| 7 Virginia Wright World-class facility cements its place Photo: Eke Panuku. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Westhaven Marina We have over 30 years experience of selling new and used boats from our high profile location - with high repeat and referral business we are always looking for new listings - if you’re looking to sell your boat, please give us a call! www.lauriecollins.co.nz | wayne@lcw.co.nz Providing engineering and marina design services to Westhaven Marina Proud supplier of the Westhaven Marina redevelopment masterplan www.shorewise.co.nz SPECIALISING IN THE DESIGN OF MARINE STRUCTURES Now the biggest recreational marina in the southern hemisphere, Westhaven Marina began in the early 1900s as an area used by boats from the traditional tanning, timber and fishing industries to pick up and drop off cargo. By the 1940s it was a protected water-space for recreational boats, while its transformation to marina began in the 1960s. Purchased by Auckland Council in 2004, management of Westhaven Marina was passed to Eke Panuku Development Auckland, which has continued its development as a world-class facility. Thanks to its recent expansion and refurbishment which began in 2019, Westhaven Marina now has over 1800 berths catering for recreational boats from 8 to 30 metres, four yacht clubs and a variety of marine businesses and hospitality establishments. The opening of the Load ‘n Go berth as a pick-up/drop-off point for operators unable to berth in the CBD brought the marina full circle to those early trading days, while the Port of First Arrival customs and MPI berth, allowing international recreational boats up to 25m to clear directly into Auckland, offers a very upto-date service. Welcoming people to the marina area and offering all its users an outstanding level of service has been a focus in recent years. The completion of the second stage of the award-winning Westhaven Promenade offers a continuous shared path along Westhaven’s foreshore between Wynyard Quarter and the Auckland Harbour Bridge, making the marina accessible to anyone wanting to enjoy the view along with some fresh ocean air. These days along with the yachties, the recreational launch owners, and marine businesses you might expect to find in the area you will also find the general public in all its guises with the promenade proving popular with cyclists, runners and office workers looking for somewhere to have lunch. At the same time as transforming themselves into a recreational space for everyone to enjoy, Westhaven Marina has made sure to offer exceptional services to those that use them in the more traditional sense. The 2461sqm Marine Village houses an ever-increasing number of marine based chandlery services along with space for a food and beverage offering. The largest refuelling facility in the southern hemisphere can dispense up to 20 million litres per year. Within the marina there is a four-lane public boat ramp, a floating dock service, shower and laundry facilities, and sewage pump-out available on four of their spiers. Around the marina’s perimeter there are dry stack berths, travelifts, two boatyards and two large capacity slipways. As impressive as the facilities are, they are only part of what brought Westhaven Marina the first Gold Anchor accreditation in New Zealand. “It’s an international accreditation scheme that has been assessing marinas for something like 25 years. It’s similar to star ratings for hotels except they use anchors and we got four out of a possible five,” says Marina Manager Gareth Wilson. It’s a complex system that takes into account various factors such as location, accessibility of hotels, food and beverage to those on foot and so on, along with a comprehensive assessment of marina specific things from the state of the bathrooms to that of the floating piers, their refurbishment programme, their financial situation and so on. “It really takes in every aspect of the marina,” says Gareth. “An auditor flew in from Australia for a three day evaluation including one-on-ones with staff members and berth holders, so it was quite a rigorous process.” It’s been a good year for recognition of all the work that has gone into future proofing Westhaven Marina. At this year’s New Zealand Marine Operators (NZMOA) awards they entered three categories and won all of them. “We were humbled to be awarded NZMOA Marina of the Year, Best Environmental Performer Award and the Outstanding Initiative Award – terrific acknowledgement of the efforts of the whole marina team,”says Gareth. The initiative in question is part and parcel of their care for the environment. Taking their parking ticket system online eliminates the need for 6,000 sheets a year of 120gsm A4 holographic foiled paper and the plastic pouches that held them. Other environmental initiatives include their partnership with the Kai Ika project, a service allowing fishers to have their catch expertly processed with a nose-to-tail solution that ensures nothing goes to waste. All off-cuts are shared with Auckland families and community groups who value these parts of the fish. To date, Kai Ika has repurposed over 270,000kg of fish offcuts, which would have been otherwise wasted. In addition, solar panels, water-treatment facilities, care with recycling and rubbish are just some of the many measures in place to keep the marina’s impact on the environment to an absolute minimum. Gareth sums it up nicely. “At its heart Westhaven Marina remains a facility dedicated to the interests of boating and the marine industry. “We have immense pride in our marina’s history and take the responsibility of providing a marine destination for all to enjoy very seriously.” Westhaven Marina is the biggest recreational marina in the southern hemisphere.
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