EDITORIAL
Ferry operators cannot absorb high diesel price Election years are never a good time for any primary industry in a small country. And the New Zealand maritime industry is not exempt from the pitfalls of unfulfilled promises or lack of political support on matters affecting the viability of our industry to perform to the standards expected by the nation. The spiralling cost of diesel fuel is having a significant impact on our industry right across the board. You might say that this is the result of world prices, and something we must all suffer together. And in fairness, you would be correct in this view, except when we have fishing vessels remaining in port because nobody wants to pay the added cost of buying fresh fish. But the hardest hit are the ferry operators who are required to continue to provide scheduled services where the ticket price is controlled by the local authority. Unlike Air New Zealand, these major essential ferry services have been unable to apply fuel surcharges to tickets and to do so would elicit a huge outcry from regular commuters. We have a public transport system nationally that receives significant subsidies for both rail and buses. Unfortunately, for some reason, these subsidies of passengers-per-kilometre travel have not been as generous in the marine industry. In the last three years, the price of fuel to commercial vessels has doubled and it is now approaching triple. This is unsustainable for operators, and local authorities, regional transport groups and government must intervene with the price of diesel to these essential services if they wish them to continue.

If we thought this was bad, if we do not something now with crew training, we might well end up having to tie our ships up within five years because of a lack of trained staff to man our vessels. Once again, this is an outcome from government-initiated policies of a decade or so ago. In recent times, the industry has relied on poaching skilled staff from other operators. We all knew that this trend would be unsustainable as our crews continued to age. While the maritime schools continue to produce a regular supply of inshore qualified skippers, these people are mainly in the middle-age group who have self-funded their own training so they can operate a charterboat or start up a small business enterprise. Affectionately known as romantics, they are not normally the skippers or engineers who would join a ferry company as a career option. For this to happen, we need to target our young people as they leave school. We need, as an industry, to give a commitment to train young sailors rather than poach skilled staff.

The New Zealand Marine Transport Association has taken the initiative in developing the first career step in the qualified deckhand certificate for our young people. However, this respected industry representative organisation can only do so much. For the training prospects to succeed in producing the skilled and qualified seafarers for the future will require the commitment of Maritime NZ to give immediate recognition to this new qualification, the government to recognise maritime training as an essential and important skill-based workforce, and the industry to commit to paying for its future training needs. We are no longer in the position of where we can expect trainees to self-fund or leave it to a few companies to fund the training for an industry.

As we go to press, we have been made aware of a complaint by a commercial fisher who is questioning the right of charterboats and in particular recreational anglers, to tag and release more than their daily bag limits. This brings into question, is a fish that is tagged and released deemed to be taken. This is of particular concern to commercial charterboat operators who support our national tagging programmes for kingfish, sharks, marlin and other species, to assist research on these species. One must question the motives surrounding this commercial complaint to the Ministry of Fisheries, especially in light of the fact that commercial fishers cannot dump or high-grade by releasing QMS species over the minimum legal size. Commercial fishing leaders have requested in a recent Initial Position Paper that the industry be allowed to release kingfish live where no quota is held. This in itself raises the question of legitimised dumping. But of key importance is, how do commercial fishers expect non-commercial stakeholders to respect their request when, on the other hand, they are trying to undermine the very basis of the tag and release research programme on species of recreational importance?

In this issue, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission's report of the swift and catastrophic demise of the Iron Maiden is revealed. We also see where water taxi opportunities can continue to grow, small barges are proving a new success, and we continue to bring the news and views of the wider industry to your attention. Keith Ingram, Editor
 

Designed To Save Designed To Kill by Darryl Crimp
I've heard it said many times that drowning is a most pleasant way to die - a warm, dreamy state accompanied by a floating sensation. The last brief moments before slipping over the precipice to oblivion may be, but for those still wondering, I can personally assure you of one thing. For me, the moments leading up to that point of departure were the most horrific and terrifying experience of my life.

It is also said that an accident is not an isolated event, but the end link in a chain of minor irregularities that culminate in disaster. A plane crash may have started when the pilot tripped over his son's skateboard that morning, putting him in a bad mood. His preoccupation with his son's sloppiness led to a speeding ticket on the way to work, fuelling his frustration. The plane was then delayed by fog, which meant that he'd be late home for his wife's birthday, thus adding anxiety to the equation. And so the pattern was set in motion, and was only arrested when the plane hit the ground while trying to land in marginal conditions. The cause of the crash would eventually be put down to pilot error, when it should in fact be listed as 'Skateboard'.

Accidents can be avoided by recognising these contributing factors, stopping and taking time out to reassess the situation and alter the course of events. I recently became part of a chain of events that literally took me to within half a breath of drowning. I had just taken possession of a new runabout and should have recognised that things were unfolding badly. Through a series of unforeseen circumstances the boat was not ready when I went to take delivery, and I had to wait around the workshop for the best part of that day so that I could have it for the weekend. I should have called it quits and returned a week later, but I took late delivery of a boat that had not been water tested. Once on the water in the Marlborough Sounds I discovered that the boat was difficult to trim and cavitated badly due to an incorrectly mounted motor. I should have put it in the shed and taken it back on the Monday. I didn't, and while I wasn't happy with the boat's handling, I decided to run the motor in and at least get a feel for her. I would have been content to potter around the little bay in front of the beach house had I not received a request to drop someone off at Duncan's Bay, some miles distant. An overnight southerly storm was all but spent when two of us headed out, with me reasoning that I could stop off at Elaine Bay on the way home and get extra fuel, thereby justifying the trip. I should have stayed home, but I didn't. The sea wasn't threatening because the wind had swung around and flattened any nasties. Only an excited 300mm chop remained.

But the Marlborough Sounds courts a more evil weather demon, one that was to prove the end link in my personal chain of disaster. Katabatic winds funnel down steep terrain, gathering speed and transforming into incredible masses of violent energy. They change direction at will, are erratic, unpredictable and can explode anywhere on the water without signalling their arrival. Katabatic winds usually manifest themselves in one of two forms - the wind bomb, which explodes down on the water and radiates in a circular fashion, or the willy wall or waterspout. Both unleash a tremendous blast of energy in a brief moment. Having refuelled, I was within sight of home and about to cross an open stretch of water that would lead me into our little bay when I noticed a couple of willy walls pop up in the reach. Erring on the side of caution, I decided not to quarter into it, but elected to carry on around the coastline until I could turn and run with the wind. At this stage I was in the lee of the hill and travelling across glassy calm water. After three decades of boating I like to think that I have a reasonable skill level on the water and operate within safe margins. On this occasion I was sticking close to the shoreline and wearing a certified lifejacket with the outboard cut-off mechanism clipped to my belt. I had all the standard safety gear on board and had filed all the pre-trip logs - destination, route and time due home with three different people. It took only a split second to change my life forever, as the cliché says.

As I approached a mussel farm I made a last-second decision to take an inshore path rather than cruise between the mussel lines in the centre of the farm. Flicking the boat into a port turn caused the propeller to cavitated, a sudden loss of momentum and the bow to rise. At that precise moment the most freakish coincidence occurred - a katabatic wind bomb bounced off the hill in front of me and exploded under the boat. The result was that the bow continued rising and the whole boat was sucked out of the water, lifted up into the air and flicked over backwards. I empathised with the pilot, because I suddenly had the sensation of tripping on a skateboard. As I went over backwards into the tide, the boat followed, striking me a stunning blow on the head. There was no panic at this stage, but I do remember uttering some choice expletives and wondering how the hell I'd gotten into that situation.

All this changed abruptly to blind panic when I discovered that my very expensive Hutchwilco Converter self-inflating lifejacket had not self-inflated. My pants had been dragged about my knees in the capsize, and my polar fleece jacket sucked up liquid like an alcoholic in a brewery. In a matter of seconds I had become a lead sinker and the trajectory I was taking to the bottom was nearly vertical. It took a tremendous effort to kick my pants free and claw my way back to the surface, and by the time I emerged coughing and spluttering I was exhausted. There was little time to indulge in panic, because the weight of the sodden clothing pulled me down almost immediately. Underwater, I was in the grip of sheer terror as I fought to regain control, and my lungs were bursting through lack of oxygen. I struggled to suppress the urge to suck down large gulps of water and kicked wildly for the surface. The mind and body can do amazing things in the name of survival, and it would be fair to say my efforts in those few short minutes were nothing short of superhuman. The second time I burst clear of the surface the most incredible thing happened - panic was replaced with a surreal sense of detachment. It was almost as if I was in a drugged state watching on as someone else systematically evaluated the situation and made the appropriate decisions. It was not that I wasn't worried, because I was. In fact, I was still terrified, because by this time I realised I was in a dire predicament.

I became conscious that throughout the struggle I had been automatically clutching for the manual release mechanism for the gas canister, but my hand kept clawing fabric. I later discovered a design flaw in the Converter lifejackets. The gas mechanism is housed in the sealed right breast pocket of the jacket, and a short cord and toggle hang free from a gap in the top of the pocket so the canister may be triggered manually. In a stressful situation like drowning I found that being right-handed, I automatically went for the left breast - not the right. On the left breast there is a zip pocket that houses a mouthpiece for oral inflation, but I found the zip difficult to find, let alone grip in a stressful situation. Another design flaw with the toggle was the length of cord it was attached to. Being very short, normal activity while wearing the jacket had caused the toggle to ride up and disappear back into the sealed pocket. The gap at the top was just wide enough for the toggle to fit through, but, as I discovered to further terror, it was too narrow to fit my fingers through to retrieve it. I have no idea how long it took to draw these conclusions while desperately trying to avoid drowning, but I can remember being in extreme discomfort and pain. I remember at some point realising it was dark and I was upside down and going down without the strength to reverse the order. My eyes must have been shut, because there was the sensation of a bright light being shone outside. As corny as it sounds, the truth is I opened my eyes and beneath me was what looked like a large 2m by 1.5m picture of my three-year-old daughter. It was very bright and her lips were moving, but I couldn't hear anything. She was shaking her head. I remember saying, 'No, not today, darling.'

My next recollection was floating with my mouth and chin barely above the water. I was clutching the oral mouthpiece but cannot remember extracting it or getting a breath of air into the device. For 10 minutes of so I just drifted and gasped until I recovered somewhat. Then I inflated the jacket so that it would support me better and kicked for shore. I was only 40m from shore when I flipped, but in my exhausted state it was at least 20 minutes before I crawled ashore. In what the Police later described as a textbook rescue, locals picked me up three hours after the accident occurred. Local knowledge played a major part in the speedy rescue, because the neighbours knew where I was going, the route I was taking and the time that events likely occurred. Based on their knowledge of local conditions, they were able to hazard a pretty good guess where I might be and in fact came straight to the beach I was marooned on. The post mortem of the ordeal revealed some disturbing facts. I had two Hutchwilco Converter lifejackets on board - the one I was wearing and my wife's one stored under the seat of the boat.

By the time the boat had been retrieved my wife's jacket had been fully submerged for over three hours. Neither jacket inflated upon contact with water as they were designed to do. We contacted Hutchwilco immediately to express our concerns over the perceived design flaws in the jackets and then dispatched both garments to Auckland for checking. After hearing nothing for three months I contacted Hutchwilco again, only to find that they hadn't yet found time to investigate the jackets. They did assure me that they had total confidence in the jackets and the self-inflating mechanism, stating that no-one else had contacted them to complain about faults with the jacket. Hutchwilco also pointed out that no matter what brand of self-inflating lifejacket anyone purchased, it would have one of two certified mechanisms in it. Only two companies worldwide were licensed to manufacture these devices. While Hutchwilco conducted their investigation into why both my Converter jackets failed to inflate upon contact with water, I conducted my own investigation on self-inflating jackets.

A quick surf of the web brought alarming results. There had been a worldwide recall that year of 7000 self-inflating lifejackets featuring one of these mechanisms. I have no idea whether my Hutchwilco Converter jacket featured this particular mechanism, but the year of manufacture of the suspect device coincided with the year my jacket was made. When Hutchwilco finally returned the jackets and got back to me with their investigation results, it was hardly the outcome I'd expected. Hutchwilco firmly maintained that the jacket I was wearing at the time of the accident had inflated as it was designed to do. Excuse me? I argued vehemently with the guy from Hutchwilco that from my perspective (viewed from underwater while drowning) the jacket certainly did not self-inflate.

The guy from Hutchwilco wouldn't budge from his position, even when I suggested he was calling me a liar. What about the second jacket not inflating? According to Hutchwilco's investigation it had partially worked. The Dispirin in the device had dissolved but failed to activate the gas canister. Surely this was of concern, but no, according to the spokesperson from Hutchwilco it was not the fault of the jacket. It had only partially worked because the jacket had only partially got wet. Excuse me again! I pointed out that the jacket had been completely submerged for over three hours. The man from Hutchwilco politely disagreed with my version of events. He did offer to refund the cost of the jackets if I returned them.

Both jackets hang on my office wall as a silent reminder of how tenuous one's grip on life can be. Even when you think you have covered all the safety bases and are taking all the precautions, the difference between life and death can be one link in the chain of events.

Hutchwilco Replies Thanks for the opportunity to respond. While we have no doubt that Daryl Crimp has suffered a harrowing experience, unfortunately our version of events differs to those outlined by Mr Crimp.

Firstly, immediately our sales manager, Tim Ritchie, became aware of the situation he phoned Daryl and had a conversation of some 40 minutes. All of the circumstances and his concerns were fully discussed. Hutchwilco then inspected the jackets and found that the CO2 gas cylinder actually had already been expended, suggesting that the jacket had at some stage been already fully inflated. Taking all factors into account, we felt that there was a strong likelihood that it had been inflated without Daryl's knowledge prior to his incident. This could have been at any stage after despatch from our factory. We then fitted new CO2 gas cylinders and auto-release bobbins and conducted a live in-water test. Both jackets worked perfectly.

Tim Ritchie then phoned Daryl and advised him of the outcome of the tests. We then again fitted new CO2 gas cylinders and auto-release bobbins to the jackets and returned them to him, along with two extra cylinders and bobbins. Tim then again phoned Daryl, checking to ensure that he had received them, and inviting him to conduct his own in-water test to satisfy himself of the safe performance of the jackets. After a short period of time, Tim then tried to contact Daryl on at least three or four occasions.

Unfortunately, despite leaving messages, Daryl was not easily contacted. Finally, when Tim managed to get him on the phone Daryl advised that he was unavailable to talk to him. Despite requests, he has never responded to our enquiries as to the outcome of his own tests. In so far as Hutchwilco is concerned, we are 100 percent confident of the design and performance of these European Standards tested and approved jackets.

Bernard Orme, Hutchwilco Limited.
 

ALSO IN THE PRINT ISSUE:

TAIC REPORT INTO LOSS OF FV IRON MAIDEN

Young entrepreneur spans the gulf
Reuben Zylstra's parents have owned property on Kawau Island for 28 years. He was born on Kawau Island and has lived there all his life, including his schooling. So the sea and boats have always been a big part of his life.

Reuben was only 17 years old when he bought himself a small catamaran and had it surveyed to run a 24-hour water taxi on the Hauraki Gulf from The Sandspit at Warkworth to Kawau Island. 'This proved to be a great success, and on the second year I bought two 7.3m former Royal New Zealand Navy cutters with a cruising speed of 26 knots,' he says. The RNZN dockyard originally designed and built the cutters as ship's motorboats for use as the captain's motorboat and liberty boat work when the warships went to anchor in foreign ports. The vessels were designed to handle open water while providing good seakeeping ability and shelter for the crew and passengers. They were the first of the new-generation motorboats for the RNZN to travel at better than displacement speeds, and they could do better than 20 knots.

They were sold into private ownership as the older frigates were sent for scrap or sunk as diving wrecks. Over a period of time Reuben tracked down another three of these vessels, many of which were lying in disrepair. They entered the water taxi service after a significant refit and refurbishment, and proved to be an excellent choice. 'I have now been operating for over eight years, servicing all the islands of the Hauraki Gulf with a fast taxi service, along with fishing trips, dive charters, tours and sightseeing.' says Reuben.

On the third year he extended his operations into Auckland with a regular service to Rakino Island, 'or any destination required in the Hauraki Gulf.' Increasing demand for a reliable 24-hour service between Auckland, Kawau and the other gulf islands means that from August 29 he will be increasing his regular service to Rakino Island, and introducing a regular service to Islington Bay and Motuihe Island.

Reuben liked the idea of a fleet of identical boats, as it kept maintenance and operating costs low, and looked good from the customer's point of view. But as no more suitable ex-Navy craft were available, he decided to combine the qualities of the cutter with modern technology and build a new boat. The result will be a fleet of four 7.8m launches based on the ex-naval cutters. Two have already been launched, a third was due to hit the water at the end of August and the last in mid-September.

They have been built with passenger comfort in mind and a new interior layout. She has a wide beam of 2.75m, and a modified topside profile with a rounded cabin top to give a sleek but workmanlike appearance. A permanent hardtop protects the skipper and passengers from the elements. A box on the hardtop houses the radar dome and the back-lit taxi sign. Wide decks and non-skid surfaces allow the skipper to move around the boat quickly, and the wraparound windscreen gives good visibility. A heat exchanger ducts warm air to the cockpit and through vents on the bottom of the windscreen to prevent fogging.

Each boat can carry up to 16 people on fore-and-aft upholstered bench seats and in the for'ard cabin. The cabin is also used to store passenger luggage, and the extra weight helps trim the boat.

The boats have been built using the new resin infusion process. The materials are laid dry into a mould, wrapped in plastic sheets and a vacuum applied before the resin is introduced. Once a complete vacuum is achieved, the resin is literally sucked into the laminate via carefully placed tubing. The boat retains the strength of the military hull but without the weight. They carry more, require less power for the same performance and are more economical to operate than the Navy craft. Resin infusion takes a different approach from vacuum bagging in that a vacuum is drawn while the materials are still dry. Rather than starting with excess and drawing resin out, the process starts with none and pushes resin in. Ideally, any excess resin will eventually be sucked out into the vacuum line. As a result, only the minimum amount of resin is introduced. This lowers weight, increases strength and maximises the properties of fibre and resin.

Sinbad is powered by a 210hp Volvo D4 equipped with Duoprops and an Electronic Vessel Control system. It integrates the electric gear and throttle controls, the power trim and data link gauges in one cable. At 3000rpm she cruises comfortably at 26 knots. Top speed is 32 knots. 'We went through all the different power options very carefully with Rueben, including shaft drives, and decided on Volvo Duoprops because they had the best compromise between speed and economy and were the most cost-effective,' said Aaron Stenbeck of Matakana Marine, who did the mechanical work. 'Sternlegs require more maintenance than other systems, but the boats will be well-looked after.'

The company also supplied all the wiring looms and plumbed the boats. Her other electronics include a Furuno colour plotter/radar and Navman's MDT tracking system, which makes it easy for Reuben to locate each vessel and manage the fleet efficiently. She also has a remote spotlight and a stereo system. 'I am in the process of building another eight boats of the same design,' says Reuben. They will be built to full survey. Reuben will also be selling the vessels as pleasure boats and adding a hull liner to create a small galley, bunks and a head. If desired they can be set up for the serious fisherman or decked out for the particular need of the purchaser. The boats have attracted considerable attention due to their good looks and big, beamy design. They should prove popular not only for transporting people around the gulf, but also for those looking for a fast, weekend coastal cruiser.