Travelling too fast, wearing no life jackets and getting in the way of large shipping vessels are the main concerns held by Western Bay of Plenty harbour master Jennifer Roberts about the 2009/10 summer boating season.


Western Bay of Plenty harbour master Jennifer Roberts.

Travelling too fast, wearing no life jackets and getting in the way of large shipping vessels are the main concerns held by Western Bay of Plenty harbour master Jennifer Roberts about the 2009/10 summer boating season.
She says boaties and jet skiers were speeding out from the beaches and boat ramps too close to swimmers and other water users, causing many $200 fines to be issued.
'There is a five knot speed limit, that's walking speed, from the launching ramp until you get out past all the moored boats.
Pilot Bay is used extensively for swimming and those energetic swimmers are often quite hard to spot amongst the boats and mooring buoys.”
A second major problem was that too many boaties were getting in the way of commercial shipping vessels, says Jennifer.
'It seems like a no-brainer that a 6m runabout would try to challenge a 30,000 tonne steel ship – but that's what happened, not once, but numerous times over the summer.”
She says part of the problem is that people underestimate how fast commercial ships move.
The average cargo ship moves around the harbour covering over 300 metres, or three football fields, in 60 seconds. It takes the average boatie quite a few minutes to wind in the fishing lines, start the engine and heave up the anchor.
'If you're anchored in the channel, you need to allow plenty of time in case something goes wrong.”
Also of concern for Jennifer was the large number of people out on jet skis and boats who were not wearing lifejackets.
All of those caught were issued with an immediate $200 fine.
'The law says that you must carry a lifejacket of the correct size for every person on your boat and you must wear it in dangerous situations, such as crossing the bar, in rough water, strong currents or in windy conditions.”
She says statistics show that 50 per cent of those who drowned last year could have avoided death by wearing a lifejacket.