BOATIES STRANDED BY PORT
BOATIES using moorings in Ross Creek are being kicked out by the Port of Townsville. With the port ordering them to vacate the area by June 30, some owners have complained of a lack of viable alternatives in the city.
Ian Clarke said he couldn’t use the new $ 25 million Townsville Recreational Boating Park at Fifth Avenue, Railway Estate, because his 8m sailing boat was too tall for the Port Access Rd bridge.
Mr Clarke said he might be forced to pay up to $ 14,000 to use a multihull berth at a marina.
Rather than providing free services at the new boating park, Mr Clarke said the council and State Government should be providing more services for boaties who were willing to pay. Townsville City Council has ruled out making boaties
Boating is an
activity of choice, not a necessity
pay at the new state- of- the- art facility.
“Boating is an activity of choice, not a necessity. With this I ask the question: why are these facilities free for other boaties?” Mr Clarke said.
“I would be most interested in what plans the Townsville City Council has in mind for those of us that choose to have a considerably more environmentally friendly sailboat over a fuel- hungry, ozone- depleting mega- horsepower speed boat,” Mr Clarke said.
Council’s Infrastructure Committee chairman Cr Trevor Roberts said council was not responsible for the moorings.
A spokeswoman for Port of Townsville said the port was ceasing the operations because it no longer owned the land adjacent to Ross Creek, and there were several available mooring areas in the city including the yacht club, Breakwater Marina and Nelly Bay Marina.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport and Main Roads said it was investigating mooring options following the Port of Townsville’s decision.