Tidelines: Hovercraft trials

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is running a series of field trials of hovercraft at five of Britain's lifeboat stations. The six-seater craft have already been tested over a variety of different terrains at the RNLI headquarters in Poole, Dorset. The test locations are in areas where a boat cannot be used, including stretches of sand and mud flats.

Virtual tours

The American boatbuilder Luhrs Marine is offering virtual tours of its 28 production yachts for prospective clients. Designed by the interactive firm Virtually Anywhere, the tour technique closely mimics a buyer walk-through of the yachts, with a sales rep pointing out features of each section. Go to Luhrs

Megayacht yard

A megayacht berthing, service and repair centre is planned for La Maddalena, in the north-east of Sardinia. The centre will be built in a former Italian naval shipyard on the Mediterranean island and the project is being driven by the Italian Navy. The yard will cover 135,000 sq m, of which 20,000 sq m will be under cover. It will provide berths for 150 to 200 megayachts of over 30m.

38 rowers ready

Thirty-eight crews have entered the 2001 Atlantic Rowing Challenge which starts from Tenerife on October 7. Kiwis Rob Hamill and the late Phil Stubbs hold the record for the 4500km crossing of 41 days. Hamill and new partner Steve Westlake are on track with a new campaign to defend the record.

WaterWatch

This weekend's by-law reminder from the Auckland Maritime Operations Centre is about speed. It is illegal to exceed five knots within 50m of any other vessel, raft or person in the water; within 200m of the shore or within 200m of any vessel flying the A (diver down) flag.

The Richmond Yacht Club's fully crewed race today is the only notified activity on the harbour this weekend.

* The free Boaties Book published by the Auckland Yacht and Boating Association is about to be reprinted. Organisations wanting to have their activities listed should call Hans Swete on (09) 361 2405 or the ARC ENVIROLINE on 0800 80 60 40.