Video: I’m not sure if it was its ocean-eating good looks, the muscle-flexing performance or the incredible attention to detail that got my attention most this day. Whatever it was about the White Pointer Pro-Sportfisher 840, I knew we’d found a boat that was more than a bit special…
Educated boaties will already know Gisborne-based White Pointer Boats builds robust and
highly-capable offshore workhorses. The company has been the East
Coast crayfish industry’s “go to” supplier for more two decades –
and those boys take no prisoners, believe me.
Our team is also very familiar with the brand.
So familiar, in fact, we included the 850 in our “Boats of the
Decade” shootout in February, and the White Pointer 750 was a
finalist with merit in our Ozzie sister publication’s recent “Australia’s Greatest Boats 2011”
competition.
For me, White Pointer has always represented the pinnacle of
rough, tough, no-nonsense on-the-water performance in a trailer
boat. If I ever had a quibble it is that the finishing, while
perfectly suited to the company’s traditional customer, was not
high enough to set them apart from the rabble.
And then there was the Girlfriend.
I have been aware of the existence of this boat since the first
plans were drawn, and knowing some of the people involved
personally, it was always likely she would be the one to redefine
White Pointer boats as we know them. Without going into more detail
than would be appreciated, the brains-trust for this project would
bring together the very best in eye-for-detail, top-of-the-bill
gamefishing experience and superior hull construction. So, in
reality, the result was a fait accompli.
Although she was only launched in February this year she has
well and truly proven her pedigree. Winning the 12th Steinlager I’a
Lapo’a Game Fishing Tournament in American Samoa, and qualifying
her delighted crew for entry in the I.G.F.A. Offshore World
Championship in Cabo San Lucas, is only part of the story.
This White Pointer has amassed an impressive 12 completed
billfish captures with less than 200 engine hours on the clock.
That’s a billfish capture every second day of use – a record any
top boat in this country would be pleased with, especially when you
take into consideration the time the boat is not actually chasing
marlin.
Read the full review in the October issue of Trade A Boat magazine.
Photography: Jeff Strang