Meet the Team - Dockmaster Team Part 2
Martin (Aka Marty): Growing up in Auckland, Marty lives and breathes the city. His experiences overseas and on superyachts have given him a keen eye and a thorough mindset. He is also an advocate for American Football and involved in the local team.
James: Our enthusiastic night, and occasional day shift Dockmaster, James has been with the team for two and a half years. Always eager to help, we enjoy having him on the team. You may also see him entertaining crowds as a pro wrestler!
Mark: The tallest of the night shift team, joined us with a background in the police and working with youth. His calm and disciplined demeanor serves him well when issues arise. A family-oriented person at heart we enjoy having him on the crew, even if some of the daytime teams do not see him much.
Dave: Having spent 13 years as a policeman, Dave’s move to the night crew as a Dockmaster was a welcome shift. Another family man, Dave enjoys the peace and quiet that he can get during the day when he’s not working. He also enjoys horse-riding and getting out and about.
Notice from the Maritime police: Navigation lights
In the last hours of darkness on Sunday 13 June 2021, the Police Maritime Unit conducted a compliance and education operation with a primary focus on vessel navigation lights. One of the locations the Maritime Police checked vessels was the Westhaven area. They did speak to some vessels that had the wrong configuration of lights or a light not working. Maritime Police would like to provide vessel operators with the following information.
- Navigation lights must be used at night or at times of restricted visibility
- Conduct a check on your lights before you depart on your journey
- Check your lighting system configuration is correct for your type of vessel and its length
- Where possible, upgrade your lights from incandescent bulbs to LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) for reliability
The diagram shows the lighting requirements according to vessel type and if it is under or over 40 feet/12 metres in length.
We would also like to remind vessel operators of their obligations when they must not exceed 5 knots, which are:
- within 200m of the shore
- within 200m of any structure
- within 200m of a boat displaying a diver’s flag
- within 50m of any other boat
- within 50m of a person swimming
- on a power boat if any person has any part of their body outside the rails or edge of the deck
Let them Fish
The Pacific Islands need your unwanted sea gear!
We’re delighted to be supporting Let Them Fish in lending a hand – and fishing rod – to people in need in the Pacific Islands. Have any good diving / fishing gear that you no longer need? Simply drop it off into your local green / blue Let Them Fish collection point. From there, the team will see that the fishing supplies are sent to remote settlements and villages that rely on fishing for survival.
What’s the issue?
The Pacific Islands have been hit hard by COVID-19, with the pandemic bringing tourism income to a halt. The Let Them Fish team are supporting villages who, due to poverty and food insecurity, are having to depend on fishing to put food on the table.
How can you help?
If you have any fishing and / or diving gear that you no longer want – such as hand lines, fishing rods, spear guns, wetsuits, dive booties, masks, snorkels and fins – the Pacific Islands are the perfect destination for it. Just drop your donation off in the steel drum at either:
- The top of the Z Pier ramp in Westhaven Marina St Marys Bay
- By the sliding door of the old Westhaven Office at 137 Westhaven Drive
- Wettie Spearfishing & Wetsuits, 6 Arrenway Drive, Albany
- Outboard Boating Club, 7 Tamaki Drive, Parnell
Your generous donation will then be processed and sent off to locations such as Fiji and Tonga, where Let Them Fish have already supported over 50 families with approximately 700kg of donated gear over six shipments.
Who are Let Them Fish?
A registered Aotearoa New Zealand charity, Let Them Fish is working hard to reduce poverty in developing coastal Pacific Island communities by providing a solution to food insecurity - via the donation of fishing and diving gear. The goal is to foster and empower a culture where sustainable fishing methods are used exclusively, to sustain the availability of fish as a food source for generations to come.
Sustainable Environment
Clean Boating - It may be tempting to use household cleaners, but harsh chemicals such as bleach not only dull your gelcoat but pollute the harbour. Using phosphate-free and biodegradable soaps will keep your boat, and the local marine life, in good shape. Ecostore boat wash is a great example of a plant and mineral based product which is readily biodegradable in marine environments.
EWOF Reminders
Keep your eye out for our poster campaign reminding all boat users of the requirements for plugging into power.
We are keen to remind our boat users to check their expiry dates on their shore power leads and EWOF. When you get either of these updated, please remember to send the office a picture by emailing info@westhaven.co.nz If you have any questions regarding electrical compliance, please call us on 0800 Marinas.
Construction and Maintenance Update
On the water: STF pier refurbishment has moved over to Z pier. Z pier maintenance is ongoing with a large amount of wooden and steel componentry being replaced, as well as the Z pier wastewater system being renewed in the next two months.
Once the works are complete, the Man Overboard System will be trialed in the area and if successful, will be installed.
Total Marine are now able to continue the construction of the new AA pier berths, which were delayed due to shipment issues caused by Covid-19. Additionally, Total Marine are also completing the pile replacement program around the marina to replace the end-of-life piles.
Once AA pier is complete, the S pier project will start which entails replacing the backbone and pier walkway that was damaged during the tornado. The installation of S1 pier will commence at the same time.
Land side: The Total Marine lay-down yard for the construction of AA pier is located at Z pier. The retrenching project in Z pier is underway, this is to enable a water connection from the Eastern side of the marina for compliance purposes. While the machinery is in the area digging trenching, we are taking the opportunity to futureproof all services by laying additional ducts.
The new northern reclamation area for the Pile Mooring Redevelopment, is still in the settlement period, and once reclamation has stabilized, Eke Panuku will be moving forward with the construction of the car parking and paths/gardens in the area.
We are refreshing the Westhaven Website
We are excited to be launching a new and improved Westhaven website. The new website will be a lot easier to navigate to find what you need. There will be a searchable contractors directory, an interactive marina map, and all new updated content. Watch this space!
Your feedback from annual survey responses addressed
Thank you for those that took time to respond to our customer service survey. The response rate was 33% of berth owners and renters, and a score of 94% overall satisfaction with Westhaven Marina was received.
Feedback we have taken on board, and actions taken include:
- Customer service skills – In July, all our customer facing staff underwent training to improve their service skills, we hope you notice an improvement.
- Investigating pier tag off process - Using access tags to use the piers is part of our safety and emergency operating procedure. If there is an emergency on the pier, we use the tag information to know who is still on the pier by using gate in/out access records. We understand it is a bit frustrating to have to get your tag out to exit; so, we are currently investigating other methods such as a phone/Bluetooth application that will trigger the gate to open when you are in proximity.
- Gate codes for friends and crew – Passing out codes has been trialed previously and it led to security breaches due to codes being passed on to other members of the public, compromising the security of the Marina and the vessels. Instead, we are proposing that if you have a crew member that requires access, they visit the marina office to register and pay $30 for a crew tag that will get them access on and off your pier. This allows us to maintain the security of the vessels to the highest of standards.
Did you know?
Westhaven Marina has a comprehensive set up of 147 CCTV cameras, providing security and surveillance 24/7 from Curran Street right throughout the marina to Z pier. Footage is recorded in case of an event or security incident, and the police can ask for access to this at any time.
