06 WATERLINE
DECEMBER 2012
New lights and marker reshuffle There have been a few improvements made recently to some of the navigation beacons around the harbour. The most obvious is that five of the old wooden two-pile navigation beacons in the Otumoetai and Western channels have been replaced. These were starting to deteriorate so it was time to upgrade them before they fell over. The replacement beacons are single pile steel beacons, made from 310mm square I-section steel columns. They are coated with a submergible paint system, similar to the paint system used on the steelwork of the new harbour bridge. A vibro-hammer was used to drive them into the sea bed. As you leave the Tauranga marina or Waikareao Estuary and turn left into the Otumoetai channel, the first new beacons you will notice are Otumoetai B and D, located out in the harbour, off Kulim Park. These have brand new lights fitted, so they should be easier to spot at night. At the western end of the Otumoetai channel, the West Cardinal beacon, located between Kulim Park and the southern end of Matakana Island, has also been replaced with a new steel beacon. This beacon has been moved approximately 150 metres towards the west and is now located on the western edge of the isolated shallow patch that was marked with an Isolated Danger buoy. The black and red Isolated Danger buoy has therefore been removed.
Go slow near boats and swimmers
or pay a $200 fine!
The old wooden green/red/green two-pile beacon at the entrance to Hunter’s Creek has also been replaced. The new steel beacon has been shifted 10 metres to the east to better mark the sand bank. This beacon has been fitted with a new 2 mile light, flashing (2+1). Western A beacon, between Rangiwaea Island and Motuhoa, which has been marked by a temporary buoy since it was knocked over in a fatal accident last year, has now been replaced by a new steel beacon and light. An extra beacon was installed between Western A and Motuhoa earlier this year, to reduce the gap between beacons and improve navigation along the Western channel. A number of other navigation lights have been upgraded, which should make navigating around the harbour after dark a bit easier. Submerged obstructions to the south of the Matapihi rail bridge were recently removed by divers using an underwater chainsaw. In the northern end of the Tauranga Harbour there have been a number of new lights fitted to help with navigating after dark. Blakneys channel beacons from Tuapiro channel southwards to Ongare Point (numbers BK16 to BK34) have been fitted with red flashing lights. Care is needed when navigating at the south end of Blakneys channel as a sand bar has formed at the entrance and the channel is very shallow. New lights have also been fitted to the bea-
Blakneys channel marker with new light fitted. cons at the southern end of Blue Gum channel. If you’re boating in the harbour at night, please let me know what you think of these changes. New safe boating signage has been erected on all boat ramps from Pukehina in the south to Waihi Beach in the north. Removing graffiti from boat safety signage is an on-going problem. Please notify us if you observe any tagging on our boat ramp signs. These are just a few of the jobs that have been carried out recently to make the harbour and surrounding areas safer for boating this summer. Now it’s up to you! Make sure you stay safe on the water this summer. Check the weather before you leave; carry two forms of communication; tell someone where you’re going – you know the drill! Enjoy safe boating this summer – and remember, if in doubt, don’t go out. By Jennifer Roberts Harbour Master – Western Bay of Plenty
Wear a
LIFEJACKET
You must have an observer when towing
or pay a $200 fine!
GO SLOW NEAR DIVERS