New Zealand Immigration Officer Making Wild Claims

[David_Old_Jersey]

What Real KruiZers tend to forget is that when it comes to how da gubberment impacts on them it is the view from the armchairs that counts far more than anything they say or think....especially if they be a furriner .

Cue squealing about how the world should be rather than it is .

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Albro359

Just seems a little more serious and REAL cf with some idiot with POT plants and bamboo sticks...

Actually, in defense of the OP (and I don't usually do this). He did say they were potted plants, not pot plants. I carry aluminum poles on the deck, not bamboo, I use them for the sun awning.

[salticrak]

I have made a boarding ladder for my cat out of bamboo, when will I be vilified ?

[JPA Cate]

As long as you keep the bamboo ends bug free, I believe Quarantine will allow you to keep it.

A.

[salticrak]

No worries there, as it is all epoxied and varnished.The bugs...? Well they would be American for sure

[captain58sailin]

We harvested bamboo off of one of the Marquesas islands and used them for ratlines on the standing rigging, and no one ever mentioned it. Neither did we.

[lateral]

Such vehemence for that of little consequence. Especially when most of it is heresay.
No wonder the world is as it is.
Wonder what footprint the loudest leave?

[captain58sailin]

I went back through the OPs posts, and he seems quite rational, and reasonable. There has been a lot of speculation here based on nothing.

[puketawa]

Having seen this boat, up fairly close and personal, I would agree that outwardly it appears to be of considerable concern - I would not do coastal cruising on this thing, let alone go out into the blue water where a well maintained yacht with experienced sailors just got lost. The south Pacific can be tricky IMO, even with the best of gear. I have seen quite a bit of damage on top notch boats.

I have not spoken to the local customs/immigration/biosec chap, but have heard from a marine engineer who owns one of the BOI marine engineering firms, whom has been contacted regarding this boat. His view ( I can only assume from how he was talking that he has been on it ) was that its not safe for anything other than near shore day sailing, at best. He commented that he would not sail on it at all. Reasons were many, but almost all relating back to maintenance issues. He ventured that anything resembling the conditions at the time I was discussing this with him would most likely result in at best, a lost rig.

Maritime NZ have stopped commercial vessels leaving when they have had concerns about the safety of the vessel, the CAA have most certainly stopped planes from leaving NZ when safety is of concern. No body considers this to be a bad thing other than possibly the companies which lose money due to their vessel not producing profit. Is it ok to let private vessels leave when there is a concern for the safety of the vessel, considering that should something go wrong, it will be risking the lives of the rescuers?

It matters not weather its a single, private individual or a crew of 30 commercial sailors when they require rescuing - simply put, all possible avenues will be taken to rescue someone.

[bluemoose]

Originally Posted by puketawa

It matters not weather its a single, private individual or a crew of 30 commercial sailors when they require rescuing - simply put, all possible avenues will be taken to rescue someone.

Commercial: I agree, keep them in port. It's only money and the government need to protect the sailors who can't really raise their voice to say "no".

Private: If everyone signs a waiver, let them go. It is between them and Poseidon at that point...

[DumnMad]

Not sure I'd use a marine engineer to judge a boat that has no motor.

Welcome Puketawa, I've also seen the boat up close, was parked next to me for 2 days. My view is that OP had a very good handle on electricals and is a good student of the weather. The boat would be very difficult to sink, and provided his supplies were adequate he should be allowed to go when the weather window is favourable. All the talk about a difficult Tasman crossing is irrelevant if you're heading N or NW and picking your weather patterns.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by bluemoose

Commercial: I agree, keep them in port. It's only money and the government need to protect the sailors who can't really raise their voice to say "no".

Private: If everyone signs a waiver, let them go. It is between them and Poseidon at that point...

Boy, that's a tough one. If the opinion is well founded that a person is likely to come to harm by pursuing an action, and another person has the ability to prevent the harm, isn't there a moral obligation to do so? If I see a crazy person throwing lit matches at a gas can, is the right thing to do to say it's between him and Vulcan?

I'm to the right of Attila the Hun on most issues, but this just seems like a person trying to prevent another human being from coming to harm.

[bluemoose]

Originally Posted by Delfin

Boy, that's a tough one. If the opinion is well founded that a person is likely to come to harm by pursuing an action, and another person has the ability to prevent the harm, isn't there a moral obligation to do so? If I see a crazy person throwing lit matches at a gas can, is the right thing to do to say it's between him and Vulcan?

I'm to the right of Attila the Hun on most issues, but this just seems like a person trying to prevent another human being from coming to harm.

I'm assuming a rational human capable of making their own risk calculation based on their knowledge of their boat and skills. If the idiot throwing matches has been told that it will explode and continues, then he's a Darwin Award candidate... let him see if he wins.

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by bluemoose

Private: If everyone signs a waiver, let them go. It is between them and Poseidon at that point...

This is a common misconception and is so often touted as a reason for letting these people go their own way but international maritime convention requires mariners to go to the aid of a vessel in distress if they can do so without endangering themselves. Also, human nature precludes the necessity of making it a requirement as who amongst us wouldn't go to the aid of someone in distress? Admittedly not carrying an epirb would lessen the chances of knowing they were in distress but in a relatively close community such as bluewater cruisers then someone somewhere would know if they were in danger, ie, sailing on a bad forecast in a badly prepared boat(sound familiar?), overdue at a new destination etc. If you knew that someone who had signed a waiver was in peril would you sail away? If the answer is yes then you are a harder bastard than me.

[NoTies]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Not sure I'd use a marine engineer to judge a boat that has no motor.

There is a hell of a lot more to being a marine engineer than working on engines. I'm a semi retired marine engineer and deal in vessel surveys (safety compliance, insurance etc.) hull and structural work, etc. Not very often I have an engine in pieces.