'No more moorings,' say Okiwi Bay residents after fatal boat crash in popular bay

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Bruce Flett died following a collision between two boats in Okiwi Bay, in the Marlborough Sounds, on Sunday.

The number of moorings at Okiwi Bay, in the Marlborough Sounds, has become a hazard, say locals, after a man died on Sunday night when the boat he was in crashed into a moored vessel.

Bruce Douglas Flett, 69, from Lower Moutere died on the way to hospital after the boat he was in with two other men hit a mussel harvester, about 30 metres from the shore at low tide.

Okiwi Bay resident Gordon Waide submitted against a different mooring in the bay two years ago, but his opposition was rejected.

He felt the moorings were getting too close to the entrance of the bay, and were posing “navigational difficulties” for recreational boaties.

* Missing person sparked Christmas Day search and rescue operation in Motueka

* Ships seek refuge from ex-cyclone Gita

“It's a very busy boat ramp, on a really good weekend we can have up to 100 boat trailers parked.

Okiwi Bay resident Gordon Waide says on a good weekend the bay can have about 100 boat trailers parked up.

“It is becoming a navigational hazard, and it is in my submission [to the council] saying that,” he said.

Waide was one of the first on the scene when the accident happened about 7.30pm on Sunday night.

Local resident Ian Montgomery says the boat crashed into one of the moored vessels on Sunday night.

“Basically what happened was the guys were coming in at night after dark, and they crashed into a moored vessel out in Okiwi Bay itself,” Waide said on Monday.

He believed they had been fishing for the day at d’Urville Island.

A Marlborough District Council spokesman said there were 29 moorings in Okiwi Bay.

A local man who had lived in Okiwi Bay for 28 years said the mooring the men hit was “right in the path where everyone comes into the boat ramp”.

“A lot of people go out and say, ‘God what’s going on with that boat moored there’,” he said.

Sea fog rolling in at Okiwi Bay, behind the moored vessels, about 10 years ago.

The mooring had not been involved in any other collisions though.

Okiwi Bay Holiday Park & Lodge owner Ian Montgomery said the mooring could pose problems for people new to the area, but not for locals.

“It’s not like a major harbour that's got markers on channels … [with] lights and buoys on … for people who are new to the area it could be a problem,” he said.

But the bay had reached its capacity for moorings, Montgomery said. Any more would be a problem, even for locals, he said.

Marlborough harbourmaster Luke Gorgan said a boat that was permanently moored did not need to display a white light at night, but boats that were temporarily anchored did.

“Anchoring is finding a safe spot, pulling over to the side of the road and doing something temporarily and then going on your way, whereas mooring is a designated parking spot,” he said.

Mooring consents could last for up to 20 or 30 years, he said.

An aquaculture worker, who asked not to be named to protect his job, said he believed there were “enough” moorings in the bay. “Any more would be too much. I don’t think they will put more in.”

The mussel harvester the men hit was on the outside of a cluster of moorings, he said.

“If you’re not a local, you wouldn’t know you need to line up the light at the boat ramp with the top of Matapehe Hill to come in, in the dark … you get used to doing that.”

Maritime NZ southern compliance manager Domonic Venz said they were investigating.

“Our investigation will involve interviews, scene inspections and examination of documents. We will assess the information gathered and decide whether to take further action.”

Police were also investigating the incident.