone wants to get involved, Danny can be contacted danny@dannysunkel.com

By Andrew Campbell

JET POWER

WATERLINE 21

Tauranga boat for world marathon champs When four time world jet boat marathon champ Mark Cromie wanted to step up to an unlimited class gas turbine powered boat, Dean Langdon went to the source.

Dean at Langdon Motorsports, also built Mark’s last boat, a twin turbo powered big block.

For the new engine Dean went to Art Arfons’ son in Akron Ohio. Art Arfons was the land speed record holder in the mid 1960s driving a series of Green Monster jet powered cars.

“It was his son I bought the motors off, and who showed me what we needed to do,” says Dean.

He built the shaft and another Kiwi built the mixing bowl and stators that ‘untwists’ the water flow from the pump on the way to the jet nozzle.

The boat The General, blitzed the field in the Bridge to Bridge race in the Waikato in early December. Dean regards the event as a ‘shake down cruise’ but Mark even doing speeds of about 120mph, he still missed his earlier record set in the race by 35-40 seconds.

Tauranga boat Warlord which was going to

The General.

give Mark some competition in the unlimited class, blew its engine on the Saturday and didn’t race.

The General will now be shipped out to the US where it will be competing in this year’s World Jet Boat Marathon, a contest that driver Mark Cromie has won four times.

The Canadian built Eagle alloy hull is powered by a General Electric T58 gas turbine.

It is a helicopter jet engine, more commonly found in Sea King helicopters, like the one flying over Tauranga recently engaged in the Rena salvage.

It produces about 1450hp, pushes the

boat along at 200km/h, or about 125mp/h, via a marine jet unit.

The fuel consumption of the gas turbine and last year’s v8 twin turbo big block is similar, says Dean.

The gas turbine consumes about eight litres of JP1 a minute, compared with about seven litres a minute for the V8.

“But it’s a lot cheaper to run,” says Dean.

“The gas for the twin turbo costs about $9 a litre – we could burn $3,000 in an afternoon. Instead, this is about $1.75 a litre.”

The turbine runs on jet fuel, kerosene.

With a bit of tweaking, Dean’s hoping to get the top speed up to about 217 km/h, or 135mp/h, before the boat is shipped. At that speed the boat is nearly flying and trim is achieved with canard wings mounted on the bow.

“It’s all about getting water into the jet unit,” says Dean.

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22 WATERLINE

Call FOR SALE

Finance for all marine finance 07-574 0002 or 0274 435 524 available 7 days

STARLING FOR SALE - “CARPE DIEM” 1130, Professionally built & launched oct 1994, Built on same jig as “Helter Skelter” (1131), This yacht and fittings are in excellent condition Has been compliant with Bow Jig. Extras include Aluminium Beach Trolley, Road Cover and Spare Mast. Asking Price $3,900.00. Telephone 021 120 7060.

CATAMARAN - 3yr old 11.4 mtr, Roger Simpson, Wildside, Twin 10 hp Yanmar, Diesels. 3 Queen, Size Double berth. Galley. Nav Station, Heads. Saloon. Usual instruments. Ph 07 866 5157 or email cox.wall@xtra.co.nz.

WATER PUMP - 25PSI, Sureflow. As New $120. Ph 0274 333 220.

FOLDING PROP - briski, 16 x 12. 25mm shaft. Right handed NZ. $500 ono. Very good condition. Ph 021 243 5555 Quarter Share in Vindex 10 metre Launch - Shaft drive, 180 hp Ford Diesel Turbo, Sleeps 6, two showers, 3 steering stations cruises 10-12 kts. This syndicate has been operating successfully for 6yrs. A great opportunity to enjoy the pleasures a launch offers whilst sharing the costs. Based at Tauranga Bridge Marina. Price $20,000 Ph 548 2314.

Hartley TS18 - ‘Antares’ is in really good condition. Trailer has WOF. She has been beautifully built inside and out with painted wood interior and can sleep up to 4 people. Comes with Honda 5HP outboard motor with stand for easy storage. Drop keel makes her a great family boat for going to places in and around the harbour.

She has had new aluminium mast and rigging by Mike McCormack and new winch and guide bars added to trailer, for easy launch and retrieval. All ready to go for 2011. Asking price $4,500 ono. Phone Ian Gray 07 578 5022 or 027 572 9439.

4.95 aluminium mast and sail - plus centre board, rudder and anchor. All in V.G. condition. Open to reasonable offers. Please ring 576 0294 (has answer phone).

MOORING - C6 The Strand, Town Reach, Tauranga, new survey.

Upto 10.5m. $1000 spent on survey. $4000 ono. Contact 07 307 9097 or 027 307 9009.

MOORING FOR SALE - Waikaraeo Estuary #5. Good position, good swing, good depth. Fully rebuilt. Suit up to 29’ boat. Phone 07 576 1309 YACHT - 26’ vanderstadt centreboarder, on launching trailer in hardstand. Very nice condition. 8HP yamaha outboard, alloy s/s rig. $12,990 neg. Ph 0274 272 054.

SPINNAKER FOR SALE - off Davidson 32. 11.5m-6.8m, orange/ white. In good condition $600. Phone 06 868 8328 28ft Keeler - a well maintained gulf cruiser, sleeps 5, Yanmar diesel engine, Furling headsail. $28,000 ono. Phone, 07 864 7432.

LAUNCH - Steel launch, 30’. View B46 Tauranga Marina. $48,000.

Phone 07 843 4392 or 027 620 9712.

HARTLEY 16 QUIKSILVER mast and sails. Offers. Ph 07 576 0207.

MOORING 4 RENT - Omokoroa, close to beach. $20 per week.

Registered mooring. Ph 07 548 0328.

MOORING TO RENT - Closest mooring to wharf at Pilot Bay. Limited terms. $100 per month. Heavy mooring. Ph 575 9895 or 027 622 0451. trailer yacht venture 20 - good condition on trailer price $6000 phone 576 1165 Wing paddles - Brand new, used twice in demos. Rochfort,carbon shafts and blades. Pair would suit double kayak, racing or fast cruiser or will sell separately. $300 each. 0274 996 747

LAUNCH - Steel launch 30’. View B46 Tauranga Marina. $48,000.

Ph 07 843 4392 or 027 620 9712 GENOA - well used but ok. Hoist 44’, foot 23’. Offers. Ph 07 552 4419 HOOD MAINSAIL - as new, for Davidson 31. Hoist 31’ 9”, foot 8’ 10” with slides on hoist and foot, also boom for davidson 31 9’ 8” overall.

Ph 07 552 4419 CODAN SSB MKII - and antenna. Offers Ph 07 552 4419.

YACHT FOR SALE - 36ft Herreshoff, $45,000. without Mast & Sail.

Idea, restore then go to cruising the world. Available, 12m Marina berth Sulphurpoint. Ph 07 544 3675 BOAT FOR SALE 33ft wooden launch, 70h/p ford. GPS, VHF, stereo, auto pilot, electric capstan. Sleeps 3, 2 burner cooker and oven, electric toilet, game rigged. Good condition, on rented swing mooring. Best of offer $20k. Ph 021 0277 4294 TRIMARAN - 30’ piver, 15hp outboard, good condition, easily sailed. $18,000. Phone Grant Lawton 07 552 0737 or 021 057 5755 MOTOR SAILOR - 37’ LOA Kauri, shoal draft, twin keels. 20 Horse Yanmar. Painted ready for season. $66,000ono. Ph 07 211 9200.

YACHT FOR SALE - 36’ Herreshoff, $45,000 without mast and sail. Ideal to restore then go cruising the world.

Available 12m marina berth sulphurpoint.

Ph 07 544 3675 MOORING - Tanners Point. Good location, just been reconditioned. $6000. Phone Grant Lawton 07 552 0737 or 021 057 5755

TO RENT

Mooring available to rent Te Puna.Good depth and close to wharf.

Suit boat up to 30ft.Ph 548 0006.

MOORING - Omokoroa. Phone 021 114 7339.

Mooring to lease - Tanners Point. Suit launch or multihull. Long term. ph 5490091 SWING MOORING - for rent or sale at Tanners Point. Recently serviced. Ph 578 0230 or 027 491 5616.

MOORING FOR RENT - Pilot Bay PT47 $25 per week. Phone 07 843 4392 or 027 620 9712 MOORING FOR RENT - Waikaraeo Estuary. Phone 07 843 4392 or 027 620 9712 MOORING - handy to Omokoroa Boat Club, suit up to 30’ boat. $17 per week. Ph 027 201 5113.

MOORING - Tanners Point. Good location, just been reconditioned. $6000. Phone Grant Lawton 07 552 0737 or 021 057 5755

WANTED

Wanted to rent: Swing mooring for 25ft yacht, also short term marina berth. Phone/text Marc, 027 200 2316.

HARTLEY 16 Fibreglass trailer sailer. Ph 07 576 0207.

SPINNAKER to fit a Noelex 30. Ph 06 868 8328.

BIG ANCHORS - anything considered. Ph Tony 575 8264.

SWING MOORING - Pilot Bay. Suitable for H28 yacht, preferably close to shore for purchase or rent. Ph 572 2205 or 021 155 1245.

SWING MOORING - suit 30’ yacht, Pilot Bay or bridge marina. Ph 021 244 7117 or 07 579 8083.

DIRECTORY

WATERLINE 23

BATTERIES

FISHING & DIVING

Ph/Fax: 07 578 8056 25 Marsh Street, Tauranga 0274 894 056

Ph/Fax 07 575 9056 15 Newton St, Mount Maunganui Ph/Fax 573 4493 155 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke

Battery Warehouse

Battery Direct NZ

Free delivery in NZ www.BatteryDirect.co.nz sales@batterydirect.co.nz 0800 267 468

BOAT MAINTENANCE GemCo Ltd

R63 Hewletts Rd, Mount Maunganui Ph 572 2411

Hutcheson Boatbuilders Ph:07-578 8312

Robert Page Engineering 27 Glasgow Street, Tauranga Ph:07 578 4171 www.robertpage.co.nz

Matamata Motor Trimmers & Upholstery Boat clears, canvas work, upholstery Ph: 07 571 4421 Cnr Mirrielees & Cross Roads, Tauranga

Oceanz Stainless Engineering Ph:07-571 4130 30-34 Mirrielees Road, Tauranga www.southernoceanmarine.co.nz

BOAT SALES

Challenger Boats

142 Newton Road, Mount Maunganui Ph 07 575 0497 www.challengerboats.co.nz

Gulf Group Marine Brokers Ph 07 579 9716 email: tauranga@gulfgroup.co.nz www.gulfgroup.co.nz

Hutcheson Boatbuilders 07-578 8312

Mastertech Marine 60 Whiore Avenue, The Lakes, Tauriko Tauranga Ph:579 4240 www.mastertech.co.nz

Tauranga Boat Sales

Tauranga Bridge Marina: 07 575 0512 Sulphur Point Marina: 07 571 8443 Email: thecrew@taurangaboatsales.co.nz Website: www.taurangaboatsales.co.nz

CHANDLERY

Big Fish Bait and Tackle Co

Blue Ocean Charters Ltd Ph 0800 224 278 www.blueocean.co.nz email: info@blueocean.co.nz

Mount Dive Shop

15 Newton Street, Mount Maunganui Ph: 575 4418

Tauranga Marine Charters MV Manutere Brett Keller Ph: 07 552 6283 0274 351 353 Email: fishingcharters@xtra.co.nz

INSURANCE

Tauranga Insurance Ph: 571 0405 195 Devonport Rd, Tauranga

KAYAKING

Canoe & Kayak BOP Ph:574 7415 3/5 MacDonald St, Mt Maunganui OPEN 7 DAYS 9-5pm

Viking Kayaks

Specialising in fishing and recreational kayaks.

0800 529 253 www.vikingkayaks.co.nz

MARINA

Tauranga Bridge Marina

Ph: 07 575 8264 Fax: 07 575 8369 VHF: Ch 73 “Bridge Marina”

RIGGING

Mike McCormick

Ph: 578 3071 59 Mirrielees Rd, Tauranga

TRAILERS

Prescott Trailers

Ph 07-573 9130 29 Station Rd, Te Puke www..prescotttrailers.co.nz

Greerton Engineering Ph 541 0024 64 Maleme Street TAURANGA www.greertoneng.co.nz

Steves Marine Supplies

CLUB CONTACTS

Ph: 07 578 9593 18 Cross Road, Sulphur Point, Tauranga

Mount Maunganui Yacht Club Ph: 542 0305

Ross Hislop

John Budden Ph: 548 1180 Alan Roberts Ph: 579 1967

DELIVERIES

Ph: 07 543 1023, mob 0274 770078 Email: hislopra@xtra.co.nz

ELECTRONICS

Bay Marine Electronics Robert McAllister Ph: 07 577 0250 www.baymarineelectronics.co.nz

FINANCE

AFB Accept Finance Brokers Ph: 07 574 0002

Omokoroa Boat Club Tauranga Game Fishing Club Keith Allen Dr, Sulphur Point Tauranga Ph: 578 6203

Tauranga Marine Industry Assn.

PO Box 13303 Tauranga Steve Glover www.tmia.co.nz or secretary@tmia.co.nz

Tga Yacht & Power Boat Club PO Box 14352 Tauranga Ph 578 5512

FISHING

24 WATERLINE

Oil awful, but fishing still good The fish are still biting out there, in spite of the oil from the Rena, says Brett Keller from Tauranga Marine Charters.

“I’ve never stopped fishing the whole time,” says Brett.

“I was fishing the Thursday when it went up on the rocks, I fished on the Saturday when it was up on the rocks, and then after the bad weather I’ve just been doing the weekends since then because the weather’s been shit.”

Manutere’s been catching a lot of fish, says Brett.

The storm that knocked the containers off the Rena also brought a lot of fish in.

“There’s been some really good days around Mayor and the reefs,” says Brett.

“It’s been really good.”

The exclusion zone, which originally excluded the entire middle ground, Motiti and Schooner Rocks and Plate Island, has been shrunk “The main reason for the exclusion zone more for the containers,” says Brett.

“There’s no point putting it up, then taking it off, then putting it up if they have more bad weather.

“It’s a minor inconvenience. If you fished the middle ground all the time then you just

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have to fish around Karewa. That’s really all it amounts to. Or fish outside the entrance. There’s no shortage of marks.”

Most of the boaties just go straight out to the two mile and three mile which are straight out from the entrance, says Brett.

“Any bunker oil left at sea is like cow pats by now,” says Brett.

“People think there should be a thin film of oil over the whole bloody ocean, they think it’s like diesel and it’s not. There was 350 tonnes.

“Most of it ended up on the beach and anything that’s left is tar by now after this long in the water.”

Bunker fuel is literally what’s in the bottom of the barrel after the lighter fractions, the petrol kerosene and light oils have been distilled off.

It’s about the consistency of marmite and needs to be heated to 170-220C to get it flowing.

“It’s not oil it’s more like tar,” says Brett.

“All the lighter stuff still evaporates off, the temperature has gotten up enough now with the sun. I don’t even think it will stick to your boat now.

“I would be amazed if there are any toxins in the shellfish or anything else.

“If you are going to have an oil spill this is the one to have. It’s going to impact the least of anything really.”

Spraying the dispersant Corexit on the oil was a mistake, says Brett.

The spraying stopped when information about Corexit was able to be passed on to Environment Minister Nick Smith following a public meeting.

Brett took the print-outs to the meeting and gave them to Waikato University Coastal Science Professor Chris Battershill, who was able to show Nick Smith that the dispersant is not EPA approved.

Brett saw the Corexit in use when the oil started flowing from the Rena.

“We were watching them, we saw the chopper circling around that slick from the west of the boat – one of them flew past and we could see the booms.

“We knew then they had been spraying and we knew it was Corexit.

“That’s when I started dummy spitting because of the information I had been sent about Corexit and how bad it was.”

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FISHING

Major surfcasting contest still on With the Rena oil spill close to being cleaned up, the Papamoa Rotary Club has announced that the 2012 ITM Kahawai World Cup will go ahead as planned.

It is on the weekend of March 16-18, 2012, and is based out of Papamoa.

The inaugural competition was held in March this year and was enjoyed by almost 400 anglers despite appalling weather conditions.

Thanks to generous sponsorship from ITM Building Supplies, the major prize will again be $10,000 plus a gold cup for the heaviest Kahawai caught over the weekend.

Club spokesman Fraser McCullogh expects the total prize pool to exceed $20,000, making this one of the most lucrative surfcasting tournaments in New Zealand.

Due to the large number of anglers at the 2011 tournament and their favourable comments, entries are expected to be up considerably for this year’s competition. The organisers suggest anglers get their entries in as soon as possible to guarantee a shot at the big prize.

Early bird entries prior to January 31 go in the draw for an LG 42inch Cinema 3D Smart TV with a retail value of $2249.

Enter at www.kahawaiworldcup.com

WATERLINE 25

CLUB DIVE

26 WATERLINE

Spear fishing at Mayor Island The Saturday before the club trip I was invited to go for a spear fish – the Mayor the target area.

We headed out early, the sea was pretty calm and just a gentle breeze behind us.

The forecast for the trip home was fairly benign, but that had changed by the time we had to go home and made for a longish battering at the end of the day. But the day itself was good.

We started with a sortie at Tuhua. With the boat in about 5 metres of water we expected to see the bottom, but things were a bit green.

Hardman was first in and reported back that though all was green it was not green for go.

Cheers for that Graham, no point in us all getting wet.

We headed back to the island where the viz was a bit better. The fish life was quiet with a couple of snapper being seen, one having just devoured a Moray and leaving just the head floating on the surface. Moki and

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Porae were added to the chiller.

This was an intriguing spot. I am used to seeing the odd emission of bubbles from the bottom around this part of Mayor, but I came across an area where there was a constant stream heading up.

It almost looked like a scuba diver was venting away under the rocks. I dropped

down to have a good look and could see all the encrusted minerals and discolouration on the rocks where this stream was emitting from. I had dived this area often and never seen it that active.

We relocated a couple more times as Leitchy went looking for Pink Maomao.

Each relocation resulting in more Moki, Porae and Greenbone being added to the chilli bin, but no Pinkies.

I was too busy at one stage staring at a couple of nice Moki only to realise there was a nice snapper off to one side, and then he was gone.

Finally the target species was changed to Tarakihi. It was getting towards the end of the day so I headed in shore, 8-12 metres being my preferred depth by now. I scoured the banks and weed lines adding another couple of greenbone to my score and then came across a sight I had not seen before – a couple of giant salps lying on the bottom.

One was about two metres long and as thick as my arm. It was a translucent jelly and soft. The other was huge.

At first I thought it was a log. It was a good five metres long, well over twice my body length and as thick as my leg.

It was greyish in colour and when I touched it, it seemed to be more solid, more like a plastic pipe.

On closer inspection I could see all the tiny components that made it up. Interesting sight, I must get my own camera.

Back at the boat I dealt to my catch and could see Hardman off by distant shores and Leitchy was out sounding in 20m dives.

As he swam back I heard a number of exclamations and expletives emitting from his snorkel. Apparently he had spent an hour busting his … chasing a few tarakihi all over the bottom only to get back to the boat and find a mob parked up beneath us.

A few more dives and he had nice feed of the cunning blighters.

By now the wind had got up so we retrieved Hardman and beat our way home. Definitely a good day.

By Glen Grant

JD HARBOUR

WATERLINE 27

The battle for the birds After the devastation Rena has left across our beautiful coast it is wonderful to see the community coming together and doing everything they can to help save as much of the local wildlife as possible.

The Department of Conservation has been working closely with the National Oiled Wildlife Response Team and the local community to try and minimise the impacts of the Rena oil spill on the birds and marine mammals that call the Bay of Plenty their home.

Specialist teams, involving hundreds of people, and community volunteers, have been tirelessly searching the islands and beaches of the Bay to try to find any sick wildlife and bring them back to the recovery centres. Covering about 80km of coastline is a huge task

and these teams have relied on local residents to advise them of any animals and birds in danger.

“Obviously it's a very difficult situation,” says Department of Conservation directorgeneral Al Morrison, “but a range of agencies are working very closely together to do everything we can to minimise the impact.”

Dotterel in particular are at risk.

With only 1500 of these little birds left, any deaths will be hugely destructive to the entire Dotterel population.

The Department of Conservation and volunteers have been pre-emptively removing birds from Maketu and Matakana in the hopes that they can be saved from any oil contamination.

These birds are then taken to a special wildlife centre and any chicks found have been transferred to a special crèche that will take

care of them until they can be safely returned back to the wild.

Whilst the number of birds being saved is probably only the tip of the iceberg of what will have been killed by the oil, it is heartening to see birds being brought back to a safe haven.

Al says they have had a huge amount of public support and that “the volunteers are helping to bolster the work of DOC and the other agencies involved”.

It is not only birds that are in danger from the oil spill, marine mammals that swim out to sea to search for their food are under threat.

Specialist seal teams are working to try and prevent the oiling of threatened populations living in the region.

“This incident is already taking a heavy toll,” says Al.

By Lucy Brake

What is the health of Tauranga’s Harbour?

While the effects the Rena grounding has had on the Tauranga coastal environment are still very much on everyone’s minds, there are now worries about the general ecological state of the Tauranga Harbour.

Researchers have prepared a report that has identified a number of long term changes that are happening in the harbour and these are not all necessarily for the better.

The report is supported by a consortium of organisations, including Cawthron Institute, Massey University, Manaaki Awanui Trust and Waka Digital. Professor Murray Patterson, who is leading the team, says the longer term decline of coastal systems in Tauranga Harbour is happening “more insidiously and under the radar” than the impacts from the Rena disaster.

Firstly, the good news – the water quality for recreational activities has remained stable. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s monitoring reports have shown that for the vast majority of time the water quality bathing standards for bacterial contamination are rarely exceeded.

However, there is some cause for concern about the levels of shellfish contamination.

But the bad news is that areas of sea grass have declined while mangroves have rapidly expanded. In fact around one third of sea grass beds have been lost over the last 40 years. This is particularly worrying because sea grass beds are home for many young fish and help to stabilise sediment in subtidal areas that are not exposed by the tide. At the same time mangrove numbers have risen significantly. The increasing sediment loads are believed to be the main reason for this, so a lot of work is being undertaken in local catchments to help reduce this.

At the same time elevated nutrient levels in the rivers that pour into the Tauranga harbour have increased. In the early 1990s many of the point source discharge points were removed which helped reduce the levels. This latest increase is thought to be from recently harvested forest and some agricultural practices within the catchment.

The other issue of concern is the boom in sea lettuce that we have seen around the inner harbour bays. The report says that these come from high levels of nutrients in the harbour waters but that scientists aren’t sure where these come from and whether it is human-induced or the result of natural weather patterns.

The report concluded that it is hard to really assess the overall state

of Tauranga harbour’s biodiversity because there is a shortfall in data on the state of the environment. So the next step is to gather more comprehensive information about the coastal ecosystem health and biodiversity.

You can read more about the findings of the report from the Manaaki Taha Moana website www.mtm.ac.nz.

By Lucy Brake

BUTLER’S VIEW

28 WATERLINE

Rena – letting the lawyers loose The oil is off the Rena! Well all but 50 or 60 tonnes that is.

The remainder is apparently spread among several locations and the salvors are manually removing as much of that as possible, so the big environmental risk is gone.

These guys deserve three cheers.

Oiled birds rescued from the black glug that contaminated their ecosystem will no doubt be released as soon as it’s practical to do so.

The bits of oil still on local beaches should eventually break down and the beach will continue for many years as it has always done, a huge cheer is owed the many hundreds of people that cleaned up birds and beaches.

Some businesses will count their losses and others will revel in the unseasonal economic windfall provided by Rena to various specialists locally, businesses providing equipment necessary for the salvors to do their work, and those providing essentials to the large contingent of people involved in managing the situation at astrolabe reef.

As a small specialist ecotourism operation, Butler’s Swim with Dolphins has taken a head shot.

Exclusion zone

No customers for six weeks, a huge exclusion zone around the area that we have traditionally operated in, so we are, at this stage anyhow, wondering when the huge exclusion zone will be lifted, and if we will have any resources left when it is, then perhaps it will be business as usual.

Some good news though, there have been a few sightings of whales and dolphins in the area, but we haven’t been able to keep our finger on the pulse so I really have no idea of what pods there are or where they are, what they are feeding on.

Some of the fishing excursion vessels have been able to operate and consequently claim they are not affected.

Others have had the phone go quiet and existing bookings cancelled because of the oil damage reported throughout the country and internationally.

Some people are worried whether the fish caught locally will be fit for consumption.

The persistent images of oily sludge washing ashore during the initial spill are definitely adding to a perception of poison.

At a recent meeting with Maritime New Zealand, salvors, Rena representatives and others, someone suggested a class action for damages be launched against those responsi-

ble for the Rena disaster.

Once the murmurings of agreement had died down, I imagined I could hear the sounds of hands being wrung in expectation from lawyers everywhere.

One business owner thought a case should be conducted in London for some reason.

I thought getting one of those fancy LA lawyers in the US to work on a ‘no-result-nopay’ basis.

You know the type, Denny Crane come to mind.

I could imagine the ship owner squirming and finally agreeing to a multimillion dollar payout to be divided among the long suffering business owners. Fantastic stuff! No, just fantasy I think.

However, in reality a windfall is most unlikely. I am not a lawyer, but what I do know is the legal profession thrives on payments for time spent in confusion and complication.

Different lawyers will have totally different interpretations of the intricacies of an argument, each will prepare a case defending or prosecuting an action.

Nothing certain

Then, after many months, if not years, and massive amounts of money being paid from their clients on a regular basis, nothing is certain.

There will be a decision and there will be only a 50 per cent success rate because one legal team will fail and the other will win.

Costs will be awarded against the losing team to compound the misery and the winning team will realise that the costs awarded will reflect that the judge’s idea of a lawyer’s worth are vastly different from that of the

lawyer at the end of the day.

During the process, those suing will likely find themselves stuck in the middle of a situation not unlike one of those Nigerian scams.

The more money you put in the more you have to lose if you pull the pin and the easier it is to justify throwing more money in.

There will be conferences, mediation, settlement conferences, district court hearings, district court appeals, high court appeals, all the way through the system and in the end there may be a settlement.

I remember the brave woman who sued for her leaky home and wound up getting awarded the best part of $250,000 only to find that her legal bills amounted to more than that.

A maritime expert told me the other day that the wording in a Bill of Lading (BL – sometimes referred to as BOL or B/L) is a document issued by a carrier to a shipper. It acknowledges that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee (who is usually identified on the BOL).

This hasn’t changed in 40 years because during that time every sentence, phrase and probably word has been challenged in court and a legal meaning exists for each so changing any part of the wording in a Bill of Lading document opens up a real can of worms which the shipping industry would rather do without.

So imagine the complex legal scenario from this layman’s point of view, and it is just my opinion, the reality may well be better, but don’t hold your breath.

The ship was driven ashore as a result of the ‘probable’ neglect of the senior officer on the bridge at the time. But those on the bridge are under the jurisdiction of the master or captain who has an unalienable responsibility for the safety of the vessel and the lives and safety of all onboard.

The owner of the ship, or the registered owner of the ship, may be responsible for damages that the ship inflicts on other parties, but that may depend on the contract it has with the person who supplied the crew and under what terms.

The time charter company may be responsible, but that depends again on the exact wording, or interpretation of the contract that exists between the time charter company, the crew management company and the ship owner, which may be some kind of convenient legal entity which protects its beneficiaries under some kind of foreign law.

RENA TRAGEDY

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Taking control of the situation The operators of the vessel, once identified as being those responsible for damages, may think that the way local authorities have acted since they took over handling the incident has exacerbated the damage.

Taking control

Maritime New Zealand may take over control of the situation by statutory powers, to deal with a state of emergency.

Other parties may submit that they have no further responsibility because they have no influence on the salvage plan.

There may well be a contract between Maritime New Zealand and the salvors setting out their various responsibilities.

Arguments with Maritime New Zealand, the salvors, the owners, the crew management company and the time charterer will be complex enough, but local authorities, and the port company may well be represented too.

What lay person could ever know, or even remotely understand the complex legal issues involved in just a tiny segment of probable litigation?

It could be that some of the contents of containers are not insured by the person who owns the contents so if one of those uninsured containers causes contamination then the vessel’s insurer may refuse to accept responsibility, redirecting liability toward the uninsured owner of the contents who may well live in some obscure part of the world with no money even if an award is made.

After all, if the container remains intact and undamaged, and some noxious chemical being carried in it leaks out then the liability may lie with the owner of the chemical because of insufficient labelling etc. ad infinatum.

Responsibility

And then there is the issue of who is responsible for the oil once it is off the ship.

The oil may be the responsibility of one of the various entities mentioned above while it stays onboard or within 1000 metres say, but if the oil gets out of control then determining fault could be difficult if each denies that responsibility and has a case to defend that position and points the finger in the direction of another, then that adds to the legal complexity.

I was onboard a troubled ship at one time. Machinery failed and the valuable cargo was in serious trouble because it was perishable.

The ship was diverted to Tahiti and a trouble shooter was bought onboard to sail the rest of the voyage to the US. He worked hard every day trying to find the means of keeping the cargo in the best possible condition.

It was a pleasure watching this very skilled person working independently and constantly to save the cargo in difficult circumstances.

He was motivated by a desire to do the best he could and to be the best he could be.

I enjoyed working with him. He taught me a whole lot about reefer systems which I would never have learned had there not been an emergency. Insurance assessors, representatives of owners, the time charterer, the cargo owners, insurance assessors, cargo experts, and

legal people descended on the ship as soon as she was made fast to the wharf in Philadelphia.

The trouble shooter said: “I will say nothing, I will only answer questions put to me directly by my employer because now the bullshit starts.”

Keeping observations

And start it did, but for the diligence of note keeping of observations during the voyage, this situation could have escalated into a legal-fest of massive proportions.

And that was a minor incident compared with the ongoing sagas that is Rena.

I guess that eventually we will simply take our losses on the chin and have another go at getting our business on track.

I can’t shake the idea that New Zealand is suffering from almost terminal ‘Bureacrophising legislitis’ and that generally means that word, legislation and all the bad laws and regulations, put in place by the system of government under which we have suffered for decades, have taken on a mind of their own.

The bureaucracy exists as a hungry entity that destroys individual responsibility and integrity between people and changing the system from within has become impossible.

Officers of the system are no longer people, they are entities, their job is not to think, but to interpret the letter of the legislation regardless of the outcome.

These poor people become trapped in ‘jobsworth’ syndrome and should be pitied rather than despised.

I would like to say to the owners of Rena: ‘My business has suffered a loss because of the Rena’.

I would have some faith in humankind if those responsible said ‘sure’ you poor bugger and gave me a cheque for those agreed real losses honestly assessed, with no disingenuous seeking of a windfall, simply to be restored to my likely financial position should the season have progressed without the Rena disaster.

That would be good, a simple agreement mediated without malice or ‘bullshit’ – leaving both parties feeling that the right thing has been done.

That would be great, but as I write this, I look out the porthole and see a few fat pink pigs flying low across the marina.

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BLACK SWAN

Warwick Heritage 42’ Black Swan Much admired by all who see her.

Having completed a full refit in September 2010, including full exterior 2 pot repaint, new covers/clears and canopies, new wall and ceiling linings throughout have made this vessel like fresh and new again.

Launched in 1990, constructed in GRP by Heritage Boats, Black Swan is presented in pristine condition and on the market.

Powered by a 250HP 4 stroke Detroit Diesel economical at 12-14 litres per hour at 9 knots cruising. Fuel capacity is 120—litres in 2x s/s tanks and 1000 litres water.

2 x double birth cabins plus the dinette converts to a double.

Toilet, shower, plus cockpit shower, 4 burner/oven/grill, 2 x fridges plus a large freezer, hot and cold [WORD] water. This vessel is equipped with a bow thruster, auto anchoring, shore power, smart charger and inverter.

New 19” flatscreen TV with auto tracking satellite dome and Freeview decoder to give you all those home comforts at sea.

Black Swan has a large covered cockpit, with extended boarding platform with railing around for fishing off.

Some modern electronics have been added which includes this state of the art 12” Garmin touch screen GPS/plotter, fish finder.

This trawler style vessel represents a safe all round family cruiser with wide walk around desks, side opening door by the helm and a large roomy flybridge.

For all enquiries on Black Swan contact Brian Worthington at Gulf Group Marine Brokers Tauranga branch.

GULF GROUP

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