KEY POINTS:
It's not the number of boats on Auckland's waterways that has the harbourmaster worried, it's the hoons who treat the region's waters like a speedway, and the drunken sailors.
John Lee Richards, who has been the Auckland region's harbourmaster for the past three years, says an increasing number of boaties either don't know the maritime bylaws or are simply ignoring them.
"One guy went so fast one night he hit Rangitoto Island at about 35 knots and his wife went flying through the windscreen," he says, gesturing out towards the Auckland landmark.
"The boat was that far inland the guys didn't know whether to send a truck or a barge in to get it - he was about 50 metres inshore."
Mr Lee Richards' response was to drop the inner Waitemata Harbour speed restriction to 12 knots this year after a spate of accidents between Christmas and March.
"These were either sinkings, groundings or collisions ... There was one man who took out the bottom of a brand-new boat and sank it on his way to Waiheke Island around Christmas last year.
"We had another guy who ran his boat into Tiritiri Matangi Island and rang his mother to find out where he was."
Mr Lee Richards' brief includes the navigational safety of boaties, oil pollution response and enforcement of maritime rules and bylaws.
It's a big territory to police, stretching from Mangawhai to Kaiaua, including Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands on the east coast and from Kaipara Harbour to Karioitahi Beach on the west.
Mr Lee Richards said drunks were becoming an issue for his staff but the authorities were hampered by a lack of legislation to tackle boozing boaties.
"Maritime police can't go and breathalyse people out there so it would be nice to see a move towards a more responsible attitude from the public," he said.
"Again it probably comes in the line of education but it would also be nice for people to realise they can't get completely and utterly pissed and drive a boat."
Mr Lee Richards, who left school as a 17-year-old to join the New Zealand merchant navy and has followed the sea ever since, said the fines in place for those who break the bylaws were "sufficient" and a "deterrent enough".
He was more concerned about seeing boaties having the proper education than having compulsory licensing enforced.
"It [licensing] will probably eventuate in the long term but I think day skippers' courses, handling courses and getting to know the local bylaws would make sense for a lot of people wanting to go out on the water.
"Every year we have 6000 new kayaks going out on to the water in Auckland," said Mr Lee Richards.
"You've also got swimmers and people who buy big, 50-foot, boats with no experience at all. That's a big worry, as these things are very dangerous in the wrong hands."
The guardian
* Auckland Regional Council harbourmaster.
* Age: 59.
* Marital status: "Eligible".
* Children: Three adult children.
* Interests: Yachting, renovating his holiday home.
* Is it a job he'd recommend? "Absolutely if you love the sea. You also get to meet a lot of different and interesting people from all walks of life."
