Elenya

Having a great Christmas cruise. Removing 1/2 meter of snow before next 1/2 meter fell. Not many other boats about, guess they are all staying at home for Xmas and be joining in the new year.

Yup a Dickinson heater, 3 inch flue. On the lowest setting the heater keeps the inside at 15 to 20 degrees above outside temperature. Tested down to minus 10 C although coldest this trip is mini 6 so far. Got a good cold snap over Alaska just started. Forecasting down to minus 20 where we are. great simple heaters the Dickinson and fitted to most of the local commercial boats here who report they are fine over winter. We also have a second heating system independent of the Dickinson.

Getting colder and harder to do stuff now. Haven't been stuck yet with bay freezing to about 1/2 inch overnight . Locals keep saying it will get cold soon! Shortest day not far away.

A very sad event. This did make us have a think onboard our yacht. We have one self tailing power winch in the cockpit. The winch has the breaker inside the companionway so you can trip it easily. Self tailing also allows us to keep clear of lines and drum. Anchor windlass breaker is down aft, a long way from the capstan and control... We do have a remote control with no switches on deck, but obviously there is two solenoids below decks. Hopefully others have a think and discussion about this and their own boats.

Well looks like the NZ spring is colder than November at 60 north. We are just getting snow down to sea level now. Has been a few hundred metres up for a while but now down to deck level. Doesn't make getting out of bed easy each morning.

A friend arrived in Auckland on the second to last plane before airport closed due to strong winds. They sat on plane for two hours unable to leave due to the wind strength. i have seen this in Wellington a couple of times in the eight years I lived there but never heard of it in Auckland. Must have been a real good blow...

Just to bring us back on task has anyone got any first hand experience with the new voltage certificate system?

Yup it does suck but is the same in most countries and catches people out sometimes. As Carpe Diem states you need to manage where the sale transaction takes place e.g. you may sail the vessel back to nz on behalf of the previous owners and then, once it is back in NZ, undertake the sale/purchase. Overall the thing to remember is that registration is no guarantee of duty paid status.

Hi Our yachts have all been registered overseas and our current OVNI is registered in Poland. The country of registration makes no difference on duty paid status. If your boat is duty paid then there is no duty to pay when you re-enter NZ regardless of registration. There is no limit on time a duty paid vessel can be in NZ. The registration makes no difference. people often get duty paid confused with vessel registration. Two different items. However if you buy a NZ duty paid boat while it is out in NZ be prepared to pay duty on it when you return. And if you are nd NZ

I was wondering if anyone has any updates on how the new system of Overseas Voyage Certificate has been operating (the system that replaced Cat1)?

We are currently in Geographic Harbour Alaska and have noticed nothing unusual up here. We were in Unalaska Island for the Alaska quake a few months ago and no issues then either. both warnings did make us consider where we were anchored and if we needed to head to sea or move, or get the hell up a hill quickly. I would rather get the warning or advisory early and then make my own decisions. The later the warning the less options I have.

Oh dear, do read posts thoroughly and take time to understand what has been said prior to hitting the keyboard. and evidence should be the basis for all decisions, quite agree. Yes it is politicians who make the decisions and it is those politicians you should pass your thoughts to in a reasoned, clear and no aggressive submission. Good on those people who do take the time to do that. I don't see Grant suggest spending money and effort on something that is low risk. I hope everyone is going to put a submission in to the private members bill currently

It seems to be a common theme of modern times that some people don't think about the effects their own actions may have on others. In this case it is a choice not to wear a life jacket. yeah I know a sunny day rowing ashore etc etc, I could swim it but I can't row a dinghy without a life jacket, and each region is different. I don't think the change in any rule will make some people suddenly wear a life jacket in the dinghy, hell they have been required to carry life jackets in the dinghy for many years (rule 91) but many don't. But of course the current private members bill is

Actually a group of people from industry bodies, sporting associations and local and central government from all over NZ. Their names will be on every meeting minutes which is available under the OIA. Yes one or two may even be from Wellington. sadly I was working when a person slipped from his moored yacht while getting into the dinghy one winter day in Auckland. He could not get back into his dinghy, not even with help from a nearby boater. He did not have strength to hold on to his friends dinghy as he was pulled towards the shore and drowned. I cannot imagine the effect that had on

Hi As a HM for 22 years in NZ I can confirm that councils do more for wreck removal than any $50 fee covers. Most boats at the stage of a wreck don't usually have an owner and as boat registration is not complulsory this is unlikely to change. With current costs on everyone and older boats having little appeal to new buyers this problem will not go away. There is enough issue with cars being dumped and no owner traceable even when there is a comprehensive registration in place. what the answer is I am not sure but the problem exists, $50 won't pay for it, councils do follow up on