Adventure jet gains ACCEPTANCE
Mention commercial jet boats and adventure tourism companies like Shotover Jet and Kawarau Jet immediately spring to mind. The powerful boats travel at speeds of 70kph along braided rivers and canyons, sometimes within centimetres of rock faces, willows and riverbanks in an effort to scare and thrill their passengers and get their adrenalin flowing.
ture activity and getting wet is par for the course, we hope to return safe and sound with smiles a metre wide. Now the national jet sport industry is extending beyond our inland waterways and venturing into the marine environment. But can a river-jet boat and driver be let loose around our coast? Not safely, because the open water, wind chop, waves and the wash from other vessels all add another dimension to the activity. In addition, international collision regulations and New Zealand's maritime rules and skippers' qualifications all apply, so it's an entirely different ball game. River racers may not cut the mustard. In late 2010, two companies started new jet boating
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t's no secret this activity, while giving the thrill of a lifetime, can be fraught with danger, as the odds of hitting something sooner rather than later is always on the cards. While we are warned that this is an adven-
Moniquea Frear includes humour in her safety briefing
businesses on Auckland's waterfront, which in itself is a bit unusual. Both companies operate similar vessels by the same designer and builder and are based within a few hundred metres of each other. There's nothing like friendly competition to sharpen up your act when establishing a new business. Auckland Adventure Jet was the first company to transit
the bureaucratic minefield of the Resource Management Act. Working through a number of consents and safety issues took two years, says the owner, Paul McCauley. Success meant working closely with the Auckland harbourmaster's office to develop safe operational parameters and staff training to ensure the new venture was safe for the public to enjoy. Clearly, jet boat tourism is a multi-million dollar
activity, but revenue must be balanced against the risk of potential harm or loss of life. The sector's transition from
