Home James ... by hovercraft

Imagine whizzing over the water and sand every morning to get to work - not by boat but by hovercraft.
The idea could soon be a reality.
New company Bay Hovercraft has ordered two new hovercrafts - one six-seater and one 18-seater - to run tourist and commuter trips around Tauranga's beaches and to provide ferry transport from Omokoroa to the new Coronation Pier.
The first hovercraft, a six- seater with no roof, will arrive at the end of October and a second 18-seater hovercraft, will arrive in Tauranga next April - the same time redevelopment of Coronation Pier is expected to be completed.
The first trips on the six-seater craft are due to start in November, providing tours around the inner harbour during the summer.
However, Bay Hovercraft needs a certificate of compliance to operate. An application has been lodged with Maritime New Zealand and is still being considered.
Bay Hovercraft operations manager Jon Morris, who arrived in Tauranga from the UK four years ago, said he saw the potential for hovercrafts in the city's harbour almost as soon as he arrived.
"One of the major advantages they have over boats is that it doesn't matter what surface they are on. So when it gets low tide in the harbour it doesn't matter, you can just whizz across the sand," he said.
And he should know.
Mr Morris, a master mariner, drove hovercrafts back and forth across the English Channel for 23 years. He said the new hovercrafts, which are being produced in Queensland, do relatively little damage to the land and water they travel over and are also easy on people's ears.
"Technically they have moved on so they are much quieter now. You can actually drive them over land mines so that's the kind of footprint they leave," he said.
Mr Morris said he was not yet sure how much trips would cost. He said the large hovercraft cost about $500,000 while the smaller one was about $200,000.
The hovercrafts will be based at Adventure Aviation at Tauranga Airport when not in use.
Bay Hovercraft's long-term goal is to have six hovercrafts running ferry services and tourism trips between various points, including Omokoroa, Salisbury Wharf, the Sebel Trinity Wharf Hotel and the airport.
The smaller hovercrafts would likely be used as water taxis while the larger hovercrafts would be used for longer commuter trips such as the 12-minute trip from Omokoroa to the city.
Mr Morris said there was the possibility of a ferry service even further afield, although he said this would depend on how well things go with the first runs from Omokoroa.
"In the future going from Katikati or Athenree into town is not out of the question. But right now we are trying to establish one route and then we'll go from there."