Opua’s marina ‘the pinnacle’
Bay of Islands Marina, in O¯ pua, was last week named the best marina in New Zealand, ahead of 50 other marinas and boatyards around the the country.
The title was awarded at the New Zealand Marina Operators’ Association’s annual conference, judges describing the facility as “the pinnacle of the nation’s marina industry”, adding they had been impressed with its vision, forward thinking, design initiatives and focus on local and regional development.
About 100 marina operators were at the conference, at the Copthorne Hotel in Waitangi, with the awards dinner at Russell’s Duke of Marlborough Hotel, where the regional economic development minister was the guest speaker.
Bay of Islands Marina, owned and operated by Far North Holdings, has almost 400 berths. Stage 1 opened in 2000, as a private project, berths selling quickly, leaving no room for overseas vessels, most heading to ports further south once they had cleared Customs, taking their money with them.
FNHL rectified that in 2017 by building Stage 2, adding another 149 berths, most of them for rent rather than sale.
The lead contractor in the $10 million project was O¯ puabased Total Marine.
Earlier this year the marina was named the best in the Asia-Pacific region by the Marina Industries Association, the first time the title had been won in New Zealand, and last year FNHL general manager Chris Galbraith won the New Zealand Marina Operators’ Association award for an outstanding individual contribution to the marina and boatyard industry.