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For a few years now, my brother Rob and other members of the Mana Cruising Club have been working to remove predators from Pickersgill Island in the sounds. Here is a video of some of their latest work. Its a 110mb file... 77207262_Pickersgill(1).mp4

This is the story of our purchase and ownership of Stepping Out. It may take some time, will have twists and turns, could move beyond a PG rating from time to time, and will no doubt have real sailors and hardened people of the sea laughing at the incompetence and naivety of beginners. The story is only a year and a bit old at this stage. Who knows how long it will run for. Time will tell. It will be episodic - drop in for a giggle when you need to feel better about something that has gone wrong, because my story will be either dumber or more expensive than yours. At the top lets

Solo Delivery Waikawa - Lyttelton - Ross 30 Ballistic Got up 3.00am Friday morning and drove to Picton from Christchurch , arriving at 8.30am, quick stop at Picton supermarket for delivery trip food. Caught Cougar water taxi service from Picton to Resolution Bay, Queen Charlotte where boat was moored. Grabbed some tote tanks etc and dinghy. Inflated dinghy and loaded dinghy to get out to mooring. 15 metres offshore and flipped said dinghy....gurgle ... and who was the idiot who didn't close their 110 litre gear bag properly.... now a 2hp motor drowned... wet gear, wet sleeping bag and a

I am just finishing a 5 day trip from Russell back to whangaparaoa ( about 5 mies north of tiri as i type) just had my 3rd visit from dolphins. Each time I became aware of their presence when one popped up alongside the cockpit. Dropping all my sails takes 10 to 15 minutes singlehanded. The first 2 occasions they only stayed,a few minutes. . Yesterday i was gybing downwind in 20 to 25 kn.and disinclined to stop. Today I'm only doing about 4. But they stayed Maybe 2 mins then left. About 5 mins later they returned. Then went to eat as I saw then hitting a school of kahawai about

Provincial Cowboy is a well known Ross 40 design yacht based in Auckland, New Zealand. The 'Mk 1' Ross 40 is a design that's part of the folklore of the NZ sailing scene of the 80's and 90's. We have lost count of the number of people who stopped by to reminisce about racing they did on PC or her sisterships. The hull and decks were built by Nautec Yachts for first owner Geoff Bagge and the two other initial owners. Her decks were the first from the mould (taken from Not Guilty) and Geoff had to wait some time after receiving the hull. Geoff fitted a typical kiwi cruiser/racer lay

Navigation Marks, GPS and the Wisdom of Wives The Wairoa River is a narrow muddy creek filled with cow piss and estuary water. It meanders its way from the bottom of the Hunua Hills, past Clevedon and onward to the sea picking up mud, cowshit, and a not entirely savoury smell as it goes. The river squeezes out, like molten toothpaste in the words of Neil Finn, pushing through a typical inner harbour mud and sand bar before finally relaxing and fanning out into the Waitemata. It would be SO's home at Brooklands Boating Club about 1.5km from the river mouth. Hell of a change for a y

It's a great boat and in pretty good condition. Was no expense spared when it was launched and it was campaigned very well. I know there is nothing major wrong with it but its basically padlocked to the hard stand until the bills are cleared. I dont think its very fair to be asking for the owner's situation and reason for sale right now on trade me. Maybe it's a touchy subject. Let's be honest if you were a serious buyer for this boat you would probably not be asking your questions on trade me..... Bryce had told people to contact him for more information and that's what they shou

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Level 4 projects. Carbon prop struts for Bad Kitty.

120 years old today

Not looking likely to get race 3 but we are definitely looking at running a third race if at all possible, would be a standalone if we can’t run on the same weekend as originally planned I personally believe we will see many more cases before this outbreak started to improve

Started off as a sistership to sportboat Animal Biscuits and was unsold until a chap from Queenstown had a modified Elliott7 trashed in the trailer compound. He asked Craig Partridge and Rob Shaw if they could modify the design to be trailer yacht legal using the rig from the E7 which he sold with it's old rig. This was done and in 2011 he took her straight from the yard in Kerikeri to Queenstown. Unfortunately the locals didn't like the concept and wouldn't let him play so in 2013 he parked it in his shed until early last year when he decided to sell it I found out about it in the f

Here we go

oh fcuk off AA. The world is beating a path because we took appropriate strict action on COVID. The fines for jetskiiers are the same as those for any watercraft exceeding the speed limit. They are set and policed by the reghional authority not government despite your fetid and fevered imaginings. They are generally poorly policed because as ratepayers we do not prioritise it. We pay for people to get licences for the same reason we pay for people to get medical training - it helps them get a job. As a side-issue, it reduces low level illegal behaviour and so reduces exposure

We are heading to Matai bay now and maybe will venture all the way to cape reinga tomorrow weather permitting. Had an awesome holiday so far. Snorkeled the poor knights, had a week in the bay of islands, cavalli islands yesterday and will keep going north until there is a reason to come back south.

Covid Project.

Yes of course - it’s French - everything is done the opposite way around. When it rains it rinses the dust off the companionway steps.

Just spotted the header at the top of the page about IT handing over the baton. Just wanted to say thanks for all the great work over the years. I’m sure the rest of the Crew.Orgers will agree. cheers

Sailed out to the chicks, GB looked pretty tempting, perfect day for it. Anchored up working out what to do with this

The trailer works!! September 11, 2021. Bundle the whole family into the car, hook the boat on the back, and head south. An hour and a tiny bit later, we arrived at our destination, Lake Ngaroto in Te Awamutu. Boat and trailer towed absolutely perfectly, not a wobble, no clunks or bangs, infact at one point I forgot it was there, and cut a corner very, very fine. Unfortunately, the racing wasn't quite as good, because bundling a bunch of kids into a car just after sunrise isn't quick. We Arrived in time to see the end of the first race, and after rigging, finally got on the

If in doubt leave the trailer lashed on.

new carbon/foam steering plank and new carbon removable prod . my mate Scott worked his butt off designing and building the rudder . The internal structure is very much like an aircraft wing with spars and ribs . It was CNC cut from a thin carbon/foam/carbon plate . When it was assembled and glued Scott put each end on blocks and stood in the middle and it only deflected a wee bit so it’s damn strong . The core is expanding foam and the skin is carbon . It’s not super light but it has positive buoyancy and it’s feckin stiff . the prod is a repurposed carbon spin pole we found ch

Oh good. If we are still in lockdown, there will be some good (slow moving) drama to follow in the news, other than covid. I do love the Americas cup for providing good, ongoing entertainment. Fulling the gossip columns and generally keeping the media busy. People may lament this is not yachting, but is is 100% first class Americas Cup

Finally made it back to the Fête des Canots in Rolle after a 6 year absence. Family Watson about to dock at Île de Harpes. Managed to pass all these guys - turns out the primary key to speed is light weight and massive sail area. This guy's first time on the tiller, took it very seriously and did pretty well. This guy spent his time practicing his knots.

But these are only some of the minor and most recent failings of our great leader. When he first got the job he apparently hadn't heard of NZ's great success in Olympic Boardsailing. And when it was briefly dropped from the Olympic program he blindly complied. It was quickly reinstated, but that didn't stop our great leader from failing to send the two boardsailers who had qualified to the Rio games. He likewise failed to send the Laser Radial sailors who had won NZ a slots at both Rio and Tokyo. Does he not know that young athletes need role models and expectations of a pathway to the O

In years gone by politicians, both local government and parliament, were usually well respected successful people from the business community. Nowadays we have professional politicians that have never run a business, nor often even worked for one, so out of touch with the realities for making it. They therefore see the world in a "how am I going to win the next election" perspective. To make up for the complete lack of useful skills they employ bureaucrats in their droves, again not so much in the past as they weren't needed. but spreading geometrically now, these people soon realise they

I like this idea. I would be tempted to tell them I have appointed a lawyer to handle this. Including compensation for a failure of service ie in return for paying berthing fees you reasonably expect your boat to be provided with a safe & secure berth environment. But they have failed because instead, the poor quality marine environment they are providing has exposed you to a double-peril: 1. Your boat has caught fanworm from their marina not the other way around. This is evidenced by the fact you regularly clean your hull but after a few weeks back on the visibly infected berth it’s

Kick an Elliott 1050? Top photo arriving back in NZ in 2018 after leaving for Aus in 2002. She left NZ as a very well maintained boat and returned in a very poor state. The list of what I haven't done would be alot shorter than what has been done to get her back upto the condition she originally was before leaving NZ. Bottom photo is of her being re launched earlier this week after her most recent top side repaint to match her deck repaint carried out 18 months ago. Background: Launched 1994 by Ian Harvey owner of Eagle Yachts who built majority of the 1050's. Ian

Received negative PCR test. Drove 1240km in 12h15 Washed squab covers, pillows and duvets Water blasted 10 months of algae off deck Broomed rudders back to orange Experienced 3 gales in 4 days Didn't lift boat for wash as marina crew quite leery about lifting in that kinda weather Got in 3.5h of sailing Installed inverter Installed 12v DC/DC converter to charge 80Ah LiFePO4 for dinghy Installed gas detector (finally) Toured Pogo factory (again) Spent €300 on wine Drove 1240km Didn't scratch boat.

Second most famous

Some of my favorites from the last few years. Rogue Anchored in Menora near the start of our voyage from France to NZ and Motorboat II in the 2019 coastal classic. Poles apart in what they represent but both highlights in my life.

Get rid of the plough and get an excel from KM. Don't worry, you actually get it from Chains Ropes and Anchors, and as far as I know KM never actually does any work, so you wont run into him, you'll probably deal with Alan, who is knowledgeable (just don't mention YNZ). Anyway, get the excel, anchor as normal. You wont drag. I got one, now I have to tell everyone to sit down when backing down. A plough will drag all over the bay. It is near impossible to tell if they have set. An excel sets in 1.5 times its length. I have photos of when I trialed it at Arkles at low tide. I'll see if

Just throwing this out there really, if it is of interest then message me and I will be in touch. We have a Young 11 that i am not using using dues to kid commitments and that is likely to continue for the next 4-5yeats so offering up the use of it if you want to pay the marina costs plus some of the maintenance, think a fixed amount of 1k a month with no money upfront. (just need to work out the insurance requirements) This would cover everything such as marina, insurance, antifouling, servicing etc which i will take care of, and allow you usage of the boat when ever you like,

Have I posted this before? Seems to be an age old problem... 1972.

Yes the harbour master has some real tossers driving around the Gulf for sure. I had an altercation with one of their guys a few years ago who pulled his book out to ticket me. I gave him a final warning that he was messing with the wrong person and to go away. He pressed on so whilst he was alongside me writing a ticket I pulled up his boss on speed-dial and explained the situation and how the HM vessel had failed to give way to the other stand-on vessel (me) on his starboard bow - and how I had video evidence. I showed the tosser who I was talking to and he went pale, put away his book of ti

Odd, cos us radical leftie woke socialist sychophants think Granny Herald is a capitalist clickbait property developer advertising flyer with the additional downside of having self-promoting opinion pieces by centre-right hacks and lurid talkback hosts flanking every advert for a DGZ Des Res house. Potentially, we are both correct - the paper and its website are a mess of bullshit that would be an embarrassment if it was produced by a first-year journalism student let alone from what was once one of the leading publicaitons in the country.

The Elephant in the room is what do Dolphins feed on??? I think therein lies the answer, We have allowed over fishing in almost every piece of water that NZ has some control over. The almighty dollar has far more say than a Dolphin squeak. Where did the Kahawai go, Aus, to feed their salmon, Why is the Hauraki gulf a kina barren, gurnard, snapper etc gone. etc. etc. We along with just about every other nation like to eat them, could there be a link? They have to feed so they go elsewhere or die of starvation.

Good job. The joke of a newspaper has been doing so much unnecessary sh*t stirring over the last year about ETNZ. There is a difference between raising valid concerns over taxpayer money and click baiting with sensational headlines.

Until I cleaned my glasses I thought you were only allowing fully waxed on board Yikes

My brother was inspired by David Lewis to do a trip to Antarctica on his boat Snow Petrel with my Dad and younger brother as crew. My younger brother did a documentary on it and my Dad wrote a book. It's a pretty cool story of a real adventure on a super low budget but my eldest brother is a master mariner and really left no stone unturned in his preparation. For anyone interested the documentary Snow Petrel downunder is now on YouTube in 3 parts and the book is available online(or I have a copy of the book and DVD if anyone wants to borrow them). Its best to watch the movie

As someone who bought a cheap boat, I can confirm that it was in fact expensive.

On Tickled Pink we had a 16 year old who was a bit daunted by the puff that came through just before our start. So we took a very conservative route off the start away from other boats and with a goose winged #3. We managed to still be in the middle of the 1020s and ahead of the Y88s as we went around Rakino. Stayed deep to avoid the wind shadow - poor Flashwave, and when we saw everyone was being brave put up the small chute. Then had a great ride. The speedo said we only did 13 but the damping can't have got a couple of the waves. Got up to the leading 1020s and hung onto Meister. Watch

I've watched the (long) videos on the protestors facebook page. They started it, physically attacked a worker from behind who was taking photos, the protestors dragged at least one worker into the water. They were initiating the violence big time. Fully agree with the above comments. These so called protestors have no mana. They just want to be famous and be on the TV, and are looking for a fight. There has been legitimate resistance to the marina. All legal avenues have been exhausted, and good people have done their bit. These current protestors are just looking for a fight, and startin

Hospitality NZ says that the cancelation of events that evening was a "kick in the guts to hardworking restaurateurs and bar owners" and will have a huge impact on employment with many skilled barmen and waitresses leaving for better opportunities overseas.

What a useful comment. Who reads the Herald?

We've done a couple of vids of our recent trip from Picton up the west coast.

I know several of the people involved in this Auckland cluster. Covid test results in 30 hours. People have got slack in level 1. Every business is still required to display a code. Even though I work from home, I have one on The front door. That has given me a 3rd level casual contact with this cluster. The mutual customer of mine and the company that the electrician works for is in quarantine. I did not have to unless he tested positive or developed symptoms. He has not, and has tested negative. This has been a bit of wake up call, I was getting a bit slack in code recording. I've be