The 2021 ‘Club Marine Marina of the Year Awards’ were held on the evening of Tuesday 25 May. The night of all nights in the world of marina recognition, Westhaven Marina was named as a finalist in two award categories.
The Westhaven team watched over the live stream eagerly from the comfort of their own homes and celebrated their achievements regardless of the result. Unfortunately, Westhaven Marina didn’t come away with a win, but their achievements were duly acknowledged throughout the gala event.
In announcing the finalists, MIA CEO Suzanne Davies commented: “The line-up of entrants this year is impressive. We have 18 finalists named across nine award categories and it was a very tough job for the judging panel this year, with a number of very close calls.”
For the Best Innovation award, Westhaven Marina was a finalist along with Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard. The innovation Westhaven submitted was for their Load n Go berth, which won the Outstanding Initiative award at the NZMOA awards last year.
This innovation was developed as a solution to maximise an underutilised water space that was required to be kept clear so vessels could re-enter the water from the Orams dry stack nearby. As a solution the team transformed this awkward area of water space, into a bustling short-term berth for charter boats to Load n Go their passengers. Since its inception, this award-winning solution has since been a huge success for boaties and the marina.
In the highly sought-after ‘International Marina of the Year’ category, Westhaven Marina was up against multi award winning ONE15 Marina from Sentosa Cove in Singapore, who took out the category win on the night.
“It was a really proud moment for me when they announced the finalists and they played the video footage of Westhaven Marina on the bid screen” said Karenza Harris, Westhaven Marina Manager. Although Westhaven didn’t win, she noted that, “several guests approached me over the night to say how wonderful the marina looked and what a great achievement it was being finalist in two categories.”
“It was a fantastic evening, celebrating a fantastic industry,” she said. “Congratulations to all the winners on the night and thank you to the Marina Industries Association for putting the awards together, it was a great event.”
The awards, which take place every second year, recognise and celebrate excellence and leadership in the marine industry. Submissions require entrants to reflect on their business direction, plans, strategies, innovations, and outcomes and document them in a submission for the judges’ consideration.
“The process of reviewing the marina performance over the period is wonderful as you get look back at the great things the team have done over the year,” says Karenza. “It’s also a great opportunity to spot things that could be done a little better and opportunities to work towards next time.”
“We’ll definitely be entering again.”