Boat brief
A new marine refit facility expected to create a boom in marine jobs and deliver significant marine and tourism spending has been confirmed for Wynyard Quarter.
Green light for marine facility.
It comes after the February signing of a Development Agreement between the city’s redevelopment agency – Panuku Development Auckland – and marine services company Orams. The new facility will feature a marine haul out and refit facility, commercial buildings and a residential tower on the northern end. It will target marine vessels up to 800 tonnes, which accounts for 85% of the world marine market.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the facility is expected to generate more than 500 jobs and as many as 200 apprenticeships.
“Currently, a piece of poorly-utilised land will become the heart of a thriving marine enterprises precinct, which carries on the historic presence of boat building in this area. Built in time for the America’s Cup 36 races, the precinct will benefit hugely from the refit work which will be generated during the challenge from visiting superyachts and vessels. There can be no better time to launch this facility.”
Known as Site 18, the facility is on the corner of Beaumont and Jellicoe streets, on a site adjoining Orams Marine Village. It will provide increased maintenance facilities for Auckland’s ferries, fishing vessels and commercial vessels. The majority of existing marine business on the site will be accommodated within the new development.
The development agreement is conditional on the approval of the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.
Orams Marine Services Managing Director Craig Park says the facility will ensure the opportunity for wider industry and economic benefits won’t be lost to offshore competitors. The existing seawall will be replaced and contamination remediation works undertaken as part of the development. BNZ
with modern education. It’s just transparency of personality on the printed page, that’s all. It just takes a little grit. And I’ve got plenty of that.”
If there is one thing that has got Fatty noticed in the world of marine writing it is his tenacity. Mix this with his honesty and some good humour and you have the first taste of the 11 herbs and spices that make their voyages and books so successful.
Fatty’s 13 books are a mix of bar yarn ( Chasing the Horizon) and practical how-to ( Buy, Outfit and Sail). He has a knack of making the potentially dry stuff entertaining. His book Creative Anchoring is among the best on the topic there is. His unique style makes it a great read – even for those who will never feel the need to let out any scope. My copy of it is lent out on occasions and returned mud-stained, which must be some measure of its value.
All this accumulated experience has come at a price. Fatty and Carolyn have had to swim away from two boats destroyed by the effects of hurricanes in the Caribbean. In a serendipitous twist of fate Hurricane Hugo took their 36ft ketch Carlotta but it also gifted them their next boat – Wild Card – a Hughes 38 as a $3000 salvage wreck.
It was one of many instances of turning a dream into reality through hard work and tenacity to create a strong, safe, magic carpet that had very little to do with money or buying stuff to junk up your boat.
While the modern trend is for cruising couples to become Youtubers or ‘digital beggars,’ as the cynical call them, Fatty and Carolyn still have the advantage of providing information from
experience and not incompetence or titillation (despite what my friend said about no pants!). Fatty even has an imposter floating around out there pretending to be him, which surely is the greatest compliment to any writer.
Their latest boat, Ganesh, is a commodious 43-foot Doug Pye-designed ketch. On her backstay flies the Stars and Stripes. “During our second circumnavigation we didn’t fly our flag in the Red Sea as we were fearful of retribution. Now, in this Trumpian era, wherever we fly it people offer us condolences!” says Fatty.
In typical style they were using their time in Whangarei to do some maintenance and as I came aboard it was the galley sink and bench top that were receiving attention. Thanks to the nearby joinery factories there was no shortage of good quality offcuts to finish the job.
You can tell a lot about cruising sailors by the knick-knacks they accumulate. The interior of Ganesh is adorned by a fantastic collection of curios from around the world. The Freaky Tiki is there among pipes, daggers and other objects of obscure function.
It is a collection that denotes a well-travelled couple with a wealth of good memories. They are true citizens of the world at a time when the world needs more citizens like Carolyn and Fatty Goodlander.