World Affairs Board - View Single Post - And from the "only in New Zealand" file...

**Parihaka** · 04-25-2006, 21:05 PM

Quote:

26/04/2006 11:20:04

The Coast Guard is baffled by the stupidity of two men who attempted to cross Cook Strait in a dinghy.

The men set off from Wellington at the weekend in a four metre wooden boat with just one sail and oars made from broomsticks.

They were spotted by a dive group when they ran into trouble at the entrance to Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds and had to be rescued.

Wellington Coast Guard president Dave Collins is amazed at the men's cavalier attitude. He says the least they could have done was told police they were going to attempt such a crazy caper.

Mr Collins is surprised the men got as far as they did, given the flimsy nature of their vessel. He suspects they were probably a bit embarrassed to be rescued, but grateful, as the wind was getting stronger.

Cook Strait is the waterway between the North and South Islands. It's located at about 41 degrees south (that's the roaring forties) and is the conduit between the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. As you can imagine the currents through it are huge, and the waves regularly get higher than 10 metres. The true stupidity of these fellows can be illustrated by the photos below.