Exciting Times for Discovering New Zealand by Sail

Motivation in the Face of Adversity

The idea for this project had been with me for a long time, and lockdown just happened to nudge the stars into alignment. I had the boat building experience, the drive and the ambition. I had the perfect place to build – in a shed in New Zealand’s Far North. Furthermore I could also see an opportunity for when Covid eventually became a memory.

The global charter business is massive. Everywhere sailing holidays are part of the tourism business, the marinas empty out each morning in season as international travelers set off on vacation in their floating hotels. Few of the resident boats are in the hands of their owners. The very existence of these boats is due to the demand for one of the fastest-growing segments of international tourism. Except in New Zealand.

In Europe and elsewhere, regulations for operating a recreational boat are the same if it is used by a private owner or available for those paying for a charter holiday. Owners typically place their boats with a charter holiday management company, and may or may not book them for their own use occasionally.

The operating company maintains the boats to regulatory standards, and new craft are added to every year. They provide on-site customer service and support, professional in all they do and putting safety first.

Prospective charterers study for suitable sailing qualifications with a provider doing business at home or abroad, gathering sailing experience through a process managed within the boating industry. Or they hire a professional skipper and crew, who assume responsibility so everything is taken care of.

Internationally, recreational boating is a thriving industry that creates jobs and life-changing experiences for many. It is demand-driven, the chartering sub-set more than anything the reason why boat building and its multiple layers of ancillary service are booming in many countries.

Obstacles and Frustrations

Meanwhile in New Zealand, the same sort of boat that elsewhere are perfect for putting into charter are beyond the reach of society’s non-owning sector. Valuable craft are parked up in vast marinas for all to see but seriously under used.

Most sailing enthusiasts in New Zealand are not wealthy people who can afford such an indulgence. They are Kiwis who make sacrifices for access to the sea, seeking freedom to cast off and leave the world behind, to gain that inner pleasure and release that time afloat in our wonderful coastal waters can satisfy. The urge to sail is a primal yell from the mariner past a lot of us share. Some feel it more strongly than others for sure, but sadly too few get to experience it.

The New Zealand market for quality charter boats that operate internationally has all but dried up. What stock remains is outdated, simply not of a standard international charterers expect. But there’s a solution: we just need the same balanced mix of ownership and charter services, operated within the framework of a sensible regulatory environment. Build it and the people will come!

Paradoxically, New Zealand laws and regulations around commercially operated boats offered for tourism are some of the strictest while we have one of the most unregulated private recreational fleets in the developed world: over-control on one side and reluctance to tamper with individual freedoms on the other.

Sailing holidays on Both Sides of the World

In both their designs and construction, the European boats used in charter are full of compromises to accommodate mass production. Europe’s industry success in marketing modern production boats has given us all the chance to take a boating holiday in the world's great sailing destinations. Today those boats are predominantly catamarans, with their stability, single level living and motoring capabilities appealing to customers more than the fun and thrill of a monohull ride under sail in a moderate breeze.

These boats are produced en masse with Mediterranean conditions in mind. New Zealand has a lot of those tied up in marinas, but we also have our own approach, both in creating boats and how to enjoy using them.

History, tradition and an appreciation of our unique environment underscore our yacht designs, which reflect a depth of marine architecture appreciation that is embedded in the Kiwi psyche. From there our boatbuilders deliver with the skills and knowledge that still see us excelling in the marine industries, at home and increasingly abroad.

When we go sailing, Kiwis want to sail. We’re a do-it-yourself nation, and while there’s certainly a place for the luxury end of the market, if we are to resurrect chartering in New Zealand we also need to meet the demands of the smaller groups of family and friends. People who know the ropes and can take care of themselves on the water in New Zealand conditions. This is not the Greek Islands or Sardinia. It is the Bay of Islands, the Hauraki Gulf, and just maybe one day, the coasts beyond.

Boats anchored in the Bay of Islands

Beachfront walk Russell and below Otehei Bay, Urupukapuka

Photos by Wallace Fonseca on Unsplash

Working Towards a Kiwi Solution

So getting back to my lockdown project and the launch of ‘Denim’. This boat is not a catamaran, but a monohull designed and built to challenge the idea that what drives demand in the charter market can only be achieved with two hulls. My requirement of designer Greg Elliott for a yacht intended for charter in the waters of Northland, New Zealand and based in the Bay of Islands was to produce a craft with:

* High volume boat for its length
* Large cockpit with walk-in entry
* Single level, open space cockpit/saloon/galley
* Sleeping & seating for 6 people in comfort
* High performance under motor and sail
* Easy to sail
* Easy-driven hull
* Manageable sail plan that does not require a high level of skill to work efficiently
* Good stability for comfort while sailing and at anchor
* Two large wet rooms with toilet and separate shower
* Good cockpit shower arrangement
* Good BBQ arrangement
* Three spacious cabins
* Easy to navigate
* Good visibility from the helm
* Solid appendages and structure
* Stiff hull
* A pleasant space to sit at anchor regardless of the weather
* A pleasant space to enjoy longer passages

Denim, the new Elliott 1150, ticks all these boxes and more. The boat has been built to Maritime New Zealand survey at extra cost with all required safety features and the latest innovations for ease of boat-handling. If you’re a suitably experienced sailboater, Denim is waiting for you to go sailing in the fabulous Bay of Islands and outlying waters.

It's my pleasure to welcome you aboard.

Regards
Robert Cross