The Excitor is a fast boat tourist experience in the Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is used on a high-speed trip through the scenic bay out to Cape Brett

Cape Brett

Cape Brett is a promontory on the northern North Island coast in New Zealand. Located at the end of the Cape Brett Peninsula, the head extends north into the Pacific Ocean at the eastern end of the Bay of Islands....

, where the boat travels through the 'Hole in the Rock'

Piercy Island

Piercy Island, often known simply as "The Hole In The Rock”, is located off the north coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is at the very northern tip of Cape Brett in the Bay of Islands...

, a natural sea-tunnel (wave-heights permitting). The boat was operated by Tourism Holdings Ltd, and is now operated by InterCity Group (NZ) Ltd

Intercity (New Zealand)

InterCity Group Ltd is a passenger transport and tourism company and operates New Zealand's largest coach network and ferries and cruises in the Bay of Islands...

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Passengers sitting in the open boat have to wear life jackets, and waves swamping the boat have been reported, though it is designed to quickly drain the water through its stern.

Excitor I accident

The Excitor I was involved in a serious incident in 1998, when a mechanical failure in the gearbox linkage caused the boat to become unsteerable while entering Cathedral Cave. With the starboard engine still running ahead, the bow of the vessel collided with the cave wall. Twenty-nine people aboard had to abandon the boat and were forced to "swim for their lives" to the mouth of the cave, while the boat was battered against the cave roof by 3 m high wave swells. After 20 minutes, the operator was able to reverse the boat out of the cave, radio for help, and pick up the passengers. One person sustained light injuries, and one young child suffered hypothermia

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

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Passengers involved in the incident accused the operator of subsequently downplaying the duration and the risks during the incident, such as the danger of being dashed against rocks. They were also critical of the (at that time unreleased) official incident report by the Maritime Safety Authority, which was said to have failed to address contributing factors such as the late arrival (5 pm) of the boat at the cave, the height of the swells outside the cave mouth, as well as alleged fatigue of the skipper.

Excitor II

Around the end of 2002, the larger Excitor II was introduced. The timber-fiberglass jetboat was built by Johnson Yachts International Ltd, and used 2 x 'Seafury' jetboat drives built in Silverdale, Auckland

Silverdale, Auckland

Silverdale is a village approximately 30km north of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the north bank of the Weiti River and lies to the west of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula...

, powered by 2 x 800 hp

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 turbo intercooled

Intercooler

An intercooler , or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through nearly isobaric cooling, which removes...

 CAT engines. It reached speeds of up to 46 knots (approximately 85 km/h), and carried 46-54 tourists. It was 18 m long, 4.2 m wide and has a 1.2 m draft

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

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Excitor III

In October 2010 a faster Excitor III was introduced. The 12.5m Naiad rigid hull inflatable vessel carries up to 35 passengers at up to 50 knots, powered by 4 x 300hp V8 engines. Built by Whangarei

Whangarei

Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...

-based Circa Marine, and specifically designed for conditions in the Bay of Islands, the new Excitor features straddle seats, an ultra modern low wake hull design and a retractable set of stairs built into the bow to allow her to service any beach in the Bay of Islands

External links

• Excitor (official website)