motorb

yeah while I'm sure some might see this as a way out of their predicament, I'd fully expect insurance companies to be extremely prejudiced in their assesssment of such losses.

That massive drege tool certainly seems to be our best bet to actually work at at scale needed, but the photo of sizable weed mass washing up on the beach at blind bay isn't encouraging

where did the missing vane go? Hope it isn't lodged somewhere unfortunate.....

Fanworm is a complety different pest, and since the freshwater cleared most of it out in Jan 2023, in 2024 I've noticed it making a comeback on U pier. It's a shame to see it growing again without intervention since nature gave the marina a big hand in managing it there.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/508904/70-boats-illegally-anchored-in-bay-of-islands-caulerpa-ban-area-over-summer In the news again....

Yeah, I think he's on point with that last comment there. Rest of the article is completely unrelated to the actual issue of abandoned boats - that rusting eyesore has long been sold to another owner, as the article (eventually) gets around to mentioning. Usual trash for the herald these days - more of a gossip tabloid than any actual news, all just a thinly veiled advertising channel for real estate.

Yeah I figured the weather may have put a few off.... Although I did derive quite a bit of entertainment watching some madman putting up their Gennaker/Code0 in those gusts. It went exactly as one would imagine, with the boat ahead of him pulling away with far less sail and far less drama 😂 He even got into a broach situation right where you'd expect while getting past the ports. Great to watch, but not sure what the skipper thought was going to happen exactly....

Because they were anchored within the CAN area.... the thing they aren't allowed to do in the area they're doing it....

Direct message sent. Much appreciated!

I suppose nobody would have a bosuns chair handy at Home Bay, Rotoroa? We had a shroud cover kindly land on deck today and it's a few more days till we get back to westhaven...

So they got rid of the harstand next to their luxury retirement village project and are turning it into eateries and other amenity for their existing development plans while adding another drydock and few berths to add value and probably meet land use zoning requirements. We're still left desperately short on haulout facilities. It's also a weird name....

Please don't give the h&s people any more ideas! What may seem obvious to you doing a job, isn't necessarily obvious to others making rules about the job....

Same here, but I also find bicycles to be far more dangerous than motorbikes when riding in traffic. Ebikes are an improvement in power and stability but the brakes are still sorely lacking... and while pedaling might be hot work, my Ducati has a habit of burning my leg while stopped in traffic.... The fact is cyclists and motorcyclists are exposed to the exact same hazard around town yet only one is expected to be dressed for the event and yet they are the best capable to get out of a tight spot quickly and aside from licensing they often have specific training alongside that too.. One g

Just flew over yesterday and it's not just tinnies and fizz boats...

In the world of offroad dirtbikes there's an interesting thing regarding neck braces. On the "for" side, we have concerned mothers insisting upon them as a condition for their kids to be riding with Dad, and newer riders who get sucked into the marketing. On the "against" is everyone who points out there's no standard or evidence they work on a dirtbike All I know is that when I wear full body armour I take bigger risks than when I ride without, clipping trees, harder into turns etc etc. On balance, I think the old man had the right idea in making sure we "learned how to crash"

I saw this in play while running a large motorcycle club with a disproportionately high number of learners an commuters. ACC and other safety heads were pushing hi-vis jackets on us, yet the rate of incident ong our members wearing the jackets was far higher higher those without! Long story short, the number 1 rule for successful motorcycle commuting is to ALWAYS assume you're invisible. The moment you break that rule, you start to put yourself into harms way. What we saw with the hi vis vest was the divide in psychology of our riders, where the ones who refused the jackets were foll

I think you'll find a lot of that resistance is against the possibility of some bureaucrat - who's never sailed before - making helmets a legal requirement regardless of the situation aboard a boat. Similar to the life jacket rules brought in a few years back after a particularly stupid kayaking fatality, suddenly cruisers are being regulated due to some "lowest common denominator" behavior. Yet, 5 or so years on, any casual observer can see a total lack of compliance of the lifejacket rule in anchorages, marinas and mooring areas, so what is what is the point of the rule? Just so some pe

One can hope.... I too was hoping to have a crack at sailing there for the first time this summer

I still don't trust it....

OK so things got a bit hard to follow towards the end there but it looks like there's potentially the option to investigate a reduced and/or seasonal hardstand at Okahu Bay. Sensible outcome but I wouldn't say it's over yet.

yep - then they'll say how it's just rich old retirees who this affects. meanwhile, us younguns dont have the luxury of leaving work early to slog across town in traffic just to be ignored by self-serving councillors (That said, I'll be trying to make it)

Looks like another pearler this weekend! Maybe we'll even get enough wind to actually sail this Sunday.

I'm still waiting for a response from them.... seems they gave up and ran away once they had to face any scrutiny of their statements....

The GPS seems to have quit too! Not an issue but we've had to be a bit more conservative in our anchoring without any depth sounder .... well aside from the lead one... Still great to be out. Making big plans for sailing tomorrow. Might consider the walk up the hill tonight too depending on how we feel after dinner. (Great idea btw thanks for that; might be the plan for new years!)

Great news! The outboard is a runner again! Mustve been some debris is the float stem seat or a sticky float. Inside the bowl is pristine so must have been from fitting the new fuel pump back in May.