4 Boating New Zealand
A
s someone hyper-aware of Auckland’s hyper-fickle weather
- it’s unavoidable when trying to coordinate photographers,
video crews, writers, owners and agents for boat reviews – it
may come as a surprise to learn that I’ve recently adopted a
far more accepting view of the rain.
The trigger for this “Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus” conversion
is the catastrophic drought playing out in Cape Town – a city I’ve
always considered Auckland’s twin. The two cities share the same
latitude and are subjected to very similar weather patterns. Both have
wet winters and dry summers, and both are built around the sea, with
strong maritime industries, cultures and traditions.
For those unaware of the scale of the drought in South Africa’s
mother city, analysts are now suggesting Cape Town is likely to be the
world’s first major city to run out of water – and D-Day is mid-April - long before the winter rains arrive. If, indeed, they ever arrive. The
catchment dams are all but empty, and locals are rationing water on a
scale never seen before.
Multiple factors are responsible. In addition to the lack of rain, the
city has experienced a massive increase in population over the last
two decades (it’s now around four million). It also seems there has
been little maintenance of existing facilities, nor any investment in
new infrastructure.
I don’t know what meteorological factors are keeping the rain at bay
- but Mother Nature’s delivery of a relentless drought seems a cruel,
spiteful development in a country which already has so many troubles.
Cape Town’s drought also resonates in other parts of the world,
where a lack of water holds far more significant implications for world
peace. An underlying cause for the ongoing conflict in the Middle
East, for example, is often attributed to the fight to secure access to
fresh water.
All of which brings me to regard our climate in a new way. It’s still
bloody frustrating trying to organise boat reviews and crews around the
weather, but these days I’m far more likely to roll with the punches.
Maybe we don’t know how lucky we are.
May your boating be dry-ish.
Lawrence Schäffler
Editor
EDITOR’S NOTE
Cherish the rain
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