Dear Community
We’ve recently received complaints about inappropriate behaviour in the Whangateau Harbour by jet ski owners, as we do each summer. These complaints were duly passed on to the Harbour Master and our local Councillor, Greg Sayers, and both have responded helpfully which we really appreciate.
As Greg shared at the recent AGM, here is the Harbour Master’s recent update on the issue to him, the main point being that the Harbour Master will take prompt action if we can provide them with the registration numbers of the jetskis involved.
Last March we installed two new 5kts signs at the ramp as well as repositioning the signage on the wharf to make it more conspicuous (Photos attached)….. We also have three 5-knot boys within the Whangateau Harbour and five 5-knot buoys outside the entrance to the Harbour.
Due to the excellent photos we received from the locals when reporting the jetskis misbehaving, our Duty Officer was able to identify the owners of the jetskis and spoke with them on the phone regarding their behaviour and our expectations of them.
Whilst the community must recognise that the small Harbourmaster team cannot be everywhere within the region at the same time, they can greatly assist by providing photos or video of poor behaviour together with identifying features of the culprits (either jetski registration number or towing vehicle registration number). If they are concerned that the behaviour of a jetski (or any other vessel) is at imminent risk of causing injury or death, they should call 111 immediately and report it to the Police.
