MAKING IN FROM THE SEA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 208, 3 September 1938, Page 21

MAKING IN FROM THE SEA.

The course from Auckland to Busby Head light, better known it Tbe French, man." at the entrance to Whancarel. »- as follows:—Rangitoto Beacon to Tm sage, north, quarter west, 111 f 1 !?!' Passage to Canoe Rock, north",jMrter weei, f|J miles; Canoe Rock to;ofJ»lttJS£?. j,| N.w. by N.3N., 51 miles; Cape Rodney, north-west, north, 5 miles; Rodney to Sail.-Bock t»«* mile inside), north-west, half north, i'• miles; Sail Rock to Frenchman Light on Busby Head (white flashing), on •tarW™ hand entrance to Whan gatel Harbour, north-west by west. Hi miles. The light on "The Frenchman" i« officially known as the Sugarloaf. It » »» unwatched white light" With a f*..fS duration and 22s eclipse. It i» from a white concrete tower on .the of the rock. 51 feet aboTe sea level. 12 miles. It can eatfly be picked uft fr®3 Sail Rock in average weather and is a 8 mark to steer for. , „ The course north-west by vrent **®m ®'u Rock is a safe one and ke»ps you w dear and to the north of the Mair !*»■*»

out C from a thl y * xtensivG running ' :° m the shore on the port side of > the entrance. Small craft can cut the ■ 1 bit but it is not advisable to do ! racing K of ten "'inutes, unless when racing, when risks are usually taken "Th.> t renchmau" can be passed close to on ' jour starboard hand, as it is deep water here- (about 0<» feet). The channel is nar tbo "Vr I n af . ter ,V" Sfiins B »sby Head, with the Mair Bank still taking up three-quarter* of the area on the port side. > On the starboard side you pass Urquhart's Bay with Calliope Bank in the centre of it. but this bank lies wtll inside a line between the point just ahnve Busby Head and the next point on starboard, off which is Aubrey's Island. Not far up from Busby Head, but on the port hand, marking the northern and north-eastern end of the Mair Bank is a white flashing light, with a Is flash evirv t>s I his is a white concrete tower, 14 feet high, on the edge of the bank, visible six miles. After passing this light on vour port hand you come to a black buoy, which is also kept to port.

Keep Clear of Snake Bank. There is now a lunger stretch of channel past Marsden I'oint, where the tide runs about three knots, with Aubrey's Island close iu to the land on starboard. You keep well on the port side of the bar hour litre, for away to starboard lies Mcleod's and Munro Bays, with the big Siu.ki Bank (Annoyance Bank officially) extend ing for over two miles across these two! bays and near the entrance to Parua Bay. The Snake Itank dries at low water, revttii- j ing its big area. It has a red buoy off' its most shallow edge, while another red buoy is plai'.'il one mile lower down liar boor ; keep both to starboard. Now steer for Single Tree Point and about one-third of a mile below it is S:uglt-Tt-ec Light. It is a white flashing light, one second Hash every It seconds. exhibited from a black and white wo-Mlen tower, marking the southern tpor!> side of the main channel, with the Snake, or Annoyance. Bank, still showing at low water on the starboard hand. After passing Single Tree Point, whore there is a wharf, a black beacon is seen (hrco-tiuarters of a mile up harbour. Keep this to port and don't go inside tlie line. Another black, or port hand, beacon lies 11 miles above the last-mentioned one. It is fairly close to the edge of the main channel. On the opposite side (starboard) of the main channel are two red luoys fairly close together. They are starboard hand marks going up harbour and also mark the entrance to Parua Bay. off Manganese Point, or Annoyance Point as charted. There is a passage in to a jetty off Manganese Point which is a favourl'o spot with local yachtsmen. Above the two red buoys mentioned as off the entrance to Parua Bay is Annoyance Bank Light (on starbonrd side of channel). This is a red flashing light 0.3s flash every tive seconds. It is on a red wooden beacon. Sift high, visible five miles. Still on the starboard side of the main channel and about one mile above the red light Is a red (starboard hand) buoy and again a mile higher up is another red buoy with a red buoy another mile up and near One- | ralii Point. Do not go inside the lines of | these three buoys at low water as it gets shallow quickly until you are close to River Point. Onerahi township, wli'-re a small jetty has replaced the wli-rf. i h<\ie directions for the starboard to,' the main channel take you to Oner:' • . Going back down barU , . p!i-k up our port hand marks and keeping a fairly straight line from just off Single Tree/Point, you pass two black (port) beacons each 1J miles apart. Another mile up lies Onerahi Light. This is a white flashing light with one second flash every 11 seconds, exhibited from a black and white beacon 10 feet high, visible seven miles. It marks a turn in the channel towards Limestone Island.

Half a mile nearer Onerahi is Wellington Rock buoy, which has deep water all round it and is not a tlanger to small craft. It lies about half a mile off River Point and can be passed on both sides. A channel lead* from here up to Portland wharf. Inside Limestone Island, but is seldom visited by yachts. 1 Channel Becomca Narrow. { The channel now becomcs narrow, with the deeper water on the starboard side, close in to Onerahi. off which is a red beacon (starboard hand) and a little further on is Kaiwaka Point, a stony point on Kawaka Light, * Hashing white light, half a second .flash every five seconds, exhibited on a white pyramidal-shaped beacon 9ft high, visible live miles. The main channel is now very narrow' up to the Railway wharf at the port of Whangarei, sttuated on the port side of the channel, 1} miles from Kaiwaka Point. While narrow, the channel is very well marked. In striking distinction to the older days when a couple of stakes were the only guide to the bridge, now removed. The following information, kindly supplied by Mr. W. M. Kraser, is corrected to September 1. 1938. Tlie channel from Onerahi to the Railway wharf is marked in the following manner: —On the starboard or eastern side by a red disc beacon, a flashing white light (Kaiwaka), two red (buoys, three red disc beacons and a third red buoy, all starbonrd hand marks. On [the port or western side of the main channel to Port Whangarei wharf, on which is affixed a red light at its lower end, the channel is marked by seven diamond-shaped white beacons. This channel has 16ft at low water, but It shoals so quickly on either side that it is imperative to keep in it. From Port Whangarei wharf, which has 25ft at low water, the harbour becomes a river, with mangroves on each side. The distance to the town wharf is 2J miles and the channel Is marked on the port side only by 15 wooden piles surmounted by a white diamond shape, all to be kept on port. The town wharf lies on the port elde of the basin at the navigable head of the river, and the launch and yacht jetties on star- * board, where you can tie up to a vacant berth and be made welcome to Whangarei. , A plan of Whangarei Harbour will be j given in the booklet. I