Engineering:MV Indies Trader

Short description: Surf exploration vessel, owned by Martin Daly

The MV Indies Trader is a surf exploration vessel, which took part in Quiksilver's Crossing from 1999-2005, and is known as the most iconic vessel in modern surfing.

The Rader

Richard ‘Rick’ James designed the Rader (now Indies Trader) as well as 150 of Australia’s most iconic vessels. He graduated University of Queensland’s Bachelor of Naval Architecture program. It was owned first by Dave Barnett, a New Zealander raised in Fiji, using it for marine salvage jobs, the primary function of the boats large cargo hold and crane.

Extension and renaming

After diving a big wreck and finding controversial treasure, Dave Barnett decided to sell the boat to one of his crew, Martin Daly. When it was sold to Martin, it was renamed Indies Trader to keep the Rader name intact and avoid the bad luck of renaming a boat. Using the same designer, Rick James, it was cut in half and extended by 6 feet.

Surf Discovery

The boat is credited with discovering many surf breaks, including One Palm Point and being the first boat in the Mentawai Islands. The boat stumbled upon Lance Knight a couple weeks after he arrived by canoe, and named the surf break after him, Lance's Right. Captain Daly and the Indies Trader have discovered more surf breaks than anyone in human history.

The Quiksilver Crossing

Supported by the United Nations , Quiksilver organized a seven year trip around the world, discovering new surf breaks, as well as checking on the coral health around the globe. The Crossing has been called one of the most groundbreaking moments in surf history. The voyage took them to 56 countries and 26 states and four territories, they discovered more than 115 new surf breaks, as well as going over 160,000 nautical miles, the equivalent of circumnavigating the world 8 times.