A 160-berth marina for Waiheke might be better accommodated at Kennedy Point where a less intrusive pile breakwater could corral the berths into a small harbour using the existing rock breakwater, says architect and Waiheke boatie Geoff Waters.

Able to accommodate the same number of large vessels as the latest  Matiatia proposal, the location is already a busy port. The development would also leave the sweep of Putiki Bay and the inlet uncluttered in the background, says the project architect, who is experienced in large-scale projects.

Nestled into one small cove of the bay already occupied by moorings, surrounded by higher land and with public access along the existing rock wall and out to the end of a curved pile breakwater, a Kennedy Point marina would leave all of the existing beach area open to public use while also allowing for more than 100 car parks and some related retail opportunities tucked below the existing road, he says.

The approach road itself would have the attractive aspect of a small port with a range of vessels.

“This is already a working port with large trucks all the time. This would not be much more,” Mr Waters says of the carpark he is proposing which would have one-way entry from wharf-level at the port end and follow an existing access back to join the main road near the present car park.

He says the number of car parks, nearly twice that envisaged for Matiatia, is also more in line with the recognised ratio of 60 percent of berth numbers and there would be room for related activities such as a chandlery or a restaurant on the site.

“It would be quite picturesque; we have been trying to keep it light on the southern side, nestled in to keep it contained and not out of scale with the landforms and water. It would be just one nook in the larger expanse of Putiki Bay which it could not dominate,” he says.

Mr Waters, whose own boat is moored at Kennedy Point, says water depths are appropriate with little need for dredging and marina practices elsewhere indicate the benefits of having the tidal flows filtered but not blocked by the breakwater construction. Mr Waters and his colleague in developing the concept, tourism operator and fellow island yachtsman Ross Barnett, are both members of the Waiheke Boating Club. 

They say the benefits to the island of attracting the annual international ocean cruising yachties who refit over the summer in New Zealand, as well as Auckland sailors, could be considerable. 

However, Mr Waters says that his drawings are conceptual at this stage. 

“They are certainly not cast in stone; we are rather putting it up to stimulate debate.” 

While the concept of developing a marina for Waiheke was being canvassed, it had seemed important to develop a preliminary alternative at what could be a more appropriate site, he says. Mr Waters can be contacted This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This Sunday 19 May, a meeting at the Ostend Hall from 10.30am to 12.30pm will discuss issues relating to development at Matiatia and the proposed marina.
Organiser Kathryn Ngapo can be contacted on 372 3396. • Liz Waters