Watersports Holdings Ltd Partnership, a company associated with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Iraj Barabi, has applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council to add a fifth Seabreacher craft to the lake for paying customers, and a sixth for staff training, safety and maintenance purposes.
The company has been operating in Queenstown since November 2013 and claims to be the first commercial operator of the unique machines, which come in the shape of sharks, dolphins and whales, with seating for two people in each, one being the driver.
The vessels reach speeds of up to 80kmh on the water, and 40kmh diving under it.
According to the company’s website, passengers are inside what feels like a cross between a "fighter jet and a torpedo" during the 15-minute trips.
At present Hydro Attack has consent for up to 40 trips per day over 80 calendar days per year within the Frankton Arm, and 100 in other parts of Lake Wakatipu.
Its resource consent application said the total number of trips would remain unchanged and, depending on demand, adding an additional vessel for paying customers might mean the operation would cease earlier in the day because the total number of permitted trips would be completed faster.
Staff training was proposed to be separate to the existing cap given it would be infrequent, depending on the degree of staff turnover, and on a different part of the lake.
At present, Hydro Attack operates from the council-owned Lapsley Butson Wharf in Queenstown Bay.
The company’s former owners, Lee Exell and David Lynott, sought consent for a new wharf, including a kiosk and public berth, on a site accessed from St Omer Park.
The proposal became more urgent after the pair learned their company would cop a massive rent hike on its existing wharf.
After council commissioners refused consent for that proposal in 2022, they appealed the decision to the Environment Court.
Following a two-day hearing last May, the court granted consent for the new wharf after a series of changes were made.
Watersports’ application said once the new wharf was constructed, Hydro Attack would operate from there.
Two affected parties have been served notice of the company’s application — Aukaha, which confirmed it would not be providing a submission, and Te Ao Marama.
Submissions close on January 22.
