Professional Skipper - Free Sample issue (July/Aug 2011)

LETTERS CONTINUED pond. It wasn't until we got into the water that we fully appreciated the clearest water we had ever seen. My buddy and I seemed to be floating in thin air. We spent some time down there exploring and getting to know the locals, including Maori, who as far as we could make out placed no more significance than anyone else on the springs. It seems if there is a sniff of money or ownership, claims are made up based on some traditional, cultural or spiritual significance. The proposed tidal power station on the Kaipara Harbour looks as if it will be torpedoed by a coastal tribe who are suggesting they will slap a wahi tapu over the entire Kaipara, one of the largest harbours in the world, and make it a cultural no-go zone to ''shut the whole thing down'' when they are given customary title under the new marine and coastal area bill. May I suggest this wahi tapu will only be lifted once a satisfactory deal has been struck, all behind closed doors, of course. Mark my words, this business hasn't even started yet! I just have to say what an absolute cracker of a wee magazine Professional Skipper is. It truly reflects the professional teamr behind it. John Deane, Coromandel FISH SLAVES Dear Sir I know you mix in both recreational and commercial circles and are prone to say it how it is. Your latest editorial on fish slaves just about sums the situation up. I'm not sure if it will win you any friends among the companies or SEAFIC, though. I get the feeling you might have more to say on this issue in the future and if so, I would be happy to talk with you. You are of course mostly right when you say we had the fishery, but we have always had joint-venture boats as well. Most thought they would only be here until the companies developed our deepwater capacity to replace them. Little did we know it would be our boats, in preference to slave labour, that would ultimately be tied up, leaving honest, hardworking Kiwis on the beach. Please do not get conned into the company clap-trap that they could not find local crews to man their boats. We have crews and the skills to equal any foreign charter vessel. It's just that they do not want to pay New Zealand wages, end of story. Professional Skipper is a great magazine. Long may your maintain your independent voice, because no-one is speaking up for us in Seafood magazine. J Davison, Deckhand FINE SEAMAN Dear Sir I admire the way you handle the magazine. You don't take prisoners, you have a healthy attitude to the over-exuberance of the regulators and I get the feeling you believe in good, conservative seamanship. I sailed many times on the Spirit of New Zealand under Leppy asd master and regard him as a fine seaman (and much else besides). I once told him he was an inspiration to most of us and he was embarrassed somewhat. He reinforced the precepts I had gleaned as a young keel yachtsman in my early twenties. I had had years of experience on centreboarders before that. I may have been one of the first New Zealand yachties to do delivery work in the northern hemisphere. In 1972, my best mate and I delivered a 17.4m steel centreboard cutter from Southampton to the Mediterranean port of Alicante. Sea Spray published an article I wrote on the trip. 6 Professional Skipper July/August 2011 r In retirement, I have become a regular contributor to New Zealand Memories magazine, with four articles published. That background gives me, I feel, the judgement to evaluate the quality of your publication. As I have already indicated, I think it is first class. John Newsham, Tauranga STELLA SKIPPER Dear Sir I enjoyed reading the article about the Stella in the New Zealand Workboat Review. My father, Captain Rex Brown, was skipper of the Stella from just after she was first launched until his retirement in 1984. He died in August 1999. In those days the Stella was kept very busy in her role as a lighthouse tender. Dad often used to take his 8mm movie camera away with him. We have recently had the best of the film clips edited and put onto a DVD. The film shows a story of the Stella's busy life with footage of the manned lighthouse stations being serviced. I congratulate the Clothiers for all their effort. Tim Brown, Whangarei TRAINING SHIP Dear Sir Reading your May/June issue, I was interested in Barry Thomson's letter. I would like to add a correction to his statement that the Spirit of New Zealand was underpowered. Being the founding master and engineer of the Spirit of Adventure and taking over 50 10-day voyages from Stewart Island to the Three Kings, I never found the vessel to be underpowered. We had no problem motoring through the Tory Channel on the ebb tide, or French Pass. On one occasion in Wellington Harbour, with winds gusting 80 knots and two anchors dragging, we opted to go alongside at Queens Wharf at 0200. We had no problem berthing stern-to in a restricted berth, with the crew bracing yards to bring her bow to the wharf. Having worked many times with Shorty Sefton on Gardners, I understand their workings intimately (more than I do my lady friend.) I found the 250hp at the "back" end never caused me any problems. Yes, I've owned a couple of 8L3B engines that did sterling work in our tug. No other motor could match a Gardner of the same shaft horsepower. As an example, while pair-trawling off the East Coast, our Gardner used half the fuel of the Caterpillar in the vessel pulling the other wing. I know Barry had a love-hate thing with the "underpowered" engine, probably from when he frightened the crap out of the wharfies having their breakfast in the old port building when the bowsprit came through the window. It's interesting to note we were limited to our fuel usage to save costs, sailing all the time to achieve this a few years back. It will be interesting to see the fuel bills for the new engine. The current masters will notice the noise factor as well. Now, it's interesting to know where the old engine will end up. They are in big demand for superyachts. Also on your story Our People, Paul Leppington has one omission from his CV. He also helped set up the Ports of Osaka sail training ship Akogare in Japan. He followed me up also to impart his vast knowledge to the crew training on their ship. He was a mariner of many means. J "Pony" More, Kaeo

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