WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)
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from a stray dog or errant cow, there are the<br />
more challenging elderly grandmothers with<br />
children in tow, tricycles that won't pull over as<br />
they roll along at 25 km/h in the fast lane and,<br />
my personal favourite, the motorcyclists that<br />
zip along at 80 k/mh, no helmets, cellphones<br />
in hand, hurtling towards you in your lane. But<br />
the cocoon of the Maserati’s cabin provides<br />
a soothing space to prevent all that stress<br />
from penetrating.<br />
After passing through a few small towns<br />
and the bustle of Cavite, the road turns into<br />
a two-lane zigzag through a national park.<br />
This is the best part of the drive. The Levante<br />
has a Sport mode that, when engaged, turns<br />
the throaty gurgle into a deep roar, and the<br />
acceleration goes to G-Force levels. I was<br />
very impressed with the car’s handling around<br />
the bends and never felt there was any risk<br />
of the tyres letting go.<br />
One small but significant thing I loved<br />
about the Maserati was how well it synced<br />
to my iPhone. A text would come in, I'd get<br />
the car to read it to me, I'd dictate a response,<br />
and it would be sent, all without me taking my<br />
eyes off the road or my hands off the wheel.<br />
The entire sync system was super smooth<br />
and intelligent.<br />
Once on the beaches of Nasugbu, I was<br />
able to turn my attention to the other toy, the<br />
Hammerhead RIB. The Hammerhead is made<br />
by Advanced Composite Systems in Subic<br />
Bay, Philippines, using an Australian mould<br />
to create the deep V hull. The 8-metre version<br />
I borrowed for the trip to the beach sported a<br />
250 hp Evinrude G1 engine, which is a ton of<br />
horsepower for one of ACS's smaller boats.<br />
In the water, the Evinrude can push the<br />
Hammerhead beyond 40 knots or 74 km/h.<br />
While that’s nowhere near as fast as the<br />
Levante when you get an open road, speed<br />
on water is very different from on land. The<br />
Hammerhead is an open boat, and at 40 knots<br />
the speed seems huge and far more than enough<br />
for the kids to get up on the foil wakeboard.<br />
Music is a necessity for a top day on the<br />
water. The Hammerhead has a Fusion stereo<br />
system, which connected effortlessly to my<br />
iPhone via Bluetooth. The speakers and<br />
subwoofer on board were excellent. When<br />
running at speed, engine noise and wind noise<br />
drown out the music, no matter how good<br />
the system, but once parked and anchored,<br />
it was cool to have my quality “Dad” playlist<br />
available.<br />
Boats are infinitely more customisable than<br />
cars. Hammerheads can have teak floors,<br />
multiple seat configurations, and racks for all<br />
other kinds of accessories. Indeed, the boat<br />
toy is inevitably a conduit for lots of other<br />
toys for the water. Skis and wakeboards are<br />
some of the usual additions. If they’re too<br />
strenuous then the boat can be used to transport<br />
SUPs to a calm beach or scuba tanks to an<br />
offshore reef.<br />
maserati | motoring<br />
Dennis Valdes with his wife Tessa ready to head to<br />
the beach in the Maserati Levante.<br />
So which toy would I rather have?<br />
A lot more people can ride in an 8-metre<br />
RIB than a four-seater Levante. But on the<br />
other side of the coin, nothing compares to<br />
the Maserati's signature, sexy gurgle. It’s a<br />
tough call, so probably best to have both!<br />
Dennis Valdes is a Makati-based company<br />
president, motoring enthusiast, national<br />
rep underwater hockey player, keen foil<br />
wakeboarder and Marlborough sauvignon<br />
blanc enthusiast.<br />
Heading home to Makati’s city lights after a break at the beach.<br />
www.winenzmagazine.co.nz<br />
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