Protector’s new high-speed luxury tender

SUPERYACHT SKIPPER Paul Bickley is full of praise for the latest Protector RIB from New Zealand manufacturer Rayglass Boats.

Bickley, skipper of the Monaco-based 53-metre superyacht Latitude, recently took delivery of Meridian, a luxury multi-purpose custom Protector 38 with a new Hydro V hull.

“Meridian is everything we thought it would be,” he says. “Good looking, magnificently finished, very comfortable and most importantly, soft riding at high speeds, even in rough waters.”

As Latitude’s tender, Meridian will be used as a tow boat for water sports and as a luxury limousine, ferrying the owner and guests to and from the shore.

The new Hydro V hull is a significant refinement of the company’s legendary hull shape and was designed for the new breed of powerful, fast outboards. It provides a soft, comfortable ride at high speed and in quite rough conditions.

Powered by the first pair of Mercury Verado 350hp supercharged, four-stroke outboards to be fitted outside of the United States, Meridian has an increased fuel capacity for long roughwater passages and will travel between cruising destinations under its own power.

Rayglass Protectors are employed around the world as patrol and rescue boats, support vessels for yacht racing teams, fast pleasure cruisers, sports fishing boats and superyacht tenders. Rayglass Boats Ltd, 09 573 7979 www.rayglass.co.nz

SOUTHERN SPARS congratulates all teams and sailors involved in the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race, the first VOR held under a one-design rule. The yachts, masts and sails were placed under unrelenting pressure for nine straight months.

Southern Spars was chosen as the supplier for VOR mast and rigging packages for its reputation for reliability, performance and ongoing support.

Mark Hauser, director at Southern Spars, says that experience is extremely valuable: Southern Spars has supplied masts to 38 Whitbread/ VOR contenders.

“Of the six Volvo Open 70s that competed in the last edition of the race, Camper and Telefonica were the only teams to complete the race without serious rig damage,” says Hauser. “Significantly, these two were also the only teams to utilise a full rig and rigging package from Southern Spars, and we believe this reliability is a key reason why we were chosen as the Volvo Ocean 65 one-design supplier for this and the next race.”

The strict one-design nature of the VO65S meant that all masts had to have identical strength, weight and bend characteristics. The discrepancy in bend profile is just 1.4mm across the fleet.

Southern Spars’ Simon Barker from the Auckland loft followed the boats from port to port as rig and rigging service manager. He was supported by other Rig Pro staff where the un-stepping of the rigs was permitted.

The entire VO65 package, including the masts, boom and Ecsix carbon rigging supplied by Southern Spars, will be used again in the next VOR. Southern Spars +64 9 845 7200 www.southernspars.com

LUSTY AND BLUNDELL and Raymarine are back onboard for the fourth season of the popular fishing show, Big Angry Fish, which began at 5pm on Sunday, July 26 on TV3.

The show features 13, one-hour episodes and follows stars Milan Radonich and Nathan O’hearn on a hunt for trophy fish in the harbours, rivers and coastal waters of New Zealand and Australia.

Helping them on their quest is an Extreme 750 Game King equipped with the latest Raymarine electronics, including an E127 Multifunction Display (MFD), Raymarine bird radar, a Dual CHIRP digital sonar with high definition CHIRP transducer and a Ray 49E VHF radio.

Lusty and Blundell products include the Rule livebait tank system and tuna tubes, Ultraflex hydraulic steering system, Sea Vision underwater lights, Blue Sea switches and switch panels and Hella navigation and cabin lights.

A full schedule of topics for the new 13-week season can be found at bigangryfish.tv Big Angry Fish, Season 4, 5pm from July 26 on TV3, bigangryfish.tv