Godzone -- I love the place. Great people, good sailing,
beautiful country. I've sailed down there and back three times since
Peter left and as a foreigner have a little different perspective.
So, with the greatest of respect I will add some comments to Peter's
essay.

... there was no legal requirement for any certification
regarding boat operation ...

This is still the case. Your cross Tasman cousins have boater
licensing. I have one of them and the test and practical work were
trivial.

....
When we left, in order to get a Customs clearance to depart, we had to
be examined by a voluntary [examiner]...
At the time there was a lot of heated annoyance by foreign cruisers at
having to comply but bear in mind that little N.Z. with its 3.5
million population has one of the largest search and rescue areas in
the world - almost to Chile, and we don't charge for rescues.
....

The exam was found to be illegal for foreign flagged vessels because
NZ is a signatory to the SOLAS/IMO agreements. Charging for rescue is
also not allowed for signatories. The people who objected to the
inspections noted that most foreign vessels in New Zealand arrived on
their own bottoms and were likely to be seaworthy; that records
suggested that almost all rescues at sea carried out by NZ assets were
for NZ vessels; that the vessels were already required to comply with
their home countries safety laws and that complying with NZ laws as
well would be have them carrying redundant equipment; that the
inspections varied greatly depending on the inspector and the
inspected and there were questions of fairness and due process.

....
Our nearest neighbours, Australia and Fiji are 1,200 miles away. ...

New Caledonia is about 900 miles from Opua. Brisbane and Suva about
1,100 as the jet flys, but let's not quibble since distance sailed
will be greater anyway.

....
In accordance with your recent thread and having met some of your
cruising countrymen here in Trinidad who so proudly talk of their
"overnighter" from Grenada 86 miles away - the longest non-stop sail
they have had since leaving the US (I did say SOME), I am amazed at
how they are able to operate such big vessels and am not at all
surprised at the inevitable mishaps. ...

New Zealanders are justifiably famous for their can do attitude.
Still, I met several New Zealanders in Tonga who had built or
refurbished back yard boats or dubious quality and set off from NZ
with no offshore experience and no training... Made me worried just
thinking about it, but as you say, in the long run Darwin sets us all
straight.

-- Tom.