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AUCKLAND LONG TERM PLAN CONTAINS SUPER YACHT FACILITY
Buried in the Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan is a scheme to get ratepayers to contribute $16.8 million for a super yacht facility. It would go on a currently vacant block of land in Wynyard Quarter, where millions in private money is also earmarked to go.
The lift-out facility would enable the local marine industry to get a bigger slice of the world’s super yacht business.
Waterfront Auckland, a council controlled organisation, wants it built as a strategic investment to boost the city’s marine industry. Without a public contribution, it won’t generate enough profit to be built.
Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer argues there’s no push from the super yacht industry for it, and it’s not a priority.The long term plan was adopted by the council in March, following consultation last year.
‘COMMUNITY AT LARGE’ VESSEL AT WHITANGA
The largest privately owned residential yacht on earth, aptly called The World, will anchor at Whitianga over the weekend, and is expected to stay for two days… and the region’s tourism boss hopes it could turn the town as a destination port.
At 196m, The World is almost as long as two rugby fields. It is the only private residential community-at-sea, whose occupants can travel the globe without leaving home. The 12-deck ship with 165 cabins will anchor off Whitianga.
Destination Coromandel chief executive Graeme Osborne said The World’s residents would be ferried from the ship to the port at Whitianga. He said its arrival was encouraging for the town which is aiming to stake a claim as a destination for cruise ships.
“This is encouraging to continue, and even increase, our activity in the cruise sector… our aspiration is that this will be the first of many,” said Mr Osborne.
About 140 residents lived on board and Mr Osborne said they were generally wealthy who purchased a berth on the ship in the way people would normally buy an apartment.
“Generally speaking it’s a long-term arrangement as opposed to someone just hopping on a ship for a cruise.”
The World’s website states it is home to 130 families from the United States, Europe, South Africa and Australia, all of whom have a personal stake in the ship. The families circumnavigate the globe every two to three years following an itinerary that they select. The community offered the “ultimate combination of luxury travel with world-class dining, custom tours and enriching cultural events”.
The website Greatestrealestateblog.com said a timeshare one-bedroom 30sq m cabin aboard The World carried a price tag of US$256,000 and a 780sq m luxury apartment on level D sold for more than US$12 million.
The ship has a shopping centre, an art gallery, sports facilities, an enormous spa, a 6000sq m casino, hospital, and a private educational centre with professors and lecturers.
BIG NUMBERS
Flag: Bahamas ; Weight: 43,524 gross tons; Length: 196.35m; Beam: 29.8m; Draft: 6.7m; Decks: 12; Top speed: 18.5 knots; Average Stay: Residents spend an average of four months on board every year. Crew: An international complement of long-standing crew, including about 260 experienced staff from 40 countries.
(Photo by Brett Phibbs.)
$173m limo-yacht makes a splash
The latest in luxury super yachts to hit the market is perfect for the undecided - or the person who just wants it all.
The super-sleek Sovereign, designed by Swedish company Gray Design, combines the best of land and sea transport. It comes with a limousine to match - and there are on-board cranes to lift it off and pop it on dry land.
And the vessel is decked out to look like a super-sized version of the limo it carries.
Spread amongst the three decks are 10 guest suites, a golfing green, a nightclub, a private cinema and a helicopter pad.
Armani furniture completes the super-luxurious look and to top it off, the Sovereign is kind to the environment.
A massive wind turbine and solar panels are used to generate enough power to run the yacht.
The Sovereign is still in the engineering stage but will enter production soon, boss Eduard Gray says.
BOATING ETIQUETTE AROUND DOLPHINS
While most people are looking forward to a relaxing summer holiday in the Bay of Islands it is the busy time for our dolphins.
“Lots of people enjoy seeing the dolphins and that’s really cool,” says the Department of Conservation’s Bay of Islands marine mammals ranger, Karen Mitchell, “but they are wild animals and really do need their time out from people, especially during the holidays.”
Karen asked that boaties in the Bay respect a few simple courtesies.
“We really like to give all dolphins and whales a break, so we ask people to leave them alone between 11.30am and 1pm. This means they can do what they need to do without having to worry about any boats around them,” she said. “Boats approaching dolphins should come in slowly - at ‘no wake’ speed - from behind. Please do not drive through a pod or cut them off.
“Remember no more than three boats at once within 300m of dolphins. Please wait for your turn and keep it short and sweet - around 10 minutes - so that everyone has an opportunity to see the dolphins. Please don’t swim with calves (less than a metre in length) or juveniles (less than two metres); they’re just too little to know how to cope with us.”
“We are all looking to eat, sleep and relax over the holidays and it’s important that the dolphins get enough rest from boat interaction as they may get tired which can affect their health and reproduction”, said Ms Mitchell.
RUSSIAN FISHING BOAT SENDS SOS CALL
A Russian fishing boat has sent a distress call from the Ross Sea, north of New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica. The Sparta, a 23-year-old Japanese built longliner, has 32 crew aboard, according to the Rescue Coordination Centre.
The rescue centre said the 55-metre ship is near the ice shelf in Antarctica. It is fishing for toothfish, one of the most lucrative species in the ocean.
The vessel issued a distress call on its satellite phone at 3am today (16/12) which was picked up in Norway, who passed it to New Zealand. Around 4.20am Sparta’s sister ship, Chiyo Maru no. 3 and confirmed Sparta was taking on water.
The rescue centre has spoken with Sparta, coordinator Tracy Brickles said. They told them the crew was pumping water out, but had offloaded non-essential crew onto the ice as a precautionary measure. Sparta was reported as being on a 13 degree list.
Ms Brickles said there were no helicopters which could undertake a rescue in the area and the best current option to assist Sparta was identifying a nearby vessel which could come to its aid.
“We have contacted a number of vessels,” Ms Brickles said. “However, the closest ones are hampered by heavy ice, making vessel movement very difficult. The closest vessel which can cut through the ice is several days away.”
Chiyo Maru no. 3 is about 290 nautical miles away and would take days to reach Sparta.
An American search and rescue team based at the Antarctic research centre at McMurdo Station was preparing a Hercules aircraft to fly over Sparta and assess the ice conditions. The aircraft was being prepared for flight, and would take off later this morning. The weather in the area currently is calm and about 3 degrees centigrade.
Sparta was registered to the Russian port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and is operated by a company known as Sea Raven. It was skippered by Starolat Pavlovich, a Russian, but its crew is likely to be either Cambodian or Vietnamese. The ship was approved to bottom-longline for toothfish by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Sparta is likely to be carrying around 700 tonnes of light fuel oil for a type of fishing called an “Olympic fishery” because those with quota have to fish in the limited season regardless of the weather conditions.
The Ross sea covers 650,000 km2, and is the world’s southern-most fishery.
Toothfish, a late-maturing, slow-growing, long-lived species that can grow up two metres long, fetches about US$70 (NZ$95) a kilogram. The US takes about 80 per cent of New Zealand’s catch, much of it ending up in the gambling city of Las Vegas.
Last year No 1 Insung, a Korean longliner operating out of Bluff, sank in the same area with the loss of 22 crew.
NEW TOUR BOAT FOR SOUTHLAND
At 55 tonnes, 24 metres long and 7.5 metres wide, the new Real Journeys multimillion-dollar catamaran is going to be a headache to move. General manager of Engineering Brian Humprey said the road trip to get the MV Titiroa from the sea trials off the Wanganui coast to Doubtful Sound would have to happen by its start date in January.
”It’s something of a logistical nightmare,” he said of the vessel, which will carry up to 138 passengers on Lake Manapouri.
The lake is also undergoing an upgrade on the wharves on both ends to cater for the vessel.
”It’s a bit like carting a whale out of water the forces are against you. I think its probably the largest thing to move on these roads since the power station days,” he said.
A travel date for the boat, which has double-glazed windows and a streamlined hull for more energy-efficient travel, has yet to be set.
Once the vessel has travelled by sea to Bluff it will be lifted out of the water and have its wheelhouse roof and propellers removed for road transportation. It is due to start operations in January.
REMOTE LOCATIONS ENHANCE TRAINING
By Louise Deehan-Owen
As the winter months have thrown their fair share of challenges at some, a company from the deep south has taken advantage of the season to improve the skills of its vessel’s masters.
Real Journey’s masters were able to gain their radar certificate and update their skills without leaving the region, thanks to new portable simulation technology offered by the New Zealand Maritime School. The portable technology has been designed to meet training needs in remote regions and to suit customed company requirements. This simulation technology comes in a laptop, yet the software has the power to simulate multiple vessels in multiple world locationms, including many New Zealand ports.
It allows the lecturer to create navigatinal challenges and collision avoidnace situations encountered on vessels in real time. The students have full control of the vessel and equipment and learn from their actions.Simulations allows each student to build an experience base they would otherwise not be able to acquire. The technology complies with STCW standards for simulation requirements and has a high specification.
The first course took place in Doubtful Sounds on the Fiordland Navigator. With sleet on the Wilmot Pass, and constant drizzle, there was surely no other classroom like it. Class times were modified to suit the captive audience, the main saloon was turned into a computer suite and the for’ard saloon became a class discussion place.
The second course was held at the Meridian Lodge across Lake Manapouri at West Arm.
The masters on both course completed exercises on different models of radar involving positionining and collsiuon avoidance. Their skills were continually challenged with changing weather and sea states. There was an emphasis on trasferring skills practiced to the candidates’ working situations, and that is definitely easier to connect with in these locations.
The pressure the candidates felt when attending the school was relentless and all made use of the additional time they had to access lecturer and technology.
FREAK WAVE CAUSES PANIC ON BOARD FERRY
Passengers say there was pandemonium when a big wave shattered windows and swamped the East by West Ferry in Wellington Harbour, sparking a rescue operation.
Forty-four people, including two crew, were on the 8.05am Dominion Post ferry from Days Bay to Seatoun this week when it was struck by what is believed to be a rogue wave as it rounded Scorching Bay.
28 Scots College pupils were on board, togethe rwith another student from St Andrew’s College in Christcvhurch, who had been staying with his grandfather in Eastbourne since last week’s earthquake.
Sergeant Scott Miller said it was believed up to 4000 litres of water swamped the ferry when it went nose first into a trough and was swamped by a wave. A second wave followed, blowing out the ferry’s doors. One passenger was washed overboard, but was quickly picked up by the police launch, he said.
That man, and the captain, were taken to hospital, where they were treated for hypothermia. The captain also had stitches for a cut to the head. Both were discharged yesterday afternoon.
Afterwards, the wet but mostly cheerful passengers described the panic on board when the wave hit.
“It was a sinking moment of absolute panic when water came in. It felt like [we were] potentially going to go straight to the bottom … It was horrendous,” David Woodnorth said.
Scots College pupil Carlos Speirs, 13, said it was just pandemonium. He was among pupils on the boat’s top level. “I could see the big wave coming then I heard a shattering and a bang. Me and my classmates ran to the back because the ship was at about a 60 degree angle going headfirst into the water.”
Commuter Robin Newton praised the handling of the situation by emergency staff. “It was very speedy. People were starting to be off-loaded into the zodiacs [boats] within 20 to 25 minutes.”
Among the first on the scene were members of the Worser Bay Surf Life Saving Club, who helped shuttle people to shore, where they were taken to the club before being collected by family.
Many passengers praised the teenagers on board, saying the older pupils took charge and looked after the younger boys.
Scots College headmaster Graeme Yule had already received praise for the pupils, and said he was proud of the way they had behaved. The pupils were taken back to the school and given a hot drink and biscuits while they waited for their parents to arrive.
Maritime New Zealand is investigating.
East by West Ferries managing director Jeremy Ward said the company would also investigate, but ferries had sailed in worse weather, and it appeared to have been a freak wave. Water was pumped off the ferry and it was moored at Scorching Bay until the weather calmed enough for it to return to its berth. The ferry service will operate on a limited timetable until the boat is repaired.
Stormy weather whipped through Wellington this week, with gales topping 50 knots (92kmh) in some places. MetService chief forecaster Peter Kreft said winds were 25 to 30 knots for most of the morning, with regular gusts above 40 knots.
East by West ferries has posted the following report on their company website: “Today the East By West Ferry, 0805 sailing with 42 passengers, mainly going to Scots College encountered a large wave. This wave took out the front windows. The next wave also went through the front windows.
“As water entered the ferry the skipper Lance Hermans and crew Anand Gaskin mustered passengers in the main cabin.Police and rescue services were on the scene very shortly after a mayday call was made. All passengers were successfully rescued to Seatoun.
“The ferry which appears not to have had any structural damage to the hulls. Arrangements are being made for the vessel to be towed back to its main berth.
“We are exceptionally relieved that all passengers are safe and very proud of how our crew and passengers have handled this serious situation,” said Jeremy Ward, Manager of East by West Ferries..
BOAT BUILDER CRUISES INTO BLACK AFTER YEARS IN RED
By Christopher Adams
Listed amphibious boat-maker Sealegs’ announcement of its maiden profit may come as a surprise to its critics after years of consistent losses.
The North Shore manufacturer - which builds boats capable of travelling at up to 75 km/h on water and 10 km/h on land - reported an unaudited operating profit of $642,000 in its 2010 result, a 174 per cent improvement on a $869,000 loss in the previous reporting period.
The boats sell for around $100,000 each.
Sealegs’ share price soared 9c, or 53 per cent, to 26c following news of the profit this week.
Sealegs chief executive David McKee Wright said after bearing years of cynicism about the company’s performance he felt vindicated by its latest result.
“We’ve got no doubts,” he said. “We know we have an amphibious boat engine market that exists … Sealegs can make a boat that works and we’ve got a business that can be profitable.”
Shareholders’ Association chairman Bruce Sheppard, who has referred to Sealegs as “Seadog” in the past, acknowledged the firm’s achievement yesterday, but said it came five years too late.
“On a time value of money basis it’s a booby prize, but it’s better to win a booby prize than no prize,” he said.
Shown at right with Sea Legs founder Max Bryham, left, and director Chris Dixon, Mr McKee Wright said the profit was achieved despite tough market conditions, with prospective customers unable to secure the finance they often used to buy boats.
“The market we were operating in was destroyed … people just stopped buying,” he said.
But Sealegs, which was founded in 2002, still managed to sell 103 boats during the 2010 financial year, down from 105 in 2009. Improved margins obtained through successful cost-cutting meant the firm was able to turn flat year-on-year revenue into profit.
Mr McKee Wright said Sealegs held its own during the recession through expanding internationally and focusing on growing its output of rescue boats.
The Malaysian Government had bought 15 boats that were being used in flood rescues during the monsoon season. Four boats had also been sold to the Mumbai Police Department, which wanted to increase its seaborne response capacity after the 2008 terrorist attack on the city.
He said recreational sales were performing well, but the commercial and government sectors had become the new strategic focus.
“[The Government sector is] not affected by recession and economic slowdowns - governments need to respond to flooding, governments need to respond to terrorism.”
He said the company’s IP - its wheel and onboard engine system - was patented in a number of countries, which meant the firm did not suffer from any direct competition.
Kiwi yachtsman Chris Dickson, a member of Sealegs’ board of directors for the past two years, said it had been great to see a start-up turned into a profitable business. “[Sealegs] is a lean, mean fighting machine,” he said.
Mr McKee Wright said 450 Sealegs boats could now be found in 25 countries worldwide, with 35 on Waiheke Island alone.
FAIRMILE MOTOR LAUNCH TO BE RESTORED
A piece of New Zealand naval history is heading for dry land for a full makeover, to turn it into a luxury cruise launch.
The 34-metre Fairmile motor launch, shown below right moored at Greenhithe in Auckland, was one of 12 built from heart kauri for the navy during World War 2. It was commissioned by the navy in 1943 and served in the Solomon Islands on anti-submarine patrols for American convoys. Known during the war by its number ML411, it was later named Kahu. 
One of its co-owners, who did not want to be named, said it was a cherished part of New Zealand naval history and one of the most widely known and talked about boats in Auckland. He said the launch was likely to go onto a site near Silverdale north of Auckland for the refit and restoration. It was the only Fairmile kept by the navy after the war but decommissioned and sold in 1965 and may now be the only Fairmile still afloat in New Zealand. For the last nine years it had been moored by the Greenhithe Bridge in the upper Waitemata Harbour.
The owner said while it looked visually unappealing and to be in a sad condition, several years ago it had work done at the Devonport Naval base on its kauri hull and interior and was very sound. New Detroit engines and gearboxes would be installed to replace the Hall-Scott Defender petrol engines. The makeover involved renovating below decks to give it about 12 cabins.
The owner said a final decision had yet to be made on whether it would be done to survey standard so it could be used for charter work, or if it would be restored for private use.
The owners paid $150,000 for the launch several years ago and said the refitting could cost another $400,000.
Most of the upper deck cabin work would be removed, but the owner said the intention was not to restore it to its wartime configuration but rather a more useful pleasure boat with a spacious saloon, a large foredeck, a spa pool and multiple viewing areas.
“The wheelhouse will remain as it is and we will redo the area behind that and below decks in a more sympathetic style.”
Restored, it would have a top speed of more than 20 knots. The original Fairmiles were fitted with two 600 horsepower petrol engines. There was room for an additional two engines but they were fitted only to two or three Royal Air Force launches in England. All the launches had heavy steel armour plating around the fuel tanks to protect the 9000 litres of petrol they carried.
During the war about 650 Fairmile launches were built, mostly in England, and had a variety of roles. Some were fitted out as motor torpedo boats, some were used as rescue boats in the English Channel for downed airmen, while others served as submarine chasers and for coastal protection.
Abbey Whaley on board a superyacht, but under wraps!
SHRINK -WRAPPING FOR SUPERYACHTS
Story by Christopher Adams. Photo by Paul Estcourt.
An Auckland company is providing a novel solution to a chronic shortage of sheds used for superyacht refits on the city’s waterfront.
Shrink Wrap Services provides weather-tight shelters made out of virgin resin material. The highly durable material starts out being about as thick as five sheets of paper, but when heat is applied, as it is wrapped around an object, the material shrinks to around 30 per cent of its original surface area.
The shelters can be wrapped around the boats on the water, or constructed, using PVC piping as a frame structure, as a stand-alone tent for haul-out jobs. The shelters are also used in the construction industry - particularly for weather-proofing leaky homes.
Gary and Abbey Whaley set up Shrink Wrap Services, which will be franchised this year, about 18 months ago. Abbey said the lack of shed space had reached such an extent that several superyachts were turned away from Auckland this summer for their lucrative refits. But on a more positive note, she said her company’s solution was enabling the marine refit industry in the Viaduct Harbour to keep ticking along.
“Essentially, we are allowing many other businesses to get a piece of the superyacht pie, and allowing international superyachts to still consider New Zealand as a refit destination,” said Gary Whaley.
Last year, Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s “floating palace” - the 56m Zenji - was hauled out of the water at Titan Marine, in the Viaduct Harbour, and placed under a gigantic weather-tight tent constructed by Shrink Wrap Services.
Abbey Whaley said the work on Zenji, which took about three months, provided the Auckland marine refit industry with around $14 million.
“People are saying to us that what we are doing is awesome, because there can be a massive wait for the sheds,” she said.
Phil Tomlinson, director of superyacht agency 37 South, said the company “gave up” doing outdoor refits until Shrink Wrap Services arrived. “The [shrink-wrap] seems to be pretty robust,” he said.
Mr Tomlinson said New Zealand was “sadly lacking” in refit facilities for superyachts. “It’s holding us back something terrible.” He said having the shrink wrap available meant a lot of work could continue, despite the lack of shed space.
Abbey Whaley said seven yachts were shrink-wrapped and undergoing maintenance in the Viaduct.
“The more we can make it appealing, the better,” she said. “People love the idea of New Zealand - New Zealand has got a fabulous reputation worldwide, it’s just we are severely lacking in facilities.”
She said there was a severe lack of berths available for superyachts, as well as sheds. It would be much better for Queens Wharf to be developed for use by the marine refit industry - rather than a cruise ship terminal.
Last month Mayor John Banks said there was a lack of superyacht facilities in Auckland, and the new Super City should live up to its name by building a superyacht marina by the Bledisloe container terminal. He said it was unacceptable that Auckland should miss out on this business simply because facilities were lacking.
“It’s all about how we can accommodate these floating American Express Gold Cards.”
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