Something for everyone
The Sydney International Boat Show (3-6 August) offered a bit of everything, no matter how large or small your budget, reports Kevin Green.
Ranging from Hobie sailing canoes to the show flagship vessel – the $14 million Nomad 101 – there was plenty to engage the 47,000 visitors at Sydney. Plus, an esteemed line-up of speakers such as rower Michelle Lee, who told me that doublechecking the self-righting capability of her boat probably saved her life in mid-Pacific.
The theme of sailing meant that yachts played a major part in the show, such as the Polish Viko S30 that was the most affordable (A$235,000), to premier brands such as the glamorous Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 54. Racing sailors flocked to the new Beneteau First 36 and the quality Grand Soleil LC 46.
Dayboat-weekender style of sailing craft is a new category for Sydney. This was represented by the exquisite Dutch Saffier Yachts 33 Life (A$539,000) and the very similar French Tofinou 9.7. Multihulls are major nowadays and were well represented with show flagship the Lagoon Sixty 5 offering six cabins with galley options as well. Starter models included the sporty 38foot Excess 11 and the Australian Seawind 1160 Lite, which can have diesel outboards. Offshore sailors patronised the new Catana 50 Ocean Class, with electric daggerboards.
Power catamarans is a major sector, represented by the Australian-designed Iliad 53 flybridge model and many others, including the versatile Aquila Molokia 28.
Another growing category is exclusive dayboats, which double as superyacht tenders. New brands to Australia included the Spanish made Tersero T40 with tall topsides that allow four sleeping berths and full fit-out below. Competitor, the Virtue V10 T-Top has even more space on deck thanks to fold-out topsides.
Another similar brand premiering was the range of Rand electric motorboats, while traditionalists checked out the classic-looking Vicem 55, built in Turkey. In the hall, Mercury outboards had their new range of electric Avator models on display, which are ideal tender engines. Interestingly, the more compact models use an external power bank, so have a longer range. BNZ
125 years of model yachting
The Christchurch Model Yacht Club celebrated sailing on Lake Victoria in the central city’s Hagley Park for 125 years with an Open Day and regatta on the exact anniversary, June 17th.
Claiming to be the second-oldest model yacht club in the world, in continuous operation since 1898, the club has been part of Christchurch’s cultural make-up throughout that time.
Club Patron, Mayor Phil Mauger, congratulated the club and unveiled a plaque on the occasion.
An impressive display of historic model boats lined up against state-of-the-art modern RC yachts.
The Founders Trophy race was the highlight of the day, the racing started using a replica cannon. About 60 boats managed three heats in very calm conditions. Winner, Bruce Edgar, took first place with the same boat and set-up he used in the same race in 1998!
Members were busy helping visitors ‘Try Sailing’.
Heavy rain in the afternoon did not deter the skippers and having so many boats on the lake made for an impressive event.
Commodore Ron Bedyn said, “The event showed the strength of the club, and the evolving popularity of the sport. CMYC has almost 100 members, and a long history of innovation and competitive sailing. The success of the day gives us confidence we have many years of great sailing ahead of us.”
A celebratory dinner was held in the evening, where Mayor Mauger again confirmed his support for the club and announced three new life members.
www.christchurchmodelyachting.org.nz
A century of action
Association seeks funds to continue its advocacy work on behalf of Auckland boaters.
The Auckland Provincial Yacht & Motor Boat Association was established in 1919 as an affiliation of the town and country yacht clubs that existed at that time. There were the Town Clubs – the central clubs from Taiotea at Browns Bay in the north to Otahuhu in the south – and the Country Clubs, from the Awanui Cruising Club in the Far North and south to Mercury Bay and Rotorua.
Until the NZ Yachting Federation (NZYF) was formed in 1954, the Auckland Yacht & Boating Association (AYBA) managed the programme, the Railing Rules, the Class Rules and Yacht Registration for the greater Auckland Region – and worked in association with Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Otago, Southland and Wellington Yacht and Motor Boat Associations, who often had their own registers of boats and rules appropriate to their region. The details of all these regions and their member clubs were recorded in the Auckland Provincial Yacht & Motor Boat Association Handbook dated 1954.
The 1954 handbook also included the IYRU Racing Rules – 21 pages – while four pages covered the local Racing Rules, which included crew numbers and weights for the current classes and the rules and trophy lists for the national contests.
The NZYF, later to become known as Yachting NZ, took over most of these tasks but the Auckland Yacht & Boating Association continues to manage the regional sailing programme and coordinate the major class regattas.
With the increasing pressures of a growing population and increasing demands on our coastal waters, AYBA has become involved in policing the rules and any proposed developments as they affect the marine environment. It has lodged submissions on holding tanks, life jackets, harbour by-laws, anchoring zones etc. and attended hearings when considered appropriate. AYBA is constantly monitoring fish farming to ensue popular access across the water is not obstructed and that the required lighting is functioning. AYBA has recently highlighted the threat of bottom trawling and its effect on biodiversity.
AYBA submitted on the Unitary Plan, the location of exclusive moorings, the Wynyard Precinct, the West Haven Marine Precinct and the dolphin mooring, spending more than $200,000 arguing these cases.
AYBA’s share of the costs, with Northland Regional Council and Yachting New Zealand, fighting against extensive fish farming in the Bay of Islands was $15,000. As a result, the Bay is still free for visitors to cruise and anchor in most areas. After submissions on the Marine Mammal Protection Zone, it is still possible to motor or sail across the bay when playful dolphins want to ride the bow waves.
AYBA coordinates sailing and all aquatic sports programmes for the Auckland Region. It organises and subsidises club training in First Aid, Race Management, Patrol and Rescue Boat handling and own and maintain two VHF Radio Channels, 4 & 68, for marine users.
In 2017 AYBA lodged a future proofing document with Sports Aktiv and the Auckland Council in response to Sports Aktiv’s report on sport in Auckland, which failed to recognise any aquatic sports except “Yachts on the Gulf” or “Rowing on the Tamaki Estuary”. In 2019 we supported the AMUA plan for a strategic plan of all marina assets. This plan was declined by Auckland Council “Because it was not in the budget…” After recent Council decisions, public foreshore access to the marine environment is now a priority for the Auckland Yacht & Boating Association. Preserving Auckland’s foreshore, coast and the Hauraki Gulf for the sport and recreation of half the city’s population is a relentless battle.
AYBA continues to monitor biosecurity, so the recent spread of the dreaded Caulerpa to the Bay of Islands is a nightmare. For the past six months it has been fighting to prevent the closure of the haul-out area and hardstand in Okahu Bay, which AYBA considers vital for compliance with the Council’s own biosecurity clean-hull regulations.
Across the harbour at Bayswater, AYBA is striving to preserve the Marine Precinct, hardstand and maintenance yard, the public launching ramp, associated parking, and public open space. The Council has approved housing Intensification for the site with just a token offering of space for marine activities – not including a hardstand and maintenance yard.
Both these cases are now before the courts and costs, well beyond AYBA’s current budget, are mounting… As seen from this list of past submissions and appeals, the Auckland Yacht & Boating Association has an ongoing task to assure Aucklanders of continued seashore access, also for their grandchildren. Auckland Yacht & Boating Association Inc. is seeking donations to help maintain coastal access to the Harbours and Gulf for everyone. BNZ
Visit website or email: ayba.secretary@gmail.com. www.ayba.org.nz
Restoring a Bertram 23
Tauranga-based bespoke boatbuilder Marra Marine has completed a stunning restoration of a 1986 Bertram 23 hull with a view to giving it the capacity and capability to be the ultimate sport fishing vessel.
With its low centre of gravity and high gunnels, the Bertram 23 has always been known as the ‘big little boat’ when it came to sea going ability, and this restoration was planned to really showcase this quality. The cockpit is generous for a boat of this size, making it perfect for the keen fisherman/woman, family group or scuba diver.
The project started with a smaller goal in mind – until the boat’s Gisborne-based owner realised the talent of the Marra Marine team and quickly became caught up in a shared vision to take this trailer boat to the next level.
The original scope of work was as follows:
• Inboard to outboard conversion
• Raising the hardtop 150mm
• Step-through transom with livebait tank
• Cabinet work
• Aluminium joinery
• Paint work
However, what eventuated is that every inch of the boat was renovated.
What made this project special – and it’s an aspect of its business that Marra Marine prideS itself on – is close collaboration with the client and all the subcontractors to the project.
“This was very much the ultimate collaboration between client and builder, where our visions were so completely aligned,” said Marra Marine’s Tim Marra, explaining that the project grew into something huge.
“At the beginning I never anticipated the level to which our client was prepared to take this project. I am in awe of it, and while we were completely able to deliver, at the outset we hadn’t anticipated the level of quality in the finish our client wanted – it’s second to none.”
In working more closely with the owner, Marra Marine learned he lives off grid and therefore had a desire to set the boat up to also operate off grid. It is fully solar powered, just like the owner’s house. He can charge the starting batteries and 36-volt Minn Kota bow-mounted electric trolling motor system through a separate plug-in socket arrangement. This vessel is also equipped with Bluetooth smart shunt, whereby the owner can monitor the voltage, with constant real time updates for complete visibility of onboard electric power usage and battery status.
The biggest challenge for Tim and his team was space – this 23-foot boat is set up like a 35-foot vessel, and in this respect very much lives up to its ‘big little boat’ title. However, squeezing so many big boat features into the modest-sized Bertram 23 hull was challenging.
But, says Tim, who collaborated with some of the best marine tradespeople in the Tauranga region, always keeping the lines of communication open across the project team, the challenges were overcome with smart, practical solutions and innovative ideas.
All the sub-contractors and the wider project team working on this project appreciated the fact that the boat stayed in the same location at Marra Marine HQ, Sulphur Point, says Tim. According to sub-contractor Michael Coombe, Director of MiCam Auto Electrical, “it created efficiencies and saved time across the board.”
Fellow business owners:
• Bay Marine Electronics
• Micam Auto Electrical
• Marine Reflections
• Mount Fabrication
• Matamata Motor Trimmers
Highlights for BME installation
• Garmin nav suite at both helm and flybridge
• Minnkota Ulterra 36V electric trolling motor
• Fusion blackbox stereo system
• Full RGB strip lighting throughout the boat, matched to the speakers and underwater lights
Higlights for MICAM installation
• Solar system
• 550m of marine cabling
• Hella – latest LED lighting throughout the boat
www.marramarine.co.nz
Ovlov turns 45, opens a new branch
2023 marks 45 years in business for Ovlov Marine Ltd, New Zealand’s largest Volvo Penta dealer.
From humble beginnings in Barry’s Point Road, Takapuna on the North Shore in 1978, Ovlov moved across the bridge to become the Auckland CBD Volvo Penta servicing and sales dealer in the early 1990s with Peter Jacobs at the helm.
The current owner and Managing Director Lachlan Trembath joined the company in 1999, purchasing 50% of the business from Peter not long after their move from Daldy Street to the current premises at 142 Beaumont Street, within the Orams Marine Village. Lachlan added Yamaha Marine, Hydraulink hydraulic hoses, TRAC Ecological Marine Products, Jubilee clips and other great marine products to Ovlov’s offerings and assisted Peter in growing the business – including expanding to a second branch, Ovlov Marine Pine Harbour Ltd (OMPH) in 2009.
Peter retired from both businesses in September 2019, at which point Lachlan and his wife Leigh purchased the other half of the businesses. The Ovlov team pulled together during the Covid19 pandemic and ensured smooth operations and high-quality service continued throughout.
This year also marks further expansion for the Ovlov Marine team with a third Ovlov branch – Ovlov Marine Gulf Harbour Ltd (OMGH) – commencing operations at the current Seaquip Marine Services Ltd site from 1 June 2023. The current owner, Ralph Kearton, expressed his desire to retire and Lachlan, having started his marine career in Gulf Harbour some 30-plus years ago and knowing the area well, felt that the location was a perfect fit for a third Ovlov Marine branch.
The new branch will strengthen the offering of marine services in the area and should feed off the already strong Westhaven and Pine Harbour branches.
All current Seaquip staff will be joining the OMGH team, with the addition of Adam Hatfield as the General Manager. Adam brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the OMGH team, having originally started his career with the NZ Navy and worked alongside Lachlan at Ovlov Marine for many years, having also joined the company in 1999. This was followed by roles at Babcock, Seaquip and most recently Flagship Marine.
Adam has a diverse range of skills, has a strong history with Volvo Penta. He is a keen sailor with a boat stored at Gulf Harbour Marine.
OMGH is incorporated as a brand-new business and looks forward to supporting Volvo Penta and Yanmar clients in the Gulf Harbour Marina and surrounding areas as an authorised Volvo Penta and Yanmar dealer. There are plans to add additional marine services and brands very soon.
Ovlov wishes Ralph all the very best with his retirement and knows that he can be happy that his former team is now in safe hands as part of the Ovlov Marine crew.
Ovlov Marine Gulf Harbour
+64 9 424 1260 gulfharbour@ovlov.co.nz
Tower Insurance's leading causes of boat damage
From cyclones, theft and arson to cable-eating rats, Tower Insurance reveals the leading causes of damage to boats, based on claims it received up to December 2022.
Tower launched boat insurance in December 2020, at the same time partnering with Coastguard to help keep even more Kiwis safe out on the water.
Claims for underwater impact damage topped the list, accounting for 44.6% of all claims. Tower Managing Director Partnerships, Jonathan Beale, says underwater impact claims are usually instances of boats hitting rocks or sandbars, but also include boats crashing into other boats.
“Recently, we’ve had claims for upwards of $80k worth of damage so, without insurance, you could be in for a nasty shock.
“With underwater impacts accounting for nearly half of all boat claims, we encourage boaties to look at insurance cover that includes third party damage so you aren’t caught out with costs to repair someone else’s boat as well as your own. This is especially important in the current inflationary environment which has seen the cost to repair or replace many assets increase.”
Coastguard New Zealand Head of Operations Rob McCaw says Tower’s claims data serves as a timely safety reminder for boaties.
“We responded to over 100 callouts in 2022 related to collisions and vessels running aground. We’re seeing ever more boats on the water, so it’s a good reminder to be watchful of other vessels while you’re out and about.”
The seasons play their part. With the advent of warmer weather and daylight savings, Coastguard saw a near 280% increase in incidents from September to October 2021, with incident numbers continuing to increase until February 2022.
To stay safe, McCaw recommends taking a Coastguard Boating Education refresher course or, for new boaties, a Day Skipper course covering all the safety basics including navigating tricky give-way scenarios.
Second boat off the ramp for most common claims is damage caused by out of water impacts, at 23.6%.
“A common scenario we see is where drivers misjudge their turns, causing the boat trailer to collide with a petrol station bollard, the corner of a building, or similar,” says Beale.
Storm damage, mainly from cyclones, is next, accounting for 7% of claims over the survey period.
“New Zealand’s marine conditions can change quickly, so it’s vital skippers double-check marine forecasts in their area – you can do this for free on the Coastguard App before heading out. If the forecast isn’t too flash, stay home. And always ensure boats on moorings or in marinas are properly secured to prevent damage,” says McCaw.
Close behind, and almost level-pegging, come claims related to theft, at 5%, and damage because of mechanical failure and breakdowns at 5.4%. Breakdowns accounted for almost a third of Coastguard callouts from June 2021 to June 2022.
Other boat claims include damage from gas leaks at 2.9%, arson at 0.8%, and even vermin infestation at 0.4%.
“Tower and Coastguard share a long history of looking out for Kiwis when the unexpected happens. While we take care of your assets on and off the water, Coastguard is there to protect the most important thing of all – you,” says Mr Beale.
Tower boat insurance customers can enjoy $30 off Coastguard individual memberships.
More Mandarin courses
A surging interest in recreational boating among Auckland’s Chinese community has seen Coastguard Boating Education (CBE) ramp up its popular Day Skipper course for Mandarin speakers.
Run over five consecutive weeknights, the 15-hour theory course is presented by Michael Wang at CBE’s Auckland offices in Westhaven. Though launched a few years ago, the course has only been delivered on a few occasions – largely, says Michael, because few people in the Chinese community knew about it.
This year – thanks to word of mouth and the power of Mandarin social media – the difference is startling. Previous courses attracted around 20 students per year – this year’s numbers are already over 80 and climbing. What’s driving the growth?
Typically, says Michael, the students just want to experience more of the Kiwi lifestyle. “That includes boating, but the vast majority have never been in a vessel, let alone operated one. Recreational boating isn’t easy in China. Boats themselves aren’t necessarily expensive, but boat ownership regulations stipulate that you have belong to a club before you can use one – and club membership is very expensive. It’s very different to the ways things work here.”
A qualified Second Officer with decades of international experience on large ships, Michael’s ocean-going career began with a degree from China’s renowned Dalian University of Maritime Technology. He’s lived in New Zealand for 20 years and owns a Rayglass 2500 powered by a 300hp Mercury inboard.
CBE is a licensed agent for training courses created by the UK’s Royal Yachting Association (RYA), and with his experience it was relatively straightforward to become an accredited RYA instructor. While the Day Skipper course is entirely theory-based, says Michael, several students have already signed up for the next level – CBE’s Practical Powerboat Handling course.
He also points out that while the course is presented in Mandarin, English features prominently in the material. “The students understand that they have to be able to explain themselves during a VHF conversation, for example, or work from an English chart, or use the phonetic alphabet.”
From CBE’s perspective, the increased frequency of Mandarin courses is a welcome development. “Anything that improves safety awareness around water is a step in the right direction,” says Marilyn Brady (CBE’s Head of Education & Community Engagement).
“Statistics collated by Maritime New Zealand and Water Safety New Zealand show that Māori, Pacific Islanders and Asians are over-represented in the water accident and drowning incidents. And our own research indicates that while a lot of new immigrants want to get into boating, many have never been exposed to it. For aspirant Chinese boaties, these courses are a huge help.”
Reaching the Chinese community, she adds, is a lot easier for CBE when it has an asset like Michael. “We plan to replicate the Mandarin courses in other centres, and we’re just as keen to reach out to other ethnic communities. We just need a few more Michaels!”
The Mandarin Day Skipper course (originally translated from English by Alan Lam) is now in its second, updated edition and Michael is now considering a new, additional project – translating CBE’s Boatmaster Course. “It’s a large body of work and translating it will be a formidable task – but I will make a start.”
Marine Industry Association research published late last year shows recreational boating remains a growing sector in New Zealand, with 40% of the population (1.9 million) boating annually, and our national fleet increasing by nearly 45,000 vessels a year.
Good to go
Erin and Isla Kee, a sister team from Kerikeri Cruising Club, are taking their first-ever step into international competition in the RS Feva class, writes Tom Linskey.
Ask any sailor way up there in the big leagues and they’ll tell you: they didn’t get to the top of the ladder all by themselves. Their family, friends, coaches, sailing club, and fellow competitors helped build them into confident, capable, world-class competitors. Yes, they all started somewhere.
So it is with the Kee sisters, Erin (16) and Isla (14) who after several years of local support, along with learning their boat, an RS Feva, have recently notched up a string of local wins in the class. In July they are flying halfway around the world to international competition: the RS Feva European Championship (July 9-13, Lake Balaton, Hungary; windward-leeward courses, 160-boat entry limit) and the RS Feva World Championship (July 24-28, Follonica, Italy; inner and outer trapezoid courses, 240-boat entry limit). It’s a bold move for the Kee sisters. But they are ready.
Their father, Peter, notes that parental support has included: “Transport, equipment, on-water support, assistance to their coach, and accommodation at events” – a list that may sound familiar to other parents of racing kids. “We’ve encouraged the girls to enjoy all aspects of sailing with a focus on fun, from campfires to cruising to racing supported by the team of volunteers at Kerikeri Cruising Club. We encourage the girls to give back by coaching at learn-to-sail and holiday programmes.”
Only a handful of years ago, the girls did not have any dinghy racing skills. But they certainly had ocean-sailing experience. Peter and wife Meillia sailed their 40-foot Alan Mummery design, Per Ardua, with the family – Erin, Isla, and brother Sam – from Auckland to Malaysia, where they taught school ashore for five years. Upon returning to New Zealand, they moved to Kerikeri in Northland and joined the Kerikeri Cruising Club, where the sisters gravitated to the fun-to-sail, entry-level boats of the club’s Centreboard Programme. Peter and Meillia are both teachers locally, and members of the Kerikeri Cruising Club Centreboard Committee.
Then, three years ago, Peter and Meillia added a parental nudge, though Erin, then 13, and Isla, 11, hardly needed it: “We kinda pushed them into the deep end with 420 team racing and the RS Feva,” says Peter. “They have had first-rate coaching from top local coaches. Reuban Corbett, the coach of the Kerikeri High School teams sailing squad, has taken the girls from rank beginners to being proficient 420 teams racing sailors in less than two years.”
In addition to teams racing in the 420, the Kee sisters sampled fleet racing in the RS Feva, and they’ve been on fire ever since. The 3.64m RS Feva, a strict one-design sloop with a gennaker but no trapeze, is a fast, exciting vehicle for teens who are ready to advance into doublehanded racing. The RS Feva is a worldwide class, embraced by many sailing associations and yacht clubs for its appeal to young people who are done with poking along in an Optimist but are not ready to step up to a 29er or 49er. The boat, with durable triple-layer roto-moulded polyethylene construction, is light enough to plane easily, and kids are able to handle it on the launch ramp. Affordable access to an RS Feva, thanks to the Kerikeri Cruising Club (the $250 10-weekend Race Squad Programme includes coaching and boat hire), has helped knit the Kee sisters into a team.
The top ranks of European dinghy classes are thick with sibling teams, but not all brothers and sisters are happy sitting elbow-to-elbow through a stressful season of racing. But on the RS Feva – and probably on any boat – the Kee sisters are happy campers. Most important, on the racecourse they click. Erin starts the boat, drives it fast, and focuses on downwind tactics. Upwind, Isla is “eyes out of the boat” – the puff picker, windshift wrangler, and tracker of the competition as the fleet spreads over the racecourse. Downwind, Isla flies the gennaker and hoists and douses it fast at mark roundings.
On shore, the pair finish each other’s sentences. “We discuss the tactics before and during the race.” “Neither of us is in charge.” “Maybe being sisters makes it easier to share the decision-making as we know each other very well.” “When you do something right, it’s so rewarding.” “We love being on the water.” “Doing anything on the water is great.” “We can’t remember the last time we argued.” “When you argue, you go backwards.”
On the beach, the Kee sisters are modest. On the water, they are fierce. Their motto could be: We sail hard. We sail fair. We learn heaps every day.
After two seasons in the RS Feva, the sisters began doing well in competition, so this year Peter enlisted David Ferris, a highly-respected Kerikeri sailmaker, coach, and racer as their coach. During practice sessions, Ferris drills the sisters on boat handling, starting lines and laylines, tactics (boat-to-boat) and strategy (wind and current), rigging and tuning, and keeping their poise in the heat of battle. “David has enabled them to go from being near the front of the fleet to winning events,” says Peter.
Coach Ferris has been known to slap a ‘penalty’ on the sisters. One training session, on a blustery, gusty reach across nearby Te Puna Inlet with the gennaker up, the boat wailing along on the edge of control, a big blast knocked the boat flat. “We were laughing, screaming, everything was so out of control,” says Erin. The sisters righted the boat and sheeted in, immediately jumping onto the plane. Another blast bowled them over – an epic high-speed wipeout. They righted the boat and kept going – still screaming. At their heels in the RIB, coach Ferris shouted instructions on how to handle the next blast – what to do with the helm and the kite sheet – without capsizing. He also imposed a penalty: for every capsize, ten press-ups each.
“That worked,” says Isla. “We hate press-ups. After that we didn’t capsize.”
This year, the Kee sisters have been winning or finishing in the top few places in the RS Feva Travelers Series, a series of regattas at different clubs – the Murrays Bay Sailing Club, Taipa Sailing Club, Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, Maraetai Sailing Club, and the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Most recently, the Kees claimed second in the 45-boat RS Feva National Championship. Their friendly rivalry with Torbay Sailing Club members Luke Shaw and Freddie Knights at every event this season has been pushing them on. And their inspiration to go for the big RS Feva prize in Italy came from Kate Rasmussen and Maddy Russell of the Maraetai Sailing Club, who as the current Women’s RS Feva World Champions, proved that Kiwi girls can win big overseas.
“The girls could not have reached this level without the boats provided for the training programmes at Kerikeri Cruising Club,” notes Peter Kee. “The club has been very positive about kids’ sailing development, providing funds to help with attending the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Kawau Training Week each December. The club has an Etchells keelboat which the kids can crew on for keelboat racing. Club stalwart Doug France’s enthusiasm was instrumental in getting the girls into dinghy sailing when we first arrived.” In typical Kerikeri Cruising Club fashion, a group of members raised the money to buy three new RS Fevas for the club five years ago.
So, this sister team is ready for the international stage. They’ve completed their boat prep and their training. They are physically fit and mentally clear. They are flying to Europe with a new set of sails, some Dyneema rigging bits created by Coach Ferris, and they’re packing their teamwork and their confidence in each other. Their plan is simple: stay steady. “Don’t change from what we do in practice. Don’t overthink it,” says Erin. “We’ll need to get front row starts and get clean air as fast as we can,” adds Erin. Their ambition – to win and to join the ranks of top Kiwi women who have distinguished themselves overseas – goes unspoken. The current roster of top New Zealand women in international and Olympic yachting – Alex Maloney and Olivia Hobbs, Jo Aleh, Polly Powrie, and Molly Meech, Erica Dawson, Veerle ten Have, just to name a few, were once 16-year-old local sailors, too. There is a framework, a path for the Kee sisters to follow.
Still, a sailboat regatta holds more unknowns than any other contest in sport. In sailing, not only do wind and sea conditions change, they are not uniform across the racecourse, and the ‘playing field’ can suddenly shift its shape and size. Some crews may be particularly fast in one condition or point of sail, such as light air or downwind (the Kee sisters prefer medium to heavy breeze). So, steadiness and consistency – especially in a world championship with 14 races in a big fleet – is a smart strategy. “Keep it simple,” Erin emphasizes. “Do what we do at training and see how it goes during the event. And if that leads to success, we will be extraordinarily happy.”
INFO
RS Feva – world leading double-hander with a vibrant class across the globe (rssailing.com)
NZ SAILCRAFT – NZ Agent for RS sailing
2023 RS Feva European Championships – International RS Feva Class Association
2023 RS Feva World Championships Information – International RS Feva Class Association
https://www.facebook.com/nzrsfeva (class association Facebook page)
Arid Island – the fairly informal, No Bull Yacht Club
Alex Stone continues his series on the yacht clubs of Aotearoa. Here’s one that’s almost off the radar…
Arid Island is a terrific and under-appreciated cruising destination. And quite exclusive too, given its tiny yet charming anchorage.
With its imposing 180m-high cliffs, and lurking about 5.5km into the morning sun from Aotea Great Barrier Island’s never-crowded Whangapoua Beach and Haratonga Walkway, it’s been likened by one blown-away traveller to Tintin’s Black Island.
From this viewpoint, Rakitu, or Arid Island, certainly looks deserving of its English name. But behind the cliffs, in a horseshoe-shaped valley, it’s quite fertile and supported a Ngāti Rehua community for centuries. And a Pākehā farm for over 100 years.
Which is where our yacht club story – and one of nautical misadventure – comes from. Also the explanation of possibly the world’s most unusual yacht club burgee.
The Rope family farmed the island from 1956 to 2010. Bryce Rope owned a shipping company, which helped make this remote (though fertile) farm economically viable. He ran 1,000 sheep and 120 breeding cattle.
Though the Ropes owned a shipping company, and also built wharves around New Zealand, the Chatham and Pitt Islands, they declined to make this special island any more accessible. There’s still no wharf at The Cove, the only anchorage on Rakitu, a sheltered NW-facing, tight little bay. Space for only a dozen boats.
The Rope family sold the island to the NZ Government for $1.8M in 1993. They had much higher offers to sell to overseas celebrities, but wanted it to stay in local, collective ownership.
Bull’s eye
Once upon a time, Bryce Rope needed to get a new starter motor for a bulldozer delivered to Rakitu. Some stories have it as the crank handle for a new generator that had just arrived – but minus the crucial accessory. Whatever, legendary seaplane pilot Fred Ladd dropped the heavy item out of the window while passing, expecting it to land harmlessly in a paddock.
But it conked the island’s prize bull (actually their only bull) on the head, killing it instantly.
A laconic message from the Ropes to the seaplane: “Part arrived safely, bull dead.”
The dead bull features on the flag of the (fairly informal) Arid Island Yacht Club, which holds one race to the island each year. Sometimes. Weather and everything else permitting.
And on these days, a curious ritual unfolds. First, there’s the occasional reading of “a former poet laureate’s rendition of an ode about a farting competition.” (!)
Then new members of the club are invited to grovel in the sand for several metres, then on hands and knees up a sheep ramp to be tapped on the shoulder by the commodore with a giant inflatable plastic hammer. Then to be welcomed into the club and given a jar full of bull semen (cream and whiskey) to swallow…
After which, there’s the AGM of the Arid Island Yacht Club. Which usually and cheerfully votes for a spectacular rise in subscription fees – because they’re never paid anyway.
The bovine world got its own back: sometime in the 1950s a bull on its way from Rakitu to Auckland jumped into the harbour and ran to the Museum, where it bowled over an Auckland Star photographer.
Gold in them thar hills!
Way back in the 1860s the Barrier was a major hub of kauri milling and gold mining.
It’s rumoured that a bandit made off with 1,000 gold sovereigns. Half of them he hid on Rakitu, while making a getaway. Supposedly. This has kept keen amateur fossickers with a penchant for out-of-the-way places and their metal detectors busy for yonks.
The island is now a DoC reserve. Rakitu, at 329ha, could become an outer Gulf equivalent to the famous open sanctuary of Tiritiri Matangi (245ha).
Unusual plants on Rakitu are large-leaved forms of rangiora and kawakawa.
Tui, morepork, grey warblers, kingfishers, fantails, silvereyes, shining cuckoos and little blue penguins live on Arid Island, plus introduced pasture birds like paradise shelducks, spur-winged plovers and welcome swallows. Introduced wekas also seem happy to be there.
Many other species have disappeared – but could be returned: whiteheads, kakariki and tomtit, pied shags, bellbirds and pipits. Our family bird expert, daughter Dr Zoe Stone, adds, “Bellbirds are present on Aotea, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they occur on Arid as well, although none in the eBirds records.” She opines, “It appears whiteheads, kakariki etc were on the island but seem to have disappeared, so I would agree they could be good reintroduction options if predators are controlled.”
But the sheep, cows and the bulls are long gone. And won’t be coming back. The fleet of the Arid Island Yacht Club – maybe.
New Plymouth Yacht Club: Time capsule & future vision
For a club focussed on dinghies, cat and trailer-yachts, it’s remarkable that New Plymouth is also the custodian of an epic ocean-racing challenge that’slasted for 50 years and still going strong.
The Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge has been sailed every four years (except for Covid buggering up the schedule) since 1970. The most recent race – a fleet of nine intrepid sailors including one woman skipper – set off on Easter Sunday, 9 April, on the often-gruelling passage from New Plymouth to Southport in Queensland. The race this year is sponsored by the Taranaki franchise of Ray White Real Estate.
The sailors of the New Plymouth Yacht Club, established 1939, are not faint-hearted themselves, sailing every weekend outside the breakwater, in the regularly stern breezes and seas of the ‘Naki coastline.
When I visited the club a few weekends ago, sailing coach Wayne Holdt (who is also the Yachting New Zealand Regional Development Manager for the lower North Island) was too busy watching over their Optimist and Starlings race fleet out there in 28 knots of breeze to yarn with me on Saturday. A couple of bedraggled young sailors needed towing home.
The club also has a ‘Rainbow Fleet’ (all bright-coloured sails) of 60 trainee Optie sailors, who yes, sail in the relatively sheltered waters within the harbour breakwater.
The fleet at New Plymouth is just like sailing used to be. Dominated by 17 Paper Tigers, those single-handed catamaran thrill machines designed by the recently-departed Kiwi legend Ron Given; and as Wayne tells me, the plywood boats are still the fast ones, compared to the fibreglass models.
Then there are about seven of those Bruce Farr classics the 3.7s – also sailed single-handed, with the sailor out on trapeze. Plus a dozen or so Hartley 16s. This is Real Boats Central. The club also owns eight 420s and two Elliot 5.9 trailer-sailers for use in their schools team racing and adult Learn to Sail programmes. Which are going great guns, bouncing back with much gusto after Covid.
The club also started a Women on Water programme as a post-Covid initiative, expecting about 10 takers. More than 40 women turned up! The 420’s and the Elliots have been busy.
And while Wayne and I were chatting, sitting on the well-loved couches in the clubhouse, he pointed to a 40-foot keelboat just heading out of the harbour into the Tasman swell and a stiff breeze, with Women on Water candidates aboard. In keeping with its ‘Dinghies rule!’ theme, New Plymouth Yacht Club has only two keelers on its books. They tend to spend their summer in the Marlborough Sounds, an overnight sail away.
Back in the day, a Taranaki Cruising Club was established and a big clubhouse built at the other end of Ngamotu Beach. That morphed into the New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club. Which, incidentally, has installed the cleverest freshwater wash for boats returning from the sea – a comprehensive spray up under the hull from spouts set in the ramp.
The two clubs are separated by the expanse of Ngamotu Beach and the waterside road Ocean View Parade, which houses curiosities such as sundry anchors set in concrete, an artwork in the form of road signs pointing to landmarks of central psychic importance to locals, and the preserved Moturoa No 4 oil well beam pump. They used to pump oil right from this beach.
A terrific historical photo in the clubhouse shows their original opening day in 1939, with cars and crowds and sailboats spread out over the whole beach.
An interesting stat: the club’s membership in that first year was about 200 people. It’s stayed the same all these years, and remains at that number now.
Beyond the Solo Trans-Tasman event, the club keeps a high profile in small boat racing. On the weekend before Easter, they hosted the OK Dinghy National Championships, and those for the 3.7, with fleets of 25 boat and 29 respectively. Local sailor Paul Moriaty finished second in the 3.7s In 2004, they hosted a very well-attended World Championships for A Class Cats and, they rotate with Napier and Taupo hosting the Optimist North Island Championships.
In 2004, they hosted a very well-attended World Championships for A Class Cats. And together with the Yacht Clubs at Napier and Taupo, they rotate the hosting of the Optimist North Island Championships, which always attract huge fleets.
It was a pilgrimage to WOMAD, also back after the Covid hiatus, that took Lesley and I to New Plymouth. But hey, we should have come much earlier!
And also, we should have stayed for the start of the Solo Tasman Race. One of the skippers, Lucy Te Moananui, had arrived well before us. But on the day of my visit, she was back out at sea, completing her 500nm qualifying passage.
Other notable skippers in the race are two Kiwi brothers Malcolm and Alister Dickson, one from Motueka, the other from Sandspit, whose version of brotherly togetherness is meeting in New Plymouth to promptly take off again, each on their own boat. Plus three Aussies. [See box for the full line-up].
The New Plymouth Yacht Club volunteers are also part of Sailability Taranaki, a programme for disabled sailors who compete at Waitara in eight Hansa 303 sailing dinghies.
The thing about New Zealand’s regional yacht clubs is their disproportionate contribution to the rich heritage of top Kiwi sailors. New Plymouth Yacht club is no different. Beyond the staunch disabled sailors mentioned above, the club also counts these fine sailors among its alumni: Craig Monk, Olympian in the always-testing Finn class, and legendary America’s Cup sail-trimmer and winch-grinder (hard to imagine he started as crew on his Dad’s Sunburst!); Ross Field, Whitbread Round-the-World and Volvo Ocean Race winner, and now Arctic cruising exponent; and Sam Street, recent winner of the Wasp World Championships, and a contender for 470s in the Olympics. Jack Parr a foiling windsurfer who went to the Youth Worlds this year. And of course Wayne Holdt, who continues to contribute to New Zealand sailing despite never having left his home town.
And you can see why. The sailing off New Plymouth is superb. If sometimes a wee bit on the stern and windy side. But then that’s how the best sailors are formed, eh!. BNZ
A flying performance
When the word ‘foiling’ came up in conversation 10 years ago, it was with a look of awe as people discussed the America’s Cup and the AC72s that broke the mould of the historic event.
The boats sailed fast, and they sailed on the edge, the sailors wore crash helmets, carried spare air and safety nets. A far cry from the Thomas Lipton days of collars, ties, and pipe smoking. These days, foiling is not only an accepted (if still a somewhat adventurous) approach to sailing; it has also made its way into the motorboat realm. What is it about hydrofoils that fascinates us and inspires us to get a piece of the action, to be on a boat that quite literally flies?
AN UPSIDE-DOWN AEROPLANE?
Hydrofoils work in much the same way as aerofoils. Imagine an upside-down aeroplane, with one big foil on either side (the wings), a smaller fin at the back which is for stability, and a rudder for direction. The wings, fin and rudder are all foils. As are conventional centreboards, rudders and keels on a boat, and we have seen their evolution in the way of canting keels, and the Dynamic Stability System. What has garnered interest more recently in the marine world, however, has been lifting foils.
THE POWER OF HYDROFOILS
A lifting hydrofoil is usually a thin section that is connected to the main hull, helping create a pressure differential between the upper and lower surfaces, thereby creating a lift force (and a drag force) that can be harnessed for better performance. The main hull then appears to be ‘flying’ above the water’s surface. Foils come in various designs, shapes and sizes, depending on what the desired outcome is. However, in general, there are two types of lifting foils: Surface piercing – which is self-regulating and designed to self-centre to achieve the desired performance (they are usually U-shaped); and Fully submerged – which requires an operator’s input. These are usually T- or V-shaped. There is also a combination of the two (like the International Moth). Their purpose is to reduce the displacement of the boat (thereby reducing the resistance).
Gurit Engineering Manager APAC
WHAT SORT OF BOAT CAN BENEFIT FROM A LIFTING FOIL?
Boats with some level of speed are best suited to foils, as flow over them is needed for them to work. The AC72s which raced in 2013 are among the best-known foiling hulls of our time, but the benefits are not just limited to F1-style race yachts. International Moths were using foils well before then and have contributed to foiling reaching the general population. Cruising catamarans may look to foils to help them get to their destination quicker, especially in times of inclement weather. We’re seeing new electric ferries being designed as foil-assisted vessels. This can help them achieve the same speed/range with fewer batteries, which are heavy and take up space. And of course, foils can now be seen on a full array of watersports equipment such as paddleboards, jet-skis and wingfoil set-ups.
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME
There are, however, considerations to be made when designing a foiling vessel. The cost, weight and interior space needed for the foiling system may be prohibitive to the project.
Hitting a submerged object with a foil will have a greater impact and more significant outcome than without a foil.
As the hull of a power boat lifts, so do the propellers, which then has the opposite effect and slows the boat down.
Draught and operation into harbours, and transporting on trailers, may be affected.
THE COMPOSITE ADVANTAGE
The beauty of composite materials is their versatility and the ability to design a part that meets the exact criteria. Gurit Engineers can help owners and project managers overcome what initially present as limitations and get the performance advantage from foils they are looking for.
Regardless of whether it is a performance sailing yacht wanting to go as fast as possible on a very limited energy source (the wind), or an electric ferry wanting to hit a certain transit speed with a minimum amount of installed energy, keeping the total platform weight down is a key consideration.
Weight, strength and formability play a big part in the success of a hydrofoil, so often carbon fibre is the enabler. Less weight means less vertical force and lower drag. And modern materials are making these design advancements feasible.
In Gurit’s recent work on the latest generation of IMOCA* projects, this technology is going to the next level, and these boats push the envelope in terms of foil geometry and performance. The lessons learned on the racetrack are brought to bear on commercial and leisure power boats, including several exciting vessels now in design, featuring carbon lifting foils to drive efficiency.
Vessels such as ETNZ’s Chase Zero, for which Gurit provided materials and structural engineering services, are opening the doors to an exciting new world for commercial and leisure craft, one where the boat operates at minimum power demand while flying calmly and smoothly above the ocean waves.
*The International Monohull Open Class Association manages the class of 60-foot (18.28m) open monohulls, which compete in the Fastnet Race and the Vendee Globe. BNZ
Tautoku! Cargo Proa
The quest for sustainable sea transport has been on the agendas of Blue Pacific nations for a very long time. From the beginnings of human settlement of the vast Pacific, in fact.
New Zealand-born, Queensland-based Rob Denney’s Cargo Proa project, with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is rapidly reaching a practical prototype stage on the banks of the Bau River estuary in Fiji.
Says Denney: “The production is intended to be state of the art in both build methods and co-operative ownership, both here and as a model for similar facilities in other island nations. As a by-product of the work we are doing turning unwashed, unsorted waste plastic into reliable, useful structural items, it may also have zero waste.”
The UNDP grant also covers setting up boatbuilding classes at CATD (Centre for Advanced Technology and Design) for the mini cargo proa and a paddled fishing canoe.
Shipping goods and people in the Pacific is currently carried out by outboard-powered skiffs for short distances, and large diesel-powered ships for longer trips. But the skiffs are small and frequently overloaded, so accidents are common, while ships are too large to access many villages, which then have to rely on either skiffs or cross-island trucks to get to the port. Both use large amounts of fossil fuel and require constant and expensive maintenance.
To address these problems Denney designed the Cargo Proa ferry. After much consultation with Pacific Island peoples, he arrived at these bottom lines:
• The capacity to sail in all wind directions, in restricted spaces, in light or strong winds and in shallow water.
• Only requiring an engine when there is no wind. The engine would be much smaller than for a boat which is primarily powered, with sail assist.
• Easily and safely handled, including loading and unloading by two crew for trips up to two days.
• Shallow draft and tough structure for beaching to load/unload.
• Built and repaired by local semi-skilled labour with minimal equipment and easily-obtained materials.
• Minimum structure and maintenance.
• To include a large, stable tender for accessing places the mothership cannot reach.
• Easily accessed stowage space for 10 tonnes of cargo.
• Comfortable covered seating for 25 passengers.
• Cyclone-proofed as much as possible.
The rig of the Cargo Proa will be two free-standing telescoping masts, with wingsails. There are no holes in the hulls below the waterline and no deck fittings apart from turning blocks to route the sheets to the control station and a pair of winches for the anchor, halyards and sheets. Steering is simple wheel/chain/line to a quadrant on the rudders. Almost all fittings are bonded in place, eliminating bolts, screws and potential leaks.
The unstayed masts will not require regular inspection or rigging adjustments to keep them straight. There is no wood to rot and apart from the anchors, chains, motor and a couple of wear surfaces, no metal to rust.
The Cargo Proa prototype project was officially launched by the Prime Ministers of Fiji and Tonga and high-ranking officials from other Pacific Island Forum (PIF) countries and international representatives on 19 July 2022.
Denney says one of the advantages of the Cargo Proa range as cargo ships is “the righting moment (stability) does not change when it is loaded as all the load is on the leeward hull. Therefore, the beams and rig can be sized for the empty righting moment, which is the same when the boat is fully loaded. The threetonne, 24m cargo proa is capable of carrying 10 tonnes of cargo – a similar catamaran would weigh at least 10 tonnes empty, much of the weight being required to resist the forces when fully loaded. The design spiral would result in ever increasing weights of rig, beams, appendages, and engines, whereas on the Harryproas (Denney’s recreational sailboat range) and Cargo Proas, the spiral goes the other way – everything gets lighter.”
Other benefits of the style of craft are zero emissions, shallow draft, small payload, low maintenance, low capital costs, and rightful recognition for the Pacific people and their vessel designs which led them to be the best sailors in the world.
As part of the UNDP grant, Denney is running a ‘sustainable, island-suitable boat building course’ at CATD, which will be building PET foam versions of smaller Cargo Proas, with two sidemounted kick-up rudders, no leeboard and a track for the mast.
Tautoku! It’s Fijian for terrific! And possibly, also for Cargo Proa.
