4 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Whitianga Marina Virginia Wright Busy marina in expansion mode Whitianga Marina is replacing its old breakwater and increasing the number of berths available for 18-22 metre boats. to page 6 Whitianga Marina is only two minutes from the township of Whitianga itself, an easy walk for boaties looking to load up with provisions while they fuel up before heading back out to the clear blue waters of Mercury Bay. In summer the marina sees a daily stream of visitors from around the coast, many from nearby Tauranga or Whangamata, but some replenishing supplies as they make the voyage further north to the Bay of Islands. The marina itself is in expansion mode. They’re most of the way through replacing the old breakwater and increasing the number of berths available for 18-22 metre boats, and they recently replaced their diesel-only fuel dock with a state-of-the-art fuel facility which includes petrol. “It’s a game-changer,” says Dave Munday who’s been managing Whitianga Marina since 2017. “There’s a lot more big fishing boats, and 10 metre trailer boats coming out on the market, with big 250 or 300 horsepower motors on the back that run on petrol. We’re the only place along roughly 80 miles of Coromandel coastline north where you can fuel up on the water.” The marina’s expansion is timely given that it’s within 20 minutes motoring of the Whitianga Waterways, a coastal settlement under development in Mercury Bay complete with the canals, moorings and private boat ramps that its name suggests.
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