The busy holiday period has kept the harbourmaster and the wider waterways team occupied so far this summer. 

Upper Clutha waterways harbourmaster Phil Weir told the Wānaka App mixed weather meant a mixture of quiet days and others where the team was “hammered”.

Unlike the Coastguard, which responds to emergencies on the water, the harbourmaster and waterways team is responsible for education and enforcement of the Navigational Safety Bylaw.

“It is a regulatory role and we work for the council,” Phil explained.

During the busy summer period there are four full-time staff monitoring the waterways.

“We do things like enforce the wearing of life jackets, speeds on the water, and any other restrictions as far as waterways are concerned.”

“We try to educate before infringement so people are learning the skills,” he said. “We’ll only really enforce if people aren’t listening.”

Phil said behaviour had been “pretty good” on the water so far. 

He said one of the recurring issues was people using paddleboards without a lifejacket but this had been less prominent than in previous years.

“I’ve never met anybody who has had a bad day because they wore a life jacket but I’ve met plenty who had an awful day because they didn’t.”  

Some boaties were still needing to be reminded that there is a 5 knot limit until they are 200m from the shoreline, he said. 

An incident where boaties drank heavily while out on the water should serve as a reminder to the public that drinking and boating do not mix well, he said.

For the most part people had behaved well, and Phil said he believed the continuing education work he and the team were doing was starting to have an effect and most people knew the rules.

“If people follow the boating code it can take away a lot of stress,” he said.

The Boating Safety Code says:

• Wear your lifejacket
• Take two waterproof ways to call for help
• Check the marine weather forecast
• Avoid alcohol
• Be a responsible skipper

PHOTO: Wānaka App