From the General Manager. With the shortest day now behind us, we are well into the winter months and looking forward to the first indications of spring; he weather recently has been very mild so we certainly cannot complain. Staff have been busy catching up on maintenance, preparing the end of year financial accounts as well as updating car park permits, contractor insurance/compliance and vessel insurance/EWOF. As well as our usual day to day activities we will also highlight the key actions that are underway:

MARINA REDEVELOPMENT

Chaffers Marina shareholders approved the implementation of the Long Term Asset Management Plan (LTAMP) in March 2019. The LTAMP is the process by which all the marina assets and facilities will be replaced over the coming years. The redevelopment of all marina assets is to be part funded by annual fee increases (both shareholders and tenants) and a ‘one off’ payment based on shareholding (classed as a ‘capital contribution’). The redevelopment of the marina will maintain the capital value of shares and continue to enhance the reputation of what we consider to be a world class floating marina in a unique location in the heart of Wellington.

Work is underway on pile, outer wave screen and breakwater refurbishment; these works do not affect the day to day operations of the marina and as much of the work is in the sub tidal zone many people are unaware this is actually underway. Chris has replaced the old timber fenders on the inside of the boatlift with recycled HDPE sheets, this has added an extra 50mm in width that makes a significant difference with some of the wider vessels. Between his repairs and maintenance, Chris has also been working on the fire hose replacement project and the installation will be underway shortly.

I am also pleased to say that the WIFI proposal is finally getting some momentum. We are fortunate that one of our liveaboards works for DataCom and they have been extremely helpful in sorting out some of the technical aspects of WIFI. Along with our IT specialist, a fibre connection will be run to each pier and outdoor wireless transmitters installed – our expectation is this will be up and running for this coming summer.

STAFF

We are pleased to inform stakeholders that Louise Lenihan is working for us on a casual basis. Many will know that Louise was the previous Administration Manager but left when she and her partner moved to Palmerston North. Louise provide cover for when Victoria is on AL and is helping with General Administration as Andrew takes on more of the LTAMP management.

Victoria has been working through the end of year procedures and ensuring that all the marina users have their new car park permits and are providing the necessary updated documentation. Along with Andrew, Victoria is undertaking a review of all CML Policy and Rule documents; these are being updated and changed as legislation has changed in some instances and we have also identified gaps in some areas of policy.

Chris has the task of ensuring the assets stay in a operational state until they are replaced; this is a full time job and at times there are more tasks than hours of the day but we are making good progress. With A and B Pier’s scheduled for replacement during 2022/2023, our focus is C-E Piers and currently we have been replacing pile guide rings and addressing issues with rods that run through the piers. In addition to pier maintenance, we have also replaced the old timber fenders inside the boat lift pen with a new HDPE (recycled) sheet. This also has the added benefit of increasing the width of the boat lift pen which is of great benefit for some of the larger vessels.

We have also had Campbell Benseman working for us; Campbell has been undertaking an environmental clean up within the marina waters each Saturday morning for the last 12 months and shortly is off overseas to University. We have been making the most of his talents before he leaves and currently he is water blasting the green mildew from the timber walkway and tightening rods on D Pier.

OCCUPANCY & LIVE-ABOARDS

Occupancy within the marina remains strong, with only 5 berth unoccupied mid-winter this indicates a good level of interest in Chaffers Marina and clearly a great place to berth a vessel. Our live aboard community remains at approx. 85 and this is about where we think it should be at (while our facilities could handle more we are mindful retaining that ‘sense of community’ and ensuring that numbers reflect the nature and outlook of the marina).

Finally, staff at Chaffers Marina are grateful for the support and feedback from the marina stakeholders – our aim is to provide a level of service that marina users want, that we can maintain and that the reputation of Chaffers Marina continues to be enhanced.

MARINA SCUPLTURES

We were disappointed when we couldn’t renew the work visa for Lindsey late last year. You may remember Lindsey was Canadian and was of great assistance as we worked through our deferred maintenance list. Lindsey is very artistically minded and designed, purchased and installed the 3 sculptures you may have seen in the Marina.

The first is ‘Mertoria’ – our mermaid on the breakwater. You may notice a close resemblance to our Victoria in the office and this was to celebrate Victoria’s 50^th birthday. The mermaid has also been the centre of attention when we hosted a ‘pod of mermaids’ who were highlighting plastic in the ocean. The other 2 sculptures – the ‘leaning fox’ and ‘falling tiger’ are a bit of fun and certainly have created a lot of interest from the public. Many thanks to Lindsey for her talents and enthusiasm – if you look around you may see some more of Lindsey’s genius around Wellington…