For #ThrowbackThursday, enjoy a promotional video from 1991 featuring Neoteric's classic Questrek hovercraft ...
18 January, 2018
13 January, 2018
As of today, 462 homes have been damaged and 65 completely destroyed by the devastating flooding and mudslides that struck southern California Tuesday. Seventeen people have died and five are still missing.
As the Associated Press reports, “Rescuers ‘searching for a miracle’ in California mudslides.” Perhaps that miracle could have been the early deployment of hovercraft.
To quote ABC News coverage of the California disaster, “In 2014, a mudslide in rural Oso in Washington state killed 43 people … Travis Hots, fire chief of Snohomish County Fire District 22, was on the scene in the first hour after that catastrophe. He recalled a sea of mud so thick that crews had trouble slogging through it or so watery it was like quicksand.”
What ABC didn’t mention is the vital role performed in that mudslide by the three Neoteric rescue hovercraft owned by Snohomish County Fire District and Snohomish County Search and Rescue. Their hovercraft enable first responders to access areas other vehicles can't reach ...
Snohomish County said, “Our hovercraft can navigate through floating debris and logs, so we’re able to cross the flooded valley and access the debris field. These Neoteric craft are able to quickly and safely access almost any environment.”
Imagine what might have been accomplished in the California rescue operations if hovercraft had been available … easier, faster rescues. Lives saved. First responders kept above the danger, not in it.
Hovercraft are a necessity in flood, mud and water rescues
As Maritime Reporter and Marine News magazines state: “Small hovercraft have a growing role to play in search and rescue, commercial and military operations around the world. Hovercraft can be a practical proposition for operations in areas inaccessible to other vehicles including frozen water, mud flats, intertidal areas, shallow rivers and flooded inland areas. Perceived to be environmentally sound, as they don’t exhaust into the water, create no wash and do not disturb the sea bed, they are also economical and do not endanger marine animals as there is no propeller in the water.”
Neoteric is the original and most experienced light hovercraft manufacturer, relied upon by
first responders in 50+ nations for more than four decades. And Neoteric’s founder, Chris Fitzgerald, agrees with these magazines. In a recent news article about the role of Neoteric rescue hovercraft in Hurricane Harvey, he says, “The real tragedy is there should be thousands of hovercraft for these rescues. They can do so much more than other vehicles and fill the gap in amphibious transport, as hovercraft can operate in fast-flowing water, in water full of debris or in shallow water, places where boats have a problem … Even when Katrina hit, we had craft operating and in a mud slide in Oregon a few years ago. We are sorry to see these tragedies, but with global warming, we will see a lot more, unfortunately.”
News media: Spread the word about rescue hovercraft – you’ll save lives
The news media could literally save lives if more coverage were devoted to the unequalled value of hovercraft in natural disasters such as these. The fact that so many well-known and influential people were regrettably affected by the California tragedy could help boost this coverage. Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bridges and Rob Lowe are all residents of Montecito, the city ravaged by the mudslides …
Ellen Tweeted: "This is not a river. This is the 101 freeway in my neighborhood right now. Montecito needs your love and support " …
“What is devastating is that we lost so many lives,” Oprah said yesterday on The Ellen Show. “It’s such a tiny, little community and nobody would have expected that after we survived the fires that we would have this devastation with the mudslides so soon.” She described how some of her neighbors’ houses were "just gone" after a 300-foot wide stream of mud ripped through them …
On Instagram, Oprah posted a video of her wading through the mud and debris on her property, saying, “Thanks everyone for your prayers and concern. My property is fine. Some mud , and minor damage that pales in comparison to what my neighbors are going thru. #mudslides" ...
Oprah’s neighbor, Jeff Bridges, Tweeted, “Our home has been severely damaged, but we are safe, and so thankful for that and for the first responders who are working tirelessly to save people. We are heartbroken over the loss of lives in our community. Your prayers and best wishes are most appreciated.”
Rob Lowe Tweeted, “Mourning the dead in our little town tonight. Praying for the survivors and preparing for whatever may come. #Montecito”
@Ellen, @Oprah, @TheJeffBridges, and @RobLowe, we invite you to read more on the Neoteric blog and website to see why first responders in 50+ nations rely on the Neoteric rescue hovercraft to save lives safely … and we hope you’ll share the news.
Maybe this lifesaving news should be featured on The Ellen Show @EllenTV?
And to the news media: why not some good news, for a change?
03 January, 2018
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Home Island is a tiny, palm-covered speck at an uninhabited coral atoll, much like “Gilligan’s Island” in 1960s television series. Home Island is the world’s most remote privately-owned land, a thousand miles from Hawaii, 400 miles from an airport, and 130 miles from the nearest island village in the Republic of Kiribati.
Home Island co-owner Manantial De La Torre of Santa Fe, New Mexico has an access problem. The atoll is a necklace of islands around a deep lagoon, entirely surrounded by an impassable coral reef with no natural “passes” where boats can pass through. The lagoon became navigable only in 1941 when the U.S. Navy built a ship channel from the ocean into the lagoon during World War II.
Today a boat can access the lagoon, but then nearly a mile of shallow, non-navigable mudflats prevents access to Home Island. These flats, part of a National Wildlife Refuge, are a protected habitat for mollusks and sandworms. Even at high tide the water on the mud flats is only ankle-deep, so no boat can pass. At low tide the flats are exposed but are too muddy and fragile for normal vehicle access.
The ideal solution for crossing these mud flats was a hovercraft. And, because of its advantageous features, a Neoteric hovercraft was selected as the ideal solution. As the world’s most experienced light hovercraft manufacturer, with hovercraft operating in 50+ nations, we produce the only hovercraft on the market with the ability to brake and back up.
Neoteric customized a rescue hovercraft specifically to meet the challenging needs at Home Island. The hovercraft flies on an 8-inch cushion of air across the mud flats, lagoon water at any depth, and dry land without leaving ruts or damaging the coral reefs or the sand creatures’ burrows.
De La Torre's hovercraft, customized with oars and other features, undergoes stringent performance testing on the Wabash River near Neoteric's factory before delivery.
Another difficulty solved by the customized Neoteric Hovercraft is corrosion. Year-round rain, tropical heat, humidity, and wafts of corrosive salt spray make corrosion a constant problem on Home Island. In World War II, military equipment rusted rapidly, wood rotted, and now even vinyl rots. Neoteric refitted a used saltwater rescue hovercraft with extra marinizing protection to resist long-term corrosion.
Visits to the remote property are rare, so the hovercraft will likely be stored there unused for long periods of time. The electronics are encased in a waterproof, static-proof Faraday Cage. Epoxy coatings are used throughout. Metal hardware is predominantly stainless steel. During storage, the engine and other components must be covered with a waxy protective coating that is more inert in the heat than Vaseline or industrial Cosmolene. Junctions of unlike metals are protected from galvanic (bimetallic) corrosion.
The hovercraft’s detailed customization eliminates yet another threat: in tropical storms and tsunamis, sea-surges occasionally wash right over Home Island. Neoteric designed a craft-portable aluminum “raised igloo” shed that suspends the hovercraft from its roof, seven feet above the ground to allow a storm surge of seawater and flotsam to pass under the craft. The structure is anchored against these surges as well as protected from 600 miles-per-hour winds and flying debris.
The final menace is voracious swarms of hermit crabs. Scuttling around in scavenged seashells, they will eat anything soft - from shoe leather to plastic to each other. Since the hovercraft is elevated during long-term storage, its insulated wires and the nylon skirts will be kept crab-proof.
Because of Home Island’s extreme remoteness, the need for frequent hovercraft maintenance would be highly impractical. It was critical that De La Torre's hovercraft be as structurally sound and protected as possible, with a reputation for longevity and low maintenance. It needs to stay operative as long as possible. And that is another reason why De La Torre says he chose a Neoteric Hovercraft.
As Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald says, “We ship marine hovercraft to exotic locations all the time, but this could be the ultimate. It’s beyond the beyond.”
Let Neoteric customize a hovercraft made just for you!
28 December, 2017
It’s that time of year in much of the world: the time when outdoor lovers have stowed away their boats, jet skis, kayaks, canoes and ATVs and are sitting inside hoping for some snowmobile weather.
But that’s not the case with outdoor lovers across the globe who own a Neoteric hovercraft. Here’s what they’re up to …
You don't need that whole stowed-away fleet of vehicles when you have a hovercraft. It's the only all-season recreational vehicle that replaces that fleet - and it takes you places your other vehicles can't reach: you'll fly easily over land; swift water; shallow, frozen or flooded rivers; sandbars; swamps; mud; snow and even thin or broken ice. What a great way to save money and guarantee year-round fun!
But don't take our word for it - check out what our customers say ...
Still not sure you want to have a Happy "Neo" Year? It's easy to fly before you buy and find out if a hovercraft is right for you ...