Foreign boat not allowed to leave.

[Island Time 1,235]

I tend to agree. We should have provision to have him sign an agreement not to require SAR, and let him go. Especially a foreign vessel that sailed here.

If he then disappears, his problem.

[Guest]

I agree Rossd, he's lucky he's not black or he'd be swinging from a tree.

 

Are they allowing him to keep living on the boat at Ashby's?

[too_tall 15]

. Wifi hacking - what are we talking about? sitting on a park bench at the viaduct and usinfg one of the cafe's to check your email????

It would appear some people don't like his appearance or the appearance of his boat and are making some pretty giant assumptions.

 

Read his blog (link further back). He proudly claims he can hack anyones wifi.

[Guest]

Anyway looks like NZ will be rid of him one way or the other in a couple of weeks.

And about bloody time. He's spoiling it for us and others now.

 

We should have provision to have him sign an agreement not to require SAR,

Never work unfortunately. It would be like all the forms we have to sign saying we take total responsibility for ourselves and boats............. but only after the bureaucracy, assorted vested interests and more often of late, commercial interests have told us what we must carry, use and do. This overstaying bludging thief in Opua for example, send him out there and then ignoring him could easily lead to some US lawyer taking NZ to some international court for knot for-filling it's international obligations to go look for boats in strife.

[John B 106]

Fascinating what has emerged on CF about the visa, makes the officials involved look extremely tolerant to me.

I wonder what a 'modified cat 1' inspection is. Now that its at this stage, to me they should be checking for watertightness, that the keel( moulded on those ?) rig and rudder shouldn't fall off, wait for a window and wave him off goodbye.

[Guest]

From CF - it appears a reasonable solution has been reached

 

I am going to try my best to stop posting political views and instead just report facts as I experience so that others may benefit and understand the situation in new zealand especially bay of islands. The main thing to be noted, is if you break any law, (including overstaying visa for a few months even if you are denied an extension for storm season as I was) then all the other rules become defenestrated and they can do whatever they want with you and/or your boat.

 

The official surveyor (the other guy I spoke of before was unofficial I didn't know at the time) turned out to have circumnavigated on an engine free 30ft wooden boat.

 

He said I have to drop my rudder, and check it for any problems, and fix them, then install an adequate tricolor on top of the mast then I'm free to go. All services tools materials and costs are free. This includes even wiring for the light as well as the light itself. Also included I have been given 4 liters of bottom paint to complete 2 coats.

 

As far as I can see it, 80-90% of the people here would like to see me sail away safely which is about the same as posting on this thread. There are it seems a few officials who would rather see me lose the boat (and pay to fly away at no cost to them), but in the end they are outnumbered.

 

I lose a perfect weather window to go and my freedom to do what I like here, but at least my boat will be better, at no cost, and I can visit nz again whenever I like.

[too_tall 15]

Geez, aint it funny just how much stories change when people realize that others know a few truths about them.

 

From "some official detained me by making wild claims" to "I am an overstayer, and actually, the country is giving me every opportunity to get my boat, which is not exactly in 100% tip top shape, up to spec, then leave, even though I have been stretching the truth about whats happening so far as to effectively have called something that is black white, whilst hacking the residents personal wifi networks, and generating ill feeling toward this country on the internet."

 

All it took was proof of what was really happening.

[MarkMT 68]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10895235

 

An American overstayer has been banned from sailing from the Bay of Islands for the Pacific Islands because his yacht is unsafe.

...

The move has outraged one of his friends, off-shore cruising sailor advocate David Howie, who believes Maritime NZ is making a political example of D'Epagnier.

 

"I think they've pulled this out of the drawer," he said. "I know there are some people at Maritime NZ who want to use this."

[wheels 543]

NZ already has an issue with confiscated Fishing Vessels costing us Taxpayers enormous amounts of money keeping them against Docks around the country. Imagine the cost if Foreign yachts were kept here because they were considered not seaworthy. Overstaying Owner's and Crew would be flown home at taxpayer expense and then we have a boat being kept somewhere at taxpayer expense.

I do have to say though, this D'Epagnier fellow makes me wonder about the condition of his vessel when he doesn't even have nav lights.

Re the Nina article, I doubt hauling her would have shown anything that would have given cause for concern.

BUT!!!! having not been hauled for three yrs, how would she gain entry into Oz with their new rules on fouling???

[Island Time 1,235]

Should they still turn up in Ausy, which is doubtful, they may have to pay for a divers inspection of the hull. Normally though, this is only enforced for vessels from the tropics. depending on results of the inspection, could be forced to haul.

[Guest]

Oh dear - I've been misquoted.

 

I told them we had exchanged a couple of emails, that I thought the solution worked out by the NZ authorites was "very reasonable" , but the cruising community is acutely aware of any changes that may wrap them in further red tape and they still remember the rule 21 debacle.

[Steve Pope 243]

They didn't say he didn't have nav lights but that they wanted him to fit a masthead one, and to remove his rudder and do any repairs as if necessary.

[Guest]

That article is so far from the truth I'm done with newspapers (they have called me before to ask about sailing stuff).

[Steve Pope 243]

That's the press for you!!

[Grinna 2]

Well, the press interviewed Russ Rimmington and described him as a lifelong blue water sailor. That's complete bollocks.

 

He's sailed one boat offshore once and then had a delivery crew brinkg it back across the Tasman for him. He had a weather router directing him for all offshore passages and didn't know how to turn on the radar (had to call the guys who sold it to him via sat phone). He's an ex-mayor and an ex-advertising company director. Is he the closest we've got to an expert on timber ships?

[wheels 543]

As they say, "Never let the Truth get in the way of a great story".

Or when I was knee high to a grasshopper, an old guy said to me, "if ya gonna tell a story, you gotta make it worth telling".

[John B 106]

If Nina had been overturned it would not have floated because it had about 10 tonnes of metal weight on its keel, said Rimmington, a former Hamilton mayor. "Nina was a lead mine - it would have gone straight down."

 

um, I have a monohull and unless there's been some miraculous deviation in naval archictecture , I'm pretty sure it'll have a similar ballast ratio. Somewhere between 40 and 50 %( whats 10 % between friends)

 

do I need some airbags? am I safe? should all sailing boats with single hulls and lead keels be exorcised from the ocean?

Rilly. What a totally tasteless and foolish thing to say.

and last I knew , he still owned Sheila II, Adrian Hayters Albert Strange yawl which he (AH)sailed from England to NZ in after he demobbed at the end of WW2. Time to put a match to that by those standards.

[Guest]

That article quoting rimmington got up my nose as well. They were implying that the Nina people were negligent because they didn't have all the fancy equipment. Somebody should point out to the media and russ'y that having all the equipment they listed would have made no difference to the unfortunate outcome.

[wheels 543]

If Nina had her Deck smashed or Hull smashed in, or maybe completely swamped by a smashed hatch or something like that, then yes she would go straight down. I have no clue if that is what the Mayor was getting at or if it was poor reporting by Media or whatever.

[gurge 0]

What do you mean misquoted. Once it is in the paper it must be True.