Issue date
The visible work commenced at the Burkes St Leonards Boating Club at the beginning of this month to rebuild their wharf; though when talking with the Club’s Commodore, Barry Whipp, work to secure funding to start work has been underway for about two years prior to the first pile being driven.
The club, located on the western side of the Otago Harbour beside the main shipping channel halfway between Port Chalmers and Dunedin, had always had a single pile wooden wharf in front of the club. This older structure suffered major damage a couple of years back when a second pile was snapped off at sea bed level – this turned the otherwise level wharf into a bit of a mountain climb in the centre with a major drop down where the broken pile once stood. This resulted in the wharf having to be closed to all access.
The club has been engaged in major fundraising in the intervening time and is very appreciative to the funding trusts: Otago Community Trust, The Southern Trust, Alexander McMillan Trust, Bendigo Valley Foundation and the Poker Run Powerboat group. This funding has enabled the Club to engage the services of Port Otago Ltd with their pile driver to place in 15 piles to re-establish the wharf this time as a double piled wharf. The double piles should ensure that the wharf can better withstand the strong tidal flows that can be experienced there at times along with the wash of passing ships.
With local exploration for offshore oil drilling currently ongoing the arrival of a rather large drilling platform outside the clubhouse certainly got some locals excited that the hydro carbons were closer to shore than anticipated – look out Taranaki. Alas the Burkes St Leonards Boating Club has not struck it rich with oil and will still be running the odd raffle.
Commodore, Barry Whipp says that the reinstatement of the wharf is not only important for the club but sess it as a community asset with locals using the facilities for paddle boarding, launching their kayaks and during the summer kids fish off the wharf or go swimming from it.
The recently part completed harbour cycle-way goes right beside the yacht club which is bringing the west harbour clubs such as Burkes St Leonards and Ravensbourne Boating Club very much into public view, this will hopefully have a very positive flow on for these clubs along with the City Council hopefully seeing the need for public toilets at these locations.
Barry said that the club is currently working to improve its facilities and along with the wharf project it is rebuilding its wooden ramp and slipway. This is, overall, a costly project for the club so they are enlisting the help of their local community with a buy a plank campaign where members of the public are encouraged to buy a plank for just $20 a plank and become part of this local project.
With these facilities in a better shape Barry believes that their Learn-to-Sail programme will certainly be able to cater to the local kids. The club is currently running a small fleet of older wooden Optimists for learn to sail and have just ordered two new fiberglass racing Optimists to encourage the kids to get a bit more adventurous and get in the local racing scene. This particular project was greatly assisted by the Lion Foundation.
Images: a typical warm, calm, sunny day in the south with the pile driving platform operating directly in front of the clubhouse.
