Nā te Kaunihera o Wairau. from Marlborough District Council. World-leading technology will aid Tory Channel mariners

A groundbreaking visual aid providing real-time guidance for mariners on current and tide conditions in Tory Channel/Kura te Au (pictured) went live on Council’s website on Monday. The world-leading technology is the result have entered the channel. of more than two years of work as part "The tide and current model ‘nowcasts’ of Council’s Tide and Current Project, real-time information on the actual flow

conditions at the entrance to the channel run in conjunction with marine and

and will be free to use,” he said. oceanographic survey experts Oceanum,

“There is a high degree of accuracy, and we Calypso Science and iXblue, and was

have confidence in the model. We can project presented to the Environment and Planning 24 hours ahead and look back at the previous Committee last week. 24 hours as well.” Council owns the model, but Oceanum who have developed the product, mathematical models and visual aids will be able to use the technology developed for other applications around the world. “The technology has the potential to be much more than a navigational safety tool,” Captain Oliver said. “The only Council investment has been staff time and energy,” he said.

Tory Channel/Kura te Au, the main trunk line for ferries travelling between the North and South islands, has long had a reputation amongst mariners as a complex waterway, Harbourmaster Captain Jake Oliver told the committee.

“Actual currents and expected currents are not always the same which means mariners cannot be certain of the conditions until they

Cawthron Institute was also contracted to help with water flow measurements and data computers on some of the interisland ferries also helped validate the model.

The work has been made possible due to the detailed bathymetric data collected during the HS51 multibeam survey of Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui in 2016/17. “Without this data we would not have been able to understand the shape of the channel. Now we will begin looking at the feasibility of expanding the project to encompass the whole of Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui.” The new visual aid will also be available via the Marlborough Cruise Guide.

For more information go to: www.marlborough.govt.nz/environment/ harbours/tory-channel-current-and-tidemodel