Barge will remove debris from smashed yacht off Northland coast

A 77-year-old Auckland skipper and his wife were winched to safety from rocks after their yacht smashed on rocks at Taiharuru. Photo / Northland Rescue Helicopter

Barge in clear-up of smashed yacht
A barge will be used to remove debris from a yacht smashed on rocks at Taiharuru that has become both an environment and navigation hazard. Northland Regional Council harbourmaster Jim Lyle said contractors had picked up debris from a 12m yacht after it hit rocks on Monday. Suitable weather would dictate when the remains of the hull, mast and rig would be removed. The yacht's 77-year-old Auckland skipper and his wife were winched to safety from rocks after they tried to sail back to Whangarei Harbour rather than remain at the Poor Knights Islands in rough weather. A barge and divers would be involved in removing whatever was left of the yacht.

Beach Boys tribute band in town
The Bootleg Beach Boys, a tribute to legendary US band The Beach Boys, will perform two shows in Northland later this year. The shows will feature classic hits and cult favourites from California's most famous band, who stormed charts around the world in the 1960s with hits such as Surfin' Safari, In My Room, God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, California Girls, Little Deuce Coupe and Help Me Rhonda. The Bootleg Beach Boys will be at The Turner Centre, in Kerikeri on August 14 and Forum North, Whangarei, the following night.

Track upgrade closes carparks
The upper and lower carparks on Whangarei's Mt Parihaka will be closed from 6am next Tuesday to 6am next Wednesday . The carparks, at the end of Memorial Drive will be closed so supplies for the upgrade of Parihaka's Drummond track can be delivered safely to the summit of Mt Parihaka by helicopter. The Hokianga, Dobbie and Ross tracks will be open during this time. The Dobbie and Ross tracks are also in line to receive upgrades in the coming months.

Artwork auctioned off
The Sculpture Symposium auction was held on Thursday night after 10 days of toil by the 20 artists. New Plymouth artist Steve Molloy's piece, called Intrepid Journey, won the Whangarei District Council Symposium Award. The council bought the piece and it will be installed along the Hihiaua Peninsula. Anthony Dunn and Graham Nathan's piece, called He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata won the People's Choice Award and was also selected by the judges at the winner of the Te Au Marie Award. It will be installed at Kerikeri Airport as part of next year's 250th anniversary commemorations of Captain Cook and his Polynesian navigator Tupaia reaching New Zealand.

Clarification
A photo accompanying a story about a Marsden City project in yesterday's Northern Advocate showed some earthworks being carried out. The earthworks pictured were not associated with the latest project, which involves inspection of faulty infrastructure, preceding any repair work being carried out. Our apologies for the confusion.

Apology
A Jonny Wilkinson column in last week's Northern Advocate 48 Hours section referred to a faulty phone line installed at Tiaho Trust.
Apologies to the Cable Guy mentioned, for the inference he had not done his job properly, he had. As stated at the end of the column "Alternatively one could plug one's phone into the right jack!" Jonny Wilkinson says "it is unknown who plugged the phone into the wrong jack. Everyone was over the trials and tribulations that go with shifting but it wasn't the Cable Guy. In hindsight, the "Cable Guy from Hell" reference might have been a bit harsh and I apologise - the seaweed in the jar hadn't quite settled when I wrote the column.