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General DiscussionsAbout YardsAbout Yachts 
 
 
Posted by Yacht Spotta | 03/13/2007 @ 10:00 | Reply
 
Firstly I should say that as responsible yachts men and women we must be respectful of any country that we enter and their laws and regulations. These laws, especially customs and quarantine laws are there for a reason, whether to protect the countries economy, animal, plant or to protect the people. A trip in a yacht to these Pacific islands is not normally done "spare of the moment". They should be well planned and well thought out in advance. I have been working on yachts for many years and have been in and out of Australian, New Zealand and Fiji waters several times and never had a problem with customs inspections. This is because a good Captain and crew will always be prepared in advance and know, understand and respect the local laws.

Australia exports nearly 2/3's of its Agriculture products to other countries; produces 70% of the worlds wool and is the largest exporter of beef in the world. Can you imagine the devestation to the economy if part of this was ruined by someone bringing in infected fruit, meat or vegetables? These laws make total sense for these "Island" nations that rely so heavily on their agricultural industries.

The owners that you mention indicating that this was a way to increase the NZ economy is utter rubbish. The amount of food purchased by a yacht while in these waters may seem high to us normal foke, but to a countries economy it is minor. In fact even if it was a factor, we should be choose to support a local economy, especially when we are anchoring in their waters and using and viewing their natural resources and landscapes. The statement that those owners made was most likely a comment they made as a knee jerk reaction to having all their food confiscated through themselves or the crew being ill prepared...but the truth was that if they were properly prepared, like 99% of the yachts that enter these beautiful waters than they would not have had a problem.

PS : to explain your comment about frozen food : Bacteria can survive below freezing point... Activity may be slowed down but it does not kill all the bacteria. So when a customs agent comes onboard how does he know how long the meat has been in there or where it has come from or how effecient the refrigeration system is? He doesnt know and he cant take the word of the crew. It must be removed and destroyed to protect these countries agriculture industries.
 
Posted by Mark | 03/13/2007 @ 09:55 | Reply
 
Clearly yacht owners "that are not prepared to spend one penny to help the economy they are visiting" are not worth having, be it here in NZ, Australia, Europe or anywhere else for that matter. You must be a member of the tight wad cloth and rope community.

So please stay in the Pacific Islands (any money spent there will help us anyway by increasing their economies and thus reducing their dependence on us for aid money).
 
Posted by Marian | 03/12/2007 @ 18:00 | Reply
 
You haven't had any complaints because nobody with any sense argues with customs officers. That does not mean that people do not bitterly resent having their frozen food destroyed, because it is inconceivable that anything that might affect your industries could survive freezing.

These measures certainly put off many yachtsmen from visiting and/or staying. I know of several people doing round the world cruises who have been warned, whilst in the Pacific Islands, and decided there and then to give you a miss. I also know of one yacht whose owners had planned on spending all summer in NZ, who left next day, saying "We decided we'd survive on tins, rather than spend a penny to help the NZ economy", which is what they believed was the aim.
 
Posted by Mark | 03/09/2007 @ 19:20 | Reply
 
Yes inbound yachts to New Zealand and Australia are subject to very strict rules re food. In effect all non NZ meat, fruit and other food products are destroyed on arrival in a bid to protect our nation from unwanted pests that could affect our forests and agriculture industries. It is a waste but our primary industries are of vital importance to our economy and therefore these measures are necessary. A small price to pay and there have been no complaints whatsoever from the yacht captains or owners.
 
Posted by Yachtspotter | 03/09/2007 @ 18:05 | Reply
 
Simone, I don't know about sanitary formalities, but you can already have a look on the card of Enigma (ex Katana) to know more about the yacht : http://www.yachtspotter.com/...
 
Posted by Simone | 03/09/2007 @ 18:00 | Reply
 
Can anyone give me any information on the vessel Katana please? I saw her on a programme on TV when she was docking in New Zealand some time ago and was horrified as to the rigours which the crew were subjected to regarding the foodstuffs which they had on board. As we are totally new to the subject of Yachtspotting we were amazed at how strict the customs people were regarding what can and cannot be kept on board a ship when it enters the waters of that country. In this particular case, all the foodstuffs were confiscated, including frozen turkey, legs of lamb etc., I can understand why some of the fruit and veg was taken away but surely if the foodstuffs were going to be cooked and consumed on board then where is the logic in confiscating it and transferring it by lorry, theoretically to a place where it will be destroyed. It seemed such an unnecessary waste in this case and amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of produce. Is this usual?
 
Posted by Yachtspotter | 07/15/2006 @ 22:00 | Reply
 

 
It's a real pleasure to spot a yacht like that...
 
Posted by Yachtspotter | 07/15/2006 @ 21:20 | Reply
 
After a quick search on Google, you can find a lot links between Taki and the sail yacht Bushido. For example in this article : http://www.findarticles.com/... According to other articles, it seems that his previous yachts were also named Bushido. Her card : http://www.yachtspotter.com/...
 
Posted by Gross-Segler | 07/15/2006 @ 21:15 | Reply
 
This article by an owner is well-worth reading - thanks Merijn. Taki is well-known as a witty columnist in the British newspapers/magazines, but I had no idea he owned a megayacht ? indeed a sailing yacht. Can Yachtspotter reveal the yacht?s name?
 
Posted by Merijn | 07/14/2006 @ 15:10 | Reply
 
An owner has some words about Rising Sun and another few big yachts : http://www.amconmag.com/...
 
Posted by Yachtspotter | 04/10/2006 @ 10:30 | Reply
 
Alfred Krempl was an engineer on La Belle Simone (now Lady Sarya). We had chance to see his pictures some months ago, and now you can discover them on his own page. Fantastic pictures, exclusive ones, with some views of the interior and the swimming-pool. Thank you Alfred to share them : http://www.akrempl.com/...
 
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