Next week's boat show will provide a great opportunity for people to 'discover boating', as Mike Rose reports
While boat shows are often seen as a place for those already mad keen on their boating, organisers of next week's Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show are hoping to attract a lot of newcomers, too.
With help from the Marine industry Association's Discover Boating programme and a number of other organisations, the show will feature an entire hall dedicated to showing newcomers how exciting boating can be and encouraging existing boaties to get the most out of their boating.
The aptly named Discover Boating Centre will occupy all of the ASB Showgrounds' Logan Campbell Centre. Activities will, in the main, revolve around the 10-metre long Hutchwilco Pool, a stage complete with large screen and grandstands on either side of the pool for easy viewing.
From their base on the stage above the pool, MCs Bruce Duncan, Adam Clancey and Pio Tere will compere a series of demonstrations and fun activities designed to encourage people to get into or "discover" boating.
Organisers say the activities and demonstrations will be many and varied. Recognising the increasing popularity of kayaking, the Auckland Canoe Club will launch the new Auckland Coastal Kayak Trail, offer advice on staying visible to other boaties and recommend techniques for staying safe while kayaking.
Top kayak fisher Stephen Tapp will also hop into the pool and demonstrate the best way to catch fish from his kayak in safety.
Top fishing gurus Bruce Duncan and Adam Clancey will also show their skills in soft baiting, identifying different fish species, filleting and cooking the catch.
The team from Coastguard Boating Education will be talking about their PWC (jetski) training and doing demonstrations, there will be sailing tips and the chance to "have a go" with the Radio Yachting Association, rescue demonstrations from Surf Living Saving and, in a rare public appearance, the Navy Dive Team will do daily demonstrations.
Because the area has primarily been set up to cope with families, the various demonstrations and displays will last just 20-30 minutes. In between, the MCs will run a kids' fishing contest and there will also be a colouring competition.
In addition, the area around the Hutchwilco Pool will be filled with a variety of organisations or businesses keen to offer good advice.
Among these will be the Discover Boating stand, promoting the website discoverboating.co.nz. Launched at the start of last summer, the website is a Marine Industry Association initiative, designed to showcase boating and provide easy-to-follow steps for those wanting to get more information. As well as listing all of the places to go for advice, education or to purchase a boat or piece of marine equipment, the site also has maps showing all of the boat ramps and marinas in an area.
It even includes the Spousal Conversion Kit for those struggling to convince a non-boating partner about the benefits of getting afloat.
Another great source of free advice and information will be Jeff's Forum on the Trade-A-Boat stand. Editor Jeff Strang will answer questions on matters boating, whether it's buying the best boat, knowing where to go to land that elusive "big one" or advising on how to fix something on board.
To further encourage more people into boating, organisers will again give away a $1000 Viking kayak package every hour during the show, although those wanting to win one will have to do a little work. All adult entry tickets to the show come with space for six stamps. These stamps need to be collected from various clearly marked stamping booths around the show. Once the six stamps are on the entry ticket it then has to be completed (with name and contact details), a simple question answered and taken to the gate prize entry area.
A draw will be made on the hour, every hour from midday until the show's close on all four days of the show. Although the prize has been promoted as a "$1000 Viking Kayak Package" organisers point out that the package is actually worth almost $1200. It consists of a 3.2m Viking Nemo kayak, a De Luxe Seat and standard paddle and a Hutchwilco multi-fit lifejacket.
Those keen on winning prizes will have a few other big targets at this year's event, too. For start, there is a $7600 eight-day trip to Vava'u in Tonga, (including three days on exclusive charter on MV Hakula with Captain Jeff Le Strange). There is also an opportunity to sit next to champion jet boat racer Mark Cromie as he blasts down the mighty Waikato in this year's Bridge to Bridge race in his 2000hp, 200km/h jetboat.
Other prizes include a ride in the soon to be released Q-Sub, a trip to Rotorua and a ride in a small plane.
Other attractions at the show include perennial favourite Derek the Chef, the Radio Sport Rowing for Prostate team, Graeme Weller's champion GP Hydroplane, G-Force, a huge number of fishing areas and attractions and water ski and fishing simulators.
There will also be a number of new boats released at the show this year, including Stabicraft's new 2150 Supercab and two versions of their new 1720 MWS; McLay Boats new 7m, a hardtop designed for sterndrive engines and featuring a walk-around cockpit; Gisborne's White Pointer Boats' new 730 with lockable wheelhouse; Napier's Profile Boats' new 585 Cuddy and Kawerau's Surtees Boats' new 5.48m hardtop.
Multi-Boat of the Show award-winning Extreme Boats will also have three new models on display: a 650 Game King, a 570 Game King and a 570 Sports Fisher.
Those after a new model GRP boat will have plenty to choose from including a new Buccaneer 685 Hardtop, Tristram Boats' new model and the new Beneteau A30. Rayglass Boats will also have their unique new Pro-Jet (the 6m Protector with the heart of a PWC) on display for the first time and the show will also see the release of the new CraigCat range (see story below).
SHOW DETAILS
* What: Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show.
* Where: ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland.
* When: May 13-16, Thursday to Sunday.
* Open from: 10am to 9pm Thursday & Friday, 10am to 6pm Saturday & Sunday.
* Admission: Adults $17, Children free*.
* Each paying adult can bring in two children; under 14 at no extra charge.
* More info: www.boatshow.co.nz
Contact Marine editor Mike Rose on (09) 483 8284; 021 735 015 or email: mrpr@xtra.co.nz.
