'Mayhem': Power boat in near miss at Lyttelton
The incident occurred around 1pm on Saturday while the Naval Point Club Lyttelton was running its first adult learn-to-sail programme.
One of the sailboat's ropes broke, and the boat, carrying an instructor and two participants, had to be towed back by a rescue vessel.
Naval Point volunteer Alex Cuthbert was dispatched to take over control of the tow.
As they were about 200 metres from the club, Cuthbert saw a power boat leave the nearby ramp.
'The power boat straight away increased speed with his bow lifting high and headed straight towards us,' he said.
Cuthbert estimated the boat came within 20m of the sailboat and was travelling in excess of 20 knots – despite the area's 5-knot speed limit.
In Cuthbert's incident report, he said: 'The wake of the passing power boat made it difficult for us to continue on a straight course, and when I looked back to check the Elliott 6m, I could see the skipper of the yacht on tow, having to make multiple corrections to his helm to steady, and keep the Elliott 6m in line with the rescue boat.
'At the same time, the powerboat hit the wake of both of our vessels, jumping into the air, causing it to cork screw ... a few times before settling again.'
The incident was reported to Coastguard Canterbury, Maritime NZ and the harbourmaster, who is investigating the incident.
Naval Point Club president Sabrina Saunders said the sailboat could easily have flipped in the wake, potentially causing the crew to strike their heads on nearby rocks.
She cited an incident two years ago, when a sea kayaker was run over by a power boat and only survived because his life jacket covered his kidney.
Saturday's event marks the fifth near miss in the harbour over the past two years, Saunders said.
She added that New Zealand has no licensing requirements for power boat users.
'This is the tale of every year over winter. You can go on Trade Me, put a dollar bid on a power boat, show no understanding of maritime law, buy it and go on the water a week later. It's mayhem,' she said.
The driver of the power boat claimed he was neither going too fast or too close, but Saunders disagreed.
'I absolutely don't believe it was ignorance.'
On his way back to the club, Cuthbert confronted the man about his actions.
'His only response was to sort of look at me blankly and say, 'well, I was far enough away'.'
Cuthbert estimates about once a month, a vessel in the harbour goes too fast or gets too close, but he said there are still more good skippers than bad.
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Otago Daily Times
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'Mayhem': Power boat in near miss at Lyttelton
Power boats continue to cause issues in Lyttelton Harbour with another near miss reported. The incident occurred around 1pm on Saturday while the Naval Point Club Lyttelton was running its first adult learn-to-sail programme. One of the sailboat's ropes broke, and the boat, carrying an instructor and two participants, had to be towed back by a rescue vessel. Naval Point volunteer Alex Cuthbert was dispatched to take over control of the tow. As they were about 200 metres from the club, Cuthbert saw a power boat leave the nearby ramp. 'The power boat straight away increased speed with his bow lifting high and headed straight towards us,' he said. Cuthbert estimated the boat came within 20m of the sailboat and was travelling in excess of 20 knots – despite the area's 5-knot speed limit. In Cuthbert's incident report, he said: 'The wake of the passing power boat made it difficult for us to continue on a straight course, and when I looked back to check the Elliott 6m, I could see the skipper of the yacht on tow, having to make multiple corrections to his helm to steady, and keep the Elliott 6m in line with the rescue boat. 'At the same time, the powerboat hit the wake of both of our vessels, jumping into the air, causing it to cork screw ... a few times before settling again.' The incident was reported to Coastguard Canterbury, Maritime NZ and the harbourmaster, who is investigating the incident. Naval Point Club president Sabrina Saunders said the sailboat could easily have flipped in the wake, potentially causing the crew to strike their heads on nearby rocks. She cited an incident two years ago, when a sea kayaker was run over by a power boat and only survived because his life jacket covered his kidney. Saturday's event marks the fifth near miss in the harbour over the past two years, Saunders said. She added that New Zealand has no licensing requirements for power boat users. 'This is the tale of every year over winter. You can go on Trade Me, put a dollar bid on a power boat, show no understanding of maritime law, buy it and go on the water a week later. It's mayhem,' she said. The driver of the power boat claimed he was neither going too fast or too close, but Saunders disagreed. 'I absolutely don't believe it was ignorance.' On his way back to the club, Cuthbert confronted the man about his actions. 'His only response was to sort of look at me blankly and say, 'well, I was far enough away'.' Cuthbert estimates about once a month, a vessel in the harbour goes too fast or gets too close, but he said there are still more good skippers than bad.
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Here are some tips for maintenance motivation: Wyn Drabble
It is certainly true that one of the worst aspects of home ownership is maintenance. One helpful way to tackle the problem is to make a list. Not a typed-up one. No, it needs to be handwritten and even fastened to a clipboard so that you can, with a dramatic flourish, put a line through things as you complete them. Use a thick black felt pen for maximum effect. Here it's time to offer a little tip for compiling a list. The first two items on the list should be things you've already done so straightaway you can do your dramatic flourish. Twice. I, for example, have just completed two chores. I have stacked the current load of firewood and I have pruned the roses. My flourishes were very dramatic indeed and the listed items look rather helpless peeping out from under the heavy pen strokes. I need to spoil things, however, by adding that another load of firewood will be arriving in about a week so stacking firewood occurs again further down the list. There will need to be another flourish. And also down the list is to carry the rose cuttings to the pile of tree loppings and the like. That's an awkward round trip of about 250 metres over uneven and sodden terrain. I know there will be those who say that should be part of the rose pruning item but that's where I have another little tip; split things up into subtasks so that you end up having more things you can cross off. So one of the most annoying things about maintenance tasks is that they keep coming back to haunt you. More firewood will come; the roses will need pruning again next winter. Mowing the lawn is another one. Never can you say, 'I've mowed the lawn so I might as well put the mower on TradeMe now.' And please don't start me on weeds! You won't beat them so it might even be a good idea to leave them off your list altogether. Either admit defeat or, if your pride doesn't allow you to do that, list weeding on every second line of your to-do list. Another of the annoying things is the sheer number of tasks you need to put on your list. You're certainly going to need at least a second sheet of paper. There's cleaning the mini-weed-gardens out of the spouting, levelling the driveway and filling the potholes, organising the garage so you can fit the car in, washing windows, water blasting the concrete and the outdoor furniture, sweeping up leaves, buying more duct tape, finding the things the dog has hidden in the agapanthus bushes. And what do you call that day when you have finally crossed everything off your to do list? In most circles it's simply known as tomorrow. But don't think you can celebrate because, when you've crossed everything off, it's time to start the whole list again. It's a treadmill. Keep the thick black felt pen handy. So, as a conclusion, I think I'm safe closing with these words (which, of course, lack any of the original novel's irony): it is a truth universally acknowledged that maintenance sux.
