By ROBIN BAILEY
This month marks the first anniversary of the New Zealand Herald's Weekend Marine. To celebrate that milestone we are supporting BoatSafe, a national promotion encouraging skipper responsibility, by staging a competition with a $55,000 prize package.
Weekend Marine and WaterSafe Auckland have combined to give all this away:
* A Stabi-Craft 533XR Sport on a Mudgway trailer.
* A Yamaha F100 AETL four-stroke outboard motor.
* A communications package from Electronic Navigation, including a Uniden VHF radio model MC535 and an Eagle chartplotter-fishfinder-sounder.
* A Hutchwilco safety pack, including Res-Q-Sat EPIRB, lifejackets, flare pack and water toys.
* A full family fishing setup from Penn.
The contest has been created to support BoatSafe, which has been developed by Coastguard Boating Education, Water Safety New Zealand and ACC. These three organisations and the Maritime Safety Authority are the main players in promoting safety afloat in New Zealand. All have come on board to ensure our competition complements both national and local boating safety initiatives.
For five weeks from next weekend the Herald will give readers the opportunity to answer three questions involving skipper responsibility.
The contest will run until November 24 and the winning entry will be drawn the following week.
The questions have all been taken from the new edition of the free booklet Safe Boating, an essential guide for the 2001-2002 summer. They were compiled by Jim Lott, who is the MSA's nautical adviser on recreational boating and part of the team that produced the new edition of the booklet.
"The guide contains essential information boaters need to have an enjoyable and safe time on the water," Lott says.
"Keeping safe means knowing the environment, the rules, having all the right equipment and using plenty of common sense.
"The guide treats the reader as skipper and encourages a responsible attitude to all aspects of boating."
The Herald's promotion will emphasise all those points and more by offering a prize that will appeal to boat-owners as well as those still hoping to get afloat.
The Stabi-Craft 553XR Sport comes from the most southern production boatbuilding company in the world, based just south of Invercargill on the road to Bluff. Managing director Paul Adams' boats have built an international reputation for rugged reliability, stability and performance.
"The 533XR is designed to cater for the family boater as well as the serious fisher," Adams says.
"The lines are softer than some of our earlier boats, but it retains the same sculptured rigid buoyancy, solid build and smooth ride that established the pedigree of our successful workboats."
The power plant matches the hull. Yamaha has provided a new generation F100 four-stroke motor, which is the lightest in its class. The outboard is also quiet, has lower emissions than anything else in its class and gives outstanding fuel economy.
Electronic Navigation Ltd has installed the communications system, which includes a Uniden VHF radio and an Eagle chartplotter-fishfinder-sounder.
Hutchwilco's contribution includes a Res-Q-Sat emergency locator beacon, lifejackets, flare pack and some water toys.
Fishing expert Geoff Thomas has selected a range of Penn rods and reels that he believes will best suit a fishing family. It's all there, including tackle box and a couple of his how-to-catch-them videos.
Should the winner be new to boating, Coastguard Boating Education will lay on a series of courses from day skipper upwards.
Safe Boating is free and available from Auckland Volunteer Coastguard at Mechanics Bay, the Maritime Safety Authority (09 307 1370) and Coastguard Boating Education (09 489 1850). All major ships' chandleries in New Zealand have copies and there are stocks at the New Zealand Herald front desk in Albert St.
How to enter
Entry forms will appear in the print edition of the Weekend Herald on 27 October, 3 November, 10 November, 17 November, 24 November.
Please call 379 5050 to order back issues (at a cost). You will need five differently numbered entry forms with the correct answers.
NOTE:
Due to huge demand, we no longer have copies of the Weekend Herald for Oct 27, Nov 3 and Nov 10 available. However, please click on the dates below for entry forms which can be printed and used to enter the competition.
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All answers are in your free copy of "Safe Boating, an essential guide" which can be ordered from
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