Nautical Ventures, operating as the Freedom Boat Club, a business within Brunswick Corporation, has been permitted by Queenstown’s council to use up to 28 watercraft — eight boats, 10 jetskis and 10 e-foil boards — each rented to customers for use across Lake Wakatipu.
Boats will be docked at Frankton’s Queenstown Marina — the e-foil boards, to be stored inside, have been limited to use in the Frankton Arm, with a volunteered exclusion area around the Frankton Marina boat ramp, while jetskis will be limited to the Frankton Arm and a ‘‘small area’’ of the wider lake.
Last May, Mountain Scene revealed Nautical Ventures, which also operates the club in Lyttelton and Auckland, proposed to start in Queenstown with a Rayglass 2360, with capacity for six people, and two Sea Ray boats, each with capacity for eight, plus four jetskis and eight e-foils — in time, they’d like to add another two e-foils.
Freedom Boat Club members can hire vessels on an hourly or daily basis; skippers have to be at least 21 years old and hold a Coastguard Online Day Skippers Certificate, while ship logs will be kept for every vessel.
Asia-Pacific boating services GM David Kurczewski says Queenstown’s a ‘‘globally celebrated destination for outdoor adventure and natural beauty’’.
‘‘With the addition of a Queenstown location, we’re providing members across New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region with a world-class boating lifestyle in a setting that truly embodies the spirit of exploration on the water.’’
Freedom Boat Club NZ owner Scott Williamson says it’s a ‘‘significant milestone’’ for the club.
‘‘Queenstown’s lakes and alpine waterways deserve a boating experience that is easy, accessible and world-class, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering.
‘‘We look forward to welcoming both seasoned boaters and newcomers to the water.’’
