Bulldozed boatyard: Yachties face off with wealthy club over axing of public hardstand

Friday, 17 March 2023

Auckland Council spent millions upgrading cleaning facilities at a central-city boatyard but it’s now set to be bulldozed, amid accusations that wealthy yachties are calling the shots.

A central Auckland boatyard considered “vital” for keeping biosecurity threats at bay is now set to be bulldozed, amid accusations that wealthy yachties are calling the shots. Jonathan Killick investigates.

Liz Alonzi doesn’t want to sell her 10-metre trimaran, but may have no choice. With the closure of the Okahu Bay Hardstand in Ōrākei, the next-closest location she can service her vessel is in Whangārei.

“It’s either that or pay $1500 an hour to hire a crane, which I can’t do,” she said, explaining that other Auckland marinas were not equipped for trimarans.

The closure came as a surprise to some; cleaning is critical for Auckland boaties due to new rules introduced to stop the spread of invasive seaweed caulerpa brachypus, and Auckland Council had previously spent $3 million upgrading the site’s cleaning facilities in 2007.

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The boatyard at Okahu Bay allows boaties to haul their vessels out from the water for cleaning.

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Auckland has a chronic shortage of marine cleaning facilities, with a council-commissioned report by consultancy Ecometrics finding the city only had a third of the capacity needed to properly clean its 8800-strong fleet.

The boatyard sits nearly empty now, ahead of a full closure at the end of March.

Co-chair of the Tāmaki Estuary Environmental Forum Bruce Kendall said the lack of facilities was deeply concerning, and he knew of people waiting up to two months to access a hardstand space for cleaning. If boats were found to be above a certain level of contamination, he said, owners would have to lift them out of the water within 48 hours, or face fines of up to $100,000.

Despite that, the Ōrākei Local Board voted to bulldoze the Okahu Bay facility over the objections of council staff, who advised that the yard was of vital importance for keeping biosecurity threats at bay, and closing it would mean a price increase for cleaning services across the region.

The public-access boatyard is now set to become a car park and events space - the preferred outcome for the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, a private members-only club next door that has vigorously lobbied for more parking as part of The Landing precinct, which covers both the public and private areas.

Management of the public boatyard was given notice it would have to close before the public submission process had even begun, and council records showed at least 45% of submitters had some association with the private Akarana club.

The Royal Akarana Yacht Club is bankrolled by the Akarana Marine Sports Charitable Trust and Hyundai New Zealand, which are both headed by Howard Spencer - a keen boatie from one of Auckland’s richest families, whose own yacht is named ‘The Menace’.

Leading up to the vote on closing the public boatyard, the local board heard from the operations manager of Tamaki Marine Park in Mt Wellington who said any vessels affected by the Okahu Bay closure could be redirected to his facility. The marine park is owned by Tasman Holdings, which is directed by Howard Spencer.

At the board meeting where members voted, chair Scott Milne announced in advance that he would be voting in favour of bulldozing the hardstand, which some interpreted as a direction to other board members.

Boat owners Paul Vahry, left, and Liz Alonzi have fought the closure of the Ōrākei boatyard.

It left a bad taste in the mouths of local boaties like Paul Vahry, who said he was once a stalwart of the club but vigorously opposed the tactics it had used to close down the public facility. He estimated around 600 boats would be affected.

“I’ve grown up yachting, and in the 80s I was fortunate enough to build a boat in the front yard, much to the derision of my neighbours, but those days are over.”

Vahry said in his view the whole process had been “a disgrace”.

The Hyundai Marine Sports Centre next door is home to the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.

“The people that are doing this are extremely wealthy, in the top 1% or 2%. At the end of the day, it’s money making money.”

The difficult relationship runs both ways, and Akarana Trust general manager Nicky Tuck said she had been “intensely” abused at the public meetings.

Tuck said the trust’s facilities clocked up to 20,000 users each month, and around 1000 young sailors had come through thanks to a development programme, so the redevelopment would benefit thousands of Aucklanders.

Space on Auckland’s waterfront has become increasingly contested in recent years.

“I know that they’re saying we want [the hardstand] for storage, and we would like a bit more, but there’s also people who have waka ama and canoes.”

Not everyone on the Ōrākei Local Board is happy with what happened. Board member Troy Churton has stood against the majority, fighting to retain the public boatyard amid what he felt was an ill-considered decision.

Churton said it made no sense to use commercial performance to justify closing the yard, when “it was the local board that asked them to reduce space and be less profitable”.

Boatyard management had asked the local board for permission to raise its rates because it was charging around $20 a day, while commercial yards charged $40. Following a local board meeting in November 2018 rates were slightly increased - for instance, the daily hardstand rate for a 20-foot monohull rose from $18.39 to $22.07 - but remained well below the rates charged by commercial yards.

A grand plan including a tree-top walkway was originally proposed to replace the boatyard, but that’s since been trimmed down because the board couldn't afford it.

Consultations on the scaled-back plan will reopen in April; Ōrākei Local Board chair Scott Milne said the move would open the space to “tens of thousands” of people beyond just boaties.

Milne defended Spencer’s role in development at The Landing, saying the local board was grateful for the external support.

“He’s been amazingly supportive, and people forget that the Spencer family have given millions of their own money to develop The Landing and the trust.”

He said revealing his intentions prior to the official vote was just “how debate works”, and he hadn’t instructed other board members how to vote.

“Those claims are mischief and false.”

He said the reason why the yard management was given notice before consultation was because the older lease wasn’t “fit for purpose” and was always going to be terminated.

Milne said that the environmental argument to keep the yard open didn’t hold much weight with him.

“It’s been the craziest argument shouted in my face, that they will have to travel further for cleaning. These are the same boaties that go to [Rangitoto Island’s] Islington Bay for drinks.”

Troy Churton, meanwhile, has stuck to his guns, writing letters to each of the local residents’ associations outlining his position against the redevelopment.

“You can vote me off next term if you disagree.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the local board refused to raise rates at the boatyard. Rates slightly increased following a local board meeting in November 2018. The earlier version also incorrectly described Liz Alonzi’s trimaran as being 10 feet long. It is 10 metres long. Story amended 2:55pm on Thursday, March 23, 2023.