Boaties rally forces against Auckland marina sale

By ANNE GIBSON

Opponents of Ports of Auckland's sale of Westhaven Marina and the super-yacht base at Hobson West Marina are lobbying the Government to try to stop the multimillion-dollar deal.

Jake Ryan of the Westhaven Community Action Group, Ron Copeland of the Ponsonby Cruising Club and Westhaven Marina Users Association committee member John Beck - who also owns two berths at Westhaven - are rallying forces against the sale.

"Someone has to stop more public assets being stripped and these people have no right to sell the marinas," Ryan said, referring to Ports of Auckland's chief executive Geoff Vazey.

The three men attended yesterday's announcement by Vazey and Auckland City Council's waterfront working party chairman Scott Milne to ensure public access of the marina foreshore areas.

But Ryan said he and Copeland would meet Cabinet representatives on Thursday to discuss the Government stepping into the scrap, which has seen the Westhaven Marina Users Association and others band together to try to put the waterfront area into a charitable trust.

Vazey would only say yesterday that the marina would go "for under $100 million" and refused to disclose its more recent valuation or how much money the properties generated.

Vazey said the 1800 berths and their moorings had been sold for an average of $50,000 to $60,000 for terms which expire between 2026 and 2029. Owners paid average annual upkeep fees of between $4000 to $8000.

Late last year, Ports announced it wanted to quit its marina business and would sell Westhaven - said to be the largest managed marina in the Southern Hemisphere - and the super-yacht base.

Vazey said that the company wanted to instead focus on the berthage of large ships.

Tender documents on the marina sale are expected to be ready within a fortnight and offers have to be submitted by the end of March.

Bayleys Real Estate has exclusive marketing rights and is managing the process, Vazey said.

Milne said the Auckland City Council would submit a tender for the marinas and Vazey said the sale of further Port land was being considered.