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Bad Kitty

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Posts posted by Bad Kitty

  1. 1 hour ago, harrytom said:

    One point no one has mentioned.kill a dolpiand damage the yacht.Then what would the discussion be??

    Well we killed 10 of them in commercial nets in the last 6 months, any discussion around who's eating Hoki?

    I have dived my whole life, and am passionate about conservation & the world's oceans. But eventually we should acknowledge the impact we are having on the planet. We need to strike a balance. And imho the race there proceeding is in that balance. There seems to be an assumption that the race meant a dead dolphin, which is far from the reality.

    It's a marine mammal reserve, complete with a commercial port, power boats, marina and a boat ramp. Oh yeah, and a sewage overflow?

    So apparently, we care about them, just not that much.  

    • Upvote 4
  2. 48 minutes ago, harrytom said:

    I do concede on the GP cats,fleet racing anyones game,but actual AC cats win start win race,boring as  truck.

    That's one of the things that blew me away last year, first time we saw it live. Close, action packed, 10 boats with a stack of the best sailors in the world all in a closer quarters knife fight.

    We were in San Fran for the LV, and while it was fun, it was like most yachting, be great to participate in, just ok to watch.

    Sail GP on the other hand, watching 10 boats all charging for the first mark, holey moley! And the detail you can't see live, just look at the big screen, with replays of all the close stuff & incidents.

    Well worth a weekend.

     

    • Like 3
    • Upvote 3
  3. 5 hours ago, harrytom said:

    Now if they want more spectators why show it on tv same day/time as racing is on?Why would you want to pay to watch something that is being shown for free.

    It's an awesome event, best yacht racing on the planet IMHO.

    TV, not even close to the real thing sorry.

    If fact, you can watch most things that happen now on dik tok, twitbook, youtube or somewhere, I still think getting out and experiencing the real thing is worthwhile?

    ChCh & the organisers put on a great weekend, even with Saturday being an imaginary dolphin watch trip!

     

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 2
  4. 10 minutes ago, harrytom said:

    Probably no damage compared to the weed.The weed smothering all shellfish beds,fish unable to get too food source etc

    But lets do what we are good at,complaining nothing be done and when we try we complain some more

    Maybe I'm taking that too personally, but I don't actually see myself as complaining about everything, just pointing out that scrubbing the seabed will have it's own consequences? There's a difference between whining about everything and applying some thought & analysis to what the media serve up every day. 

    Sorry if that's offensive to you.

    • Upvote 2
  5. 1 hour ago, aardvarkash10 said:

    I accept that might be the case, but you stand a much better chance of getting it to a controllable level if you are prepared to put in the investment.  In the program the comparison was made to the microbovis outbreak response - it was a sobering thought.

    M Bovis was identified in 2017 and by 2021 we had spent $350m controlling it (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/455548/review-finds-mycoplasma-350m-bovis-eradication-efforts-on-track)

    By 2023 we had spent $650m of a predicted $800m to eradicate it. (https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/milestone-for-m-bovis-programme/)

    At the time, and now, this is a world first.  Nowhere else has managed an attempt to eradicate and had such success.

    I'm not blind to the reality of trying to eradicate a sea-water-borne plant.  Its a lot easier to control stuff on land than at sea.  However, I suspect that a $800m budget over 5 to 10 years committed NOW would allow us to reduce spread to a point where "mopping up" regularly would control the invasion - not eliminate, but control.  

    If, and it's a big if, there was a biological solution then just maybe, you can control it.

    The big vacuum cleaner thing, while it may be a stop gap to slow things down, is going to have it's own issues.

    First, the Caulerpa fragments that are ending up in the water column will be pretty interesting.

    Second, what environmental damage is scrubbing the seabed doing?

    I'm not saying don't try this, but having watched first-hand the spend on trying to eradicate Undaria, and the lack of success, I'm more than a little skeptical about how all this will play out.

    Asian seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida): Weeds (doc.govt.nz) 

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 3
  6. 15 hours ago, harrytom said:

    Govt dont seem over concerned as $$ need to spent. Minister of AG didnt have a answer or overly concerned.Could be billions lost,fish/seafood/tourism and even having ships banned at overseas ports.

    So what they allocated $5 mil,spend $100 mil and get it gone.

    Unfortunately you could throw a billion at it & it won't "be gone"

  7. 24 minutes ago, CarpeDiem said:

    That's exactly what you do. 

    The HH44 has a 10kW engine which is just a stock standard 3 cylinder kuboto red mechanical diesel that we all know.  It has a 10 kW generator attached to the output shaft and also has the typical shaft drive propellor that most boats have. 

    So the 10kW engine can be delivering 6kW to the drive shaft propelling the boat while driving the generator at 4kW charging your battery bank. 

    When you stop the engine the battery powers the generator spinning the drive shaft.

    When you put the sails up the propellor spins the generator charging the batteries. 

    This is even more efficient than hybrid cars which convert mechanical to electrical and back to mechanical.   And hybrid cars have been charging batteries while you drive since forever. 

    OK, so that is a true hybrid system. To motor continuously you are running a main engine, whole also charging batteries. So isn't that just a more expensive, heavier ICE drivetrain, with a whole lot more embedded carbon in it's manufacture, & battery disposal implications at some time, for the ability to motor quietly for a short distance?

    I'm still not seeing the real world planet saving impact?

      

  8. 6 hours ago, CarpeDiem said:

    But you have a generator for when you need it.  A purpose spec'd marine generator with a matched alternator is many times more efficient than a diesel sail drive engine.  Our engines waste so much energy. 

    I agree you can't get away from having a generator when you also have tight schedules and can't afford to Bob around for 48hrs waiting for favorable winds. 

    You can't run the generator to charge the batteries & motor continuously. If you're happy drifting around waiting for batteries to charge while a tropical depression is headed your way then all good, me, I'm not.

      

  9. 21 hours ago, CarpeDiem said:

    I love the OceanVolt range.  I really regret repowering to another diesel.  A definite case of not knowing what I know now. 3 years ago I just thought I knew that diesel was the only option and there was no way electric could ever be an option... boy have I learned a lot. 

    Where is Romanza now? Was on the poles at Westhaven but I have not seen her for a long time... 

    A beautiful boat. 

    I tried really hard to make it work for me, but ended up going 2 x 40hp diesel again, and don't regret it for a minute. The all-electric solution is, imho, not mature enough or well proven enough. There are numerous boats that have gone that way, and then ripped it all out & refitted ICE drivetrains. 

    Ultimately, every now & then you may need to motor for 48 hours, and nothing all electric will do it. Not in small craft size.

    • Upvote 1
  10. Bad Kitty has had a 2 element induction hob from day 1. Had AGM batteries, then Li ion, and did change the induction top to an off grid model that runs a max 2KW draw. If you crank one element up to high it drops the other one back to stay under the 2K. But even the original was fine. They are so grunty it's hard to imagine having 2 elements running on high.

    They suck some power to get up to temp, but then consumption drops back quickly.

    I was keen not to have gas inside the boat, then during construction was thinking I was being paranoid, and then a sailing cat at Opua has a gas explosion than peeled half a deck off & blew a guy into the water, and I let paranoia run free.

    12v system & inverter, you don't need 48v as earlier suggested.

    No regrets, I'd do it exactly the same again, but if you had a boat set up with low draw, low charging, and small battery capacity it may take some work/spend to get there? 

    • Upvote 1
  11. On 17/12/2023 at 9:59 AM, Black Panther said:

    We're in Matamata getting ready for our visit to Hobbiton. I have camo gear and a crossbow, am I missing anything?

    Cheese, use as a lure. Some consider it unsporting, but as I hunt for food not trophies, I don't feel those considerations apply.

    • Haha 1
  12. What a waste of time. MPI spends millions on trying to wipe out Undaria every year, from the Chathams to Fiordland, flying divers around with scissors to manually cut it off rocks FFS.

    It's had 30 years off massive effort, at uncountable cost in the Chathams, and it's still there. 

    Divers living aboard in Fiordland, flying in & out since I think since around 2010? Someone jump in if you have better knowledge of this effort?

    And here we are, Undaria still here, and still spreading.

    But we think this time around, with Caulerpa it's going to be different? Hmmm, not convinced.

     

    • Upvote 3
  13. 4 hours ago, waikiore said:

    Yes I like the Bay shallower and warmer water with many options

    I imagine the Bay will be crazy busy, more so than usual with the question mark over Barrier. We usually head further North, and swing into the Bay when we head South, later in Jan once a big chunk of the crowd leaves.

    • Like 1
  14. 32 minutes ago, slanty said:

    Hi folks - I'm a GBI virgin and was hoping to take my lotus 9.2 out there this xmas. Does only having fitzroy available for anchoring limit the experience in your opinion? Will there be enough space there to swing safely? Interested in your thoughts.

    I suspect Fitzroy will be pretty manic, unless a lot of people stay away. The big issue will be when a NE system comes thru, and limited safe anchoring in a storm becomes very desirable real estate. There's other places to go & anchor, but that red area on the CAN wipes a lot of them out.

    Cavalli's is looking pretty good again!

  15. 1 hour ago, Psyche said:

    To me SailGP was a no brainer, it has everything you could ask for in terms of a sporting spectacle for "the city of sails". There are plenty of places to view the course from, it wouldn't take much in the way of creativity to make it happen. 

    And there's the issue, "creativity" Or effort, or just giving a sh*t.

     

  16. 1 hour ago, ex Elly said:

    Sailing: SailGP pulls out of Auckland event

    "However, the unavailability of Wynyard Point land as a spectator facility proved to be a barrier to holding the event in Auckland," Hill said.

    Moving to Christchuch instead.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2023/11/sailgp-pulls-out-of-auckland-event.html

     

    Hard to verbalise how disappointing that is. NZ's biggest City by far, dozens of Council & Event staff, the City of Sails, and we can't sort out a spectator area for this.

    Oh well, back to ChCh it is.

    • Like 1
  17. On 20/10/2023 at 9:18 AM, Bad Kitty said:

    If the record is your only focus for the Coastal, & you're worried about missing out this year, I suggest some study on how to understand a forecast! 

     

    Well that post didn't age well! Clockwork, new record for a 40' leaner I think? Maybe I'll do some more weather map study! In my defense, us multi sailors rarely set records with the wind ahead of the beam. ;-) 

    Condolences to the family & crew of the casualty, tough times. The thoughts of the sailing community are with you. 💔

    • Upvote 2
  18. On 13/10/2023 at 8:38 AM, Steve said:

    I think we need to do a bit more maths.  Lets say that a tenth of Auckland's sewage is being spilt.  I know its way less.

    So lets allow 4 flushes a day per person @ about 10 litres per flush.  Remember its only a couple of hundred mils per pee mixed with that 10 litres, but lets disregard that and call all 40 litres raw sewage. Roughly 1.6 million people live here so 160k x 40 = 6.4 million litres per day.  That's 74 litres per second not 250. 

    If we factor in the immediate dilution of that sewage with 40 litres of water you might be looking tops 20% of that.

    Say 15 litres per second of actual poos and wees.  I get 27000 tons not 450000 tons over 3 weeks.

    So its probably somewhere in the middle.  Not trying to say anything at all. 

    Just playing with sh*t.

    Either number is unacceptable, it's 2023, not 1823.

    NZ's infrastructure building & maintenance is pretty 3rd world. 

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