GOLD SPONSORS |
SILVER SPONSORS |
BRONZE SPONSORS |
PARTNERS |
On-water fun at the boat show
10 February 2009
 |
 |
|
This year’s Auckland International Boat Show promises to excite
and thrill visitors with a huge variety of attractions never seen before
at the show. Some of the biggest fun at the show will come from some of
the smallest craft – the Sea-Doo range of personal watercraft will
wow visitors. With experts on the handlebars, the Sea-Doos will demonstrate
what they’re capable of with an onwater demonstration. New technology
in personal watercraft means they are quieter and more environmentally
friendly than ever. Keen to have a go? Show visitors can drive a Coastguard Boating Education trailer boat around a tricky course of buoys on the water. It’s harder than it looks but with an inflatable boat, flat water and a Coastguard instructor onboard, not even your pride will be dented. Another impressive display comes in the form of the Voyager, semi-displacement power catamarans from Australia. These have hybrid engines, allowing the boat to motor on electric power for lower speeds. As the skipper applies the throttle, the diesel comes in at about 8 knots boat speed. All motoring under electric power is virtually free, because it comes from batteries which are charging from the Steyr diesel engines; about one hour’s motoring under diesel power gives about three hours running under electric power. The propellers of the Voyager catamarans are fully protected, allowing the boat to be beached safely in estuaries. The strongest environmental message comes from the New Zealand-designed and built Earthrace, the futuristically styled 24m (78ft) wave piercing trimaran which last year set a new, round-the-world speed record of 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, fuelled by biodiesel and 14 days faster than the previous record. Her skipper Pete Bethune and his crew are touring New Zealand in the build up to the boat show. Earthrace’s 1080hp engine was fuelled by 100% renewable biodiesel with a net zero carbon footprint. Earthrace has narrow hulls to go through ocean waves rather than over them – she spent a lot of time up to 7m underwater, for seconds at a time. During the show, visitors will be able to enter Earthrace’s dark interior to see the high-tech electronics, learn about the boat’s zero carbon footprint and sit in the cockpit seats, specially designed to take the bumps at high speed. Even more advanced electronics than those on Earthrace will feature in a new wave of recreational marine radar systems from Simrad, Northstar and Lowrance brands. Doug Anderson, Navico Asia Pacific marketing director, says more than five years of intense research and testing in New Zealand has produced the new technology broadband radar. “We didn’t just enhance available technology; we took a whole new approach,” he says. Navico broadband radar uses solid state technology, similar to that used in military applications. Navico says it is unlike anything on the marine recreational market. The new generation technology will enable boats to clearly differentiate between docks, channel markets, pilings, moored vessels and other targets at down to 1/32 of nautical mile. It also transmits at less than 1/2000 the power of traditional radar, emitting no harmful radiation outside the dome. This means it draws less power and can be mounted in more places around the boat. Lowrance will also launch its HDS (high definition system) multi function displays. These bring together for the first time the award-winning Lowrance broadband sounder technology and the most extensive mapping options on the market, including support for Navionics’ full line of cartography and advanced LED backlighting, soft key and fly wheel operation plus an intuitive user interface. Also in latest news on the electronic front, Spirit Wireless from Tauranga will unveil its smallest, most powerful satellite phone, the Iridium 9555. The new, compact design 9555 features an intuitive user interface, an internally stowed antenna, a speaker phone, and an upgraded mini-USB data port. Iridium is the only provider of truly global satellite voice and data communications solutions with complete coverage of the Earth including oceans, airways and even polar regions. Iridium customers are organisations and individuals operating in some of the most remote and harsh regions of the world, from distant oil rigs to ships at sea and deserts. The Iridium 9555 uses the largest commercial satellite constellation in the world, consisting of 66 low-earth orbiting cross-linked satellites, and operates as a fully meshed network with in-orbit spares. Iridium phones are the only handsets that can be used in absolutely any location, in any condition, instead of cellular, landline or radio services that can become inoperable when towers go down or telecommunications infrastructure is compromised. Another new product at the show has been developed in New Zealand by Marine Diagnostics Ltd. To keep fuel flowing sweetly, Fuel+Aid is a cleaning process which attacks the microbial activity in diesel, thus preventing diesel bug. Fuel+Aid can be installed in any engine system; one Fuel+Aid can be fitted to treat both engines in a dual engine system. The fuel passes through a light source which destroys the microbial growth and removes moisture from the fuel. This leaves exceptionally clean fuel. Cruise New Zealand will exhibit its flagship, the 70ft luxury motoryacht Ultimate Escape, based out of Tauranga. Purpose-built and designed by Roger Hill, Ultimate Escape can accommodate up to 80 guests for day outings, and feed them to gourmet standard, thanks to her extensive galley and bar. She can accommodate six guests overnight in total luxury. The Marine Industry Association, organiser of the Auckland International Boat Show, is dedicating an entire pavilion to boating clubs and associations, to encourage more people to get into boating, whether it be kayaking, sailing, fishing or powerboats. This will be in pavilion six, beside the Cruising and Safety Hall. Auckland International Boat Show, Viaduct Harbour, Thursday 5 to Sunday
8 March 2009.
Media contact: |