MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Six year push sees new navigaition buoys for Mangawhai HarbourThanks to the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, 10 sets of buoys have been installed by the Northland Regional Council (NRC) between the Mangawhai bar and the Mangawhai Tavern, the result of a six-year effort by the Society to have them installed.
Each set of the red and green buoys are located at strategic points in the channel, and are marked with reflector tape which illuminates the buoys in the dark. Larger buoys are located at the harbour entrance, with smaller buoys further down the estuary. While the NRC supplied the buoys and the labour, the Society helped with their installation and provided its dredge, the Spirit of Mangawhai 2, to remove the two poles that were previously the sole channel markers. The red or port pole, which previously marked the reef and was located between the boat ramp and the harbour entrance, has been moved and replaced and is now located just north of the reef as boats approach the reef from the entrance. The green or starboard pole has been removed completely as it is unnecessary now that buoys mark the channel. Mangawhai Harbour Restoration president Trevor Downey, who is also the Mangawhai Harbour Warden, said the dredge had been invaluable to the project as it had assisted in removal of the poles by sucking up sand around the poles, enabling divers to cut them off below the harbour floor. “This has been an extremely worthwhile project for boaties, and brings the harbour up to the standard of other harbours in the Northland region,” he said. Northland Regional Council harbourmaster Jim Lyle, who led the project, said that he would welcome feedback from boaties about the positioning of the new buoys. “We think we have set them in the correct position as channel markers, but welcome feedback if people think they need to be moved,“ he said. Mr Lyle said he appreciated the assistance of the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, especially with the removal of the two poles. “We couldn’t have done all this without the help of the dredge,” he said. The NRC reviewed each harbour’s needs every six years. As well as the marker buoys, the Society is undertaking a project to GPS the Mangawhai Channel so that boat owners with GPS units will be able to navigate the channel. “This will be completed in early June and is another example of our commitment to make the estuary a safer and more user friendly waterway,“ said Mr Downey. The third project being supervised by the Society is the extension to the boat ramp at Alamar Crescent. As the Society holds the Resource Consent for the ramp, the extension of the ramp is a project being completed in conjunction with the Mangawhai Boating & Fishing Club. “It will be completed over the winter. Our role is principally to ensure the work done complies with our resource consent,” said Mr Downey. “Hopefully this project will alleviate the congestion at the ramp in the summer,” he said. n The Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society will review its 2013-14 year with the public following its AGM at the Boating and Fishing Club rooms in Alamar Cr on Saturday July 26. All are welcome to hear how the Society uses it’s funding and what plans it has for 2014-15. HIGH STANDARD: NRC and MHRA crews use the Mangawhai dredge to remove old channel marker poles from Mangawhai harbour. And (inset) the new navigation buoys. |