Safe-boating message gets teeth

By ROBIN BAILEY

Skipper responsibility. That's the message being emphasised to everyone going boating for pleasure in New Zealand waters this summer.

It's a message being backed by the might of marine law, to the tune of a $10,000 fine or a year's jail.

And because the Auckland region's waters contain more boats than anywhere else, the message is being heavily promoted here. It is vital that people afloat heed it if we are going to have an accident-free summer on our harbours, lakes and rivers.

Those in charge of pleasure craft in the nation's waters need no licence. But they are required to know what they are about and to be aware of the potential for disaster. The big penalties in place should deter bad behaviour on the water. The problem is they don't.

Those organisations involved in boating safety don't want licensing. They see education as the key to making our recreational activities on, in and under the water safer.

The Auckland Regional Council marine operations unit based at Westhaven has the overall responsibility for the Waitemata and Manukau harbours. Harbourmaster James McPetrie leads a team of three maritime officers in charge of on-the-water activity.

McPetrie says the 2000-2001 summer emphasis on skipper responsibility is a joint effort involving the Maritime Safety Authority, Water Safety New Zealand, Yachting New Zealand, Coastguard, NZ Underwater, and, for the first time, taking in the tangata whenua to cover rapidly increasing outrigger and waka activity.

"The areas where the skipper - and that's whoever is in charge of anything on the water - carries the can are comprehensive," he says. "They include the basics like having the right boat for the activity/conditions, the right equipment, the right knowledge (knowing the weather, knowing when not to go out), and the ability to undertake damage control when something goes wrong. It also means knowing when to call a halt to alcohol intake and when to get the crew into lifejackets when the seas turn nasty."

If all this sounds like basic seamanship, that's just what it is. It's the stuff that comes with experience And this carries a serious message for new boaties at whatever level. Buying the boat does not include the knowledge required to take to the water without putting yourself, your passengers and others on the water at risk.

One inexpensive answer is to join a club, where other experienced members will help to take the hassle out of those first tentative voyages. Auckland gave the rest of the country a lead with the introduction of a buoyancy aid bylaw in November 1994. Since then similar regulations have been adopted in Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury. The Maritime Safety Authority plans to pass a regulation next year making the carriage of lifejackets compulsory everywhere.

ARC maritime officer Hans Swete, who is a board member of WaterSafe Auckland, says the lifejacket ethic is working among boaties on his patch.

"The Safe Summer 2000 campaign mounted in Auckland for the America's Cup proved people will quickly comply with a regulation they see as sensible," he says. "Courtesy-call lifejacket checks on the water were welcomed because the message had been hammered home on radio and at boat ramps. Also, we were handing out safety packs and chocolate fish, which may have helped.

"The lifejacket service from the Marine Rescue Centre at Mechanics Bay was also a huge success. More than 3875 jackets were hired out compared with an average of around 300 for previous summers. The hire plan, invaluable when Uncle Jack from Invercargill joins the crew or the kids invite a couple of young friends to join them, will operate again this summer."

The ARC marine officer cites a tragic recent week to back up his view on the need for buoyancy aids. "We lost two experienced adults off Waiheke, a first-time boater on the Manukau and a kayaker off Kawakawa Bay. None of them were wearing a lifejacket."

The message from the ARC team is simple: Know your limitations, be aware of all the hazards and be a responsible skipper.

The Coastguard Boating Education Service offers a range of marine safety courses. The best starter pack is the Day Skipper Course. It covers all the basic needs for fishing, kayaking, skiing or just family trips. The course is offered throughout the country and is available as an interactive CD-ROM.

For Aucklanders, a good reference guide is The Boaties Book, the free official handbook of the Auckland Yacht and Boating Association. All the regional clubs are listed and there is lots of sensible advice. It is available from clubs, chandleries or from the publishers on 09 418 2344.