Heath Cairns with the Taupo Patrol, which replaces Blue Mist.
After notching up thousands of hours on Lake Taupo over the past 25 years, the Taupo harbourmaster's vessel, Blue Mist, has been replaced with a new, state-of-the-art 10.5m Naiad, simply named Taupo Patrol.
The new aluminium-hulled vessel with inflatable pontoons has been purpose-built, is slightly larger and comes with more
horsepower - the twin engine 740hp jet units would get it to the southern end of the lake in just over half an hour, compared with the hour it would have taken Blue Mist.
The boat, which comes with a price tag of just over $860,000, heralds a new era in patrol and rescue capability on Lake Taupo. It has night vision gear, advanced systems that offer direct communication to aircraft and choppers, auto pilot, increased seating and three in-built cameras that record images 24/7.
Deputy harbourmaster Heath Cairns said all the ancillary equipment on Blue Mist, including oxygen resuscitation and diving equipment and a defibrillator, had been installed on the new boat.
Blue Mist, the 8.5m, 460hp twin jet engine fibreglass vessel which has been the main patrol boat on the lake for the last 25 years and involved in hundreds of rescues and salvage operations, will be for sale at the end of the month.
