New Zealand Immigration Officer Making Wild Claims

[Boatguy30]

Seems pretty reasonable to me to require any boat under 16' say to require lifejackets be worn and perhaps on vessels capable of more than 40 knots?

[Boatguy30]

In his home waters they're all cousins or closer!

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

+1 (to copy a trend!).

If someone can't cope with NZ (cost of living and / or officialdom) then gonna struggle in most other places - except perhaps home waters, and that likely only due to familiarity rather than reality.

Admittedly been a decade or so since I was last in NZ, but probably the nicest place I have ever visited (sans boat though - only sailing was on Lake Taupo ).........and mostly that to do with locals .

Seems that for a foreign vessel that the only official requirement is not to look like a POS and an accident (SAR) waiting to happen. Boat and Skipper. I struggle to see how the bar could be any lower , albeit in the UK the bar is probably lower, at least for us locals......where's my lilo? - USA here I come .

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Seems pretty reasonable to me to require any boat under 16' say to require lifejackets be worn and perhaps on vessels capable of more than 40 knots?

The problem is that may be reasonable to you - but someone else thinks it reasonable that you should also be wearing a crash helmet, and that every adult onboard should be certified with a Skipper's ticket.

Think of the Children .............and the money to be made selling yachtsman's crash helmets, and the extra certification. plus for the enforcement (always someone making money from that - even if not the taxpayer!). Of course writing the extra rules will pay well, and arguing over them. It's a win win for everyone!

[captain58sailin]

I was once in a town that required all bicycle riders under 18 to wear a crash helmet. What is the fun in that! I didn't usually bash my head when I wrecked my bike, usually it was a more tender region, I suppose, they could require the wearing a cup. Of course who is going to confirm it being worn? When playing hockey we would provide the service free of charge, just a quick flick with the stick.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by pohopetch

West coast and Alaska - haven't been to the other side. Have heard whole cruising permit thing is a nightmare in Florida too. Canada (BC, Yukon, NWT and Nunivut) much more laid back (apart from one top to bottom boat search near Vancouver).

I forgot to mention being stopped for not wearing PFD's in the dinghy when going 200 yards from anchored boat to dock inside a harbour. Threatened with citation at $200 per person then let off as long as I went back to the yacht on my own and got enough life jackets for all of us and brought them back to the dock while the State Trooper watched and then checked them. There is a hot debate in NZ at the moment about proposals to introduce compulsory wearing of PFDs - the US already has that! How do you define a nanny state?

Congratulations on looking so young. There are no US states that require wearing of life jackets by anyone over the age 13 as far as I can tell. There are regulations that require a life jacket for everyone on board but they are not required to be worn. One small twist in this is that inflatable life jackets don't actually count as being on board unless they are being worn.

[monte]

Australia (and probably NZ) requires helmets to be worn by anyone on a bike. Nanny state? good idea if you ask me

[hellosailor]

" compulsory wearing of PFDs - the US already has that!"
Not quite. For children, at some times, but not at all for adults.

[noelex 77]

I carry almost all the safety equipment possible.

However, I hope that jurisdictions remain where this is my, rather than the states, decision.

Those that support otherwise, consider that despite the best equipment, sailing a small boat offshore,with a limited crew, carries inherent risk.

How long will it be before governments decide that this risk is unacceptable?

Be careful what you wish for.

[pohopetch]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

" compulsory wearing of PFDs - the US already has that!"
Not quite. For children, at some times, but not at all for adults.

As on many sailing boats our PFDs are inflatable ones - the previous poster says if you have inflatable PFDs they must be worn, not just carried. Maybe he is wrong, but when a spook in a uniform, wearing a gun, writing a ticket tells you to go get them and put them on it would seem prudent to do it, or should I have started arguing about international law? No I just wanted to enjoy the sailing so go with the flow - maybe the original poster should adopt a bit more of that attitude towards New Zealand.

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I carry almost all the safety equipment possible.

However, I hope that jurisdictions remain where this is my, rather than the states decision.

Those that support otherwise consider that despite the best equipment sailing a small boat offshore,with a limited crew, carries inherent risk.

How long will it be before governments decide that this risk is unacceptable?

Be carful what you wish for.

It is people like the OP who are creating the environment for further restrictions in freedom.
If someone is going to make a stand for freedom then at least achieve some credibility by not sailing something that looks like a POS and leave off the paranoid ranting.
Either that, or realise you can't change the world and make an effort to not damage things for those who follow.
People who are defending this guy are the ones likely to attract further rules. You don't have to be a sheep but you can have a sense of community.

[DumnMad]

Central government bureaucrats love to grow their industry and are the main drivers of new laws. Pubic opinion and elected representatives are needed to slow them down.
No Ties has some very good points but without public opposition the safety police would shut down all our most exciting sports.

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Central government bureaucrats love to grow their industry and are the main drivers of new laws. Pubic opinion and elected representatives are needed to slow them down.
No Ties has some very good points but without public opposition the safety police would shut down all our most exciting sports.

Flying under the radar is also a good way of not attracting the interest of the happiness police but is by no means guaranteed.
Governments tend to make laws around the lowest common denominator so the higher we, as a community, can raise the bar of our standards then hopefully any further laws (face it, we will never have fewer laws) will be less draconian.

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by NoTies

It is people like the OP who are creating the environment for further restrictions in freedom.
If someone is going to make a stand for freedom then at least achieve some credibility by not sailing something that looks like a POS and leave off the paranoid ranting.
Either that, or realise you can't change the world and make an effort to not damage things for those who follow.
People who are defending this guy are the ones likely to attract further rules. You don't have to be a sheep but you can have a sense of community.

Wow, you just don't get it do you?

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

Wow, you just don't get it do you?

I totally get it, based on my own cruising experiences and living in cruising destinations.

[DumnMad]

Recreational boaties in 7m tinnies can get caught in bad weather quite easily and are the real risk takers off the NZ coast.
Beacon saves boaties - National - NZ Herald News

The OP's boat is much safer and if his long range weather forecasting ability is good he should be allowed to go. Thats assuming he didn't fail the insanity test.