BOATS WRECKED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 114, 16 May 1942, Page 8

BOATS WRECKED

HOBSON BAY SCENE

TOTAL DAMAGE OVER £2000

Feeling ran high among groups of private boat owners gathered this morning along the foreshore at Hobson Bay, where the rock wall was littered with wreckage following last night's gale.

On all sides the opinion was expressed that the shelter provided for boats moored in the bay was inadequate and that the so-called wavebreak was useless.

The strong north-east wind which developed into a gale at full tide last evening took a heavy toll of yachts, launches and dinghies moored in Hobson Bay boat harbour which was fully exposed to the heavy seas. Reports indicate that little damage occurred in the more sheltered bays elsewhere around the harbour

This morning the rock wall alone Tamaki Drive at Hobson Bay was littered with wrecxage and groups of boat owners were engaged in salvaging what they could from the debris.

Seven boats, ranging from a launch of an estimated value of from £500 to £600 and a keel yacht worth in the vicinity of £500 and a 24ft auxiliary keeler valued at £200 were either completely wrecked or extensively damaged.

It was estimated by boat owners that a conservative estimate of the total damage would be well over £2000.

Owners Keenly Dissatisfied

The concensus of opinion expressed by boat owners this morning was that their interests had not been satisfactorily guarded by the Harbour Board. They said that gradually, over past years, private boat owners had been ordered out of one small bay after another, where Harbourrßoard reclamation work' had been. carried out, until three years ago, they were finally moved out of-Mechanics', Bay, in the middte*of»the season, to-their present moorings at Hobson Bay.

"Now we have nowhere else-.to go, and there is no.room to haul out onefourth of'the boats," one owner.

Protection against storm at Hobson Bay is considered to be negligible. The present wave-break, which consists of wooden piles at intervals of several feet, and which was erected only after considerable agitation, is described by boat owners as entirely useless. The reason given by the Harbour Board for refusing to build a solid wall which would have provided proper protection was that they must not interfere with the tides in the harbour. Boat owners, however, point to the large concrete structure high up the harbour, and to the present action of the Harbour Board in dumping, off Stanley Point, thousands of tons of spoil from the dredge at Stanley Bay, as rendering this reason insufficient.

Boats Worth £20,000

They point out that boats to a total value of some £20,000 are anchored in Hobson Bay, and claim that the present damage shows how inadequate are the present arrangements..

Exposed to easterly or westerly winds the boats in this harbour'are forced to use mooring chains which "would hold a battleship," and the weight of these chains is said to impose a perceptible handicap on the boats in riding out a storm.

Even in a moderate wind, it was stated to-day, there is great difficulty in launching a dinghy from the sheds, and in a gale it becomes impossible.

Last night one owner had to give up attempts to launch his dinghy, and could do no more than remain on shore and watch his boat, worth over £2000, and hope for the best.

Two Harbour Board launches and the Coastguard boats this morning visited Hobson Bay and were in time to prevent further damage to boats which had broken away or dragged anchors.

Completely Wrecked

The greatest sufferer was Mr. A. J. Lemon, whose 36ft launch Aloma was smashed to matchwood and strewn along the rock wall.

The 30ft C class keel yacht Taioma, owned by Mr. W. D. Pardv, of Waimarie Street, St. Helier's Bay, also came ashore in the gale dragging her moorings with her. She was badly damaged on one side through pounding on the .sea wall, and was later towed into deeper water by the Harbour Board's launch.

A small auxiliary keel yacht, the Tainui, owned by Mr. Flewellyn, of 32, Victoria Street, Avondale, which was on her moorings also came ashore during the gale and was completely broken up. The mast, sails and lead keel are the only parts remaining intact. This boat was built about seven years ago at Russell for a Frenchman who wanted to sail to Noumea. He got 600 miles from New Zealand when he was taken ill and returned to Russell, where he died. The yacht was then purchased by Mr. Brown, of Warkworth, and later by her present owner.

A 22ft mullet boat dragged her moorings close inshore, but was towed off undamaged this morning by a Coastguard cutter.

Two small boats, a 14ft and an 18ft centreboard yacht were swamped off Campbell's Point, which also received the full force of the nor'-easter.

Youths Save Yacht

At Mission Bay a 25ft launch hull, from which the engine and fittings had been removed some time ago, was driven high on the beach and pounded by the waves into a mass of wreckage.

A mullet boat anchored just off the beach began to drag its anchor just after dark, and had reached within a boat length of a solid stone wall where it would quickly have been demolished, when it was reached by two local youths, Ken McNabb and Ron Laber. Although the owner was unknown to them, these two youths fought their way through the breakers, getting completely drenched, and succeeded in making fast a stern line, which kept the yacht clear of the wall.