A still Autumn evening at Mana Marina // Te Herenga Waka o Mana
WELCOME
I spent most of March on leave from the Marina, cheering Team New Zealand onto the foils, catching up with friends and family, and visiting some of the remote spots in North Island. The Marina continued to run smoothly with Tara at the helm of our small team, so it will be a surprise to some of you that she has chosen to leave us. This is a blow for me, as I am losing a very talented and capable work colleague, but I am boosted when someone has the confidence and drive to ‘give it a go’.
Thank you, Tara. Mana Marina has certainly benefited from your design creativity, professionalism, and friendliness. I wish you the greatest success as you stretch out with your own business.
— Neil, Marina Manager
What’s new?
Welcome to the TEAM Victoria
At Mana Marina, we’re committed to delivering great customer service and going the extra mile. We’re pleased to welcome Victoria de las Casas onboard as our new Office & Accounts Administrator. Many of you have already met or spoken to Victoria and we’re pleased to have such a bright and friendly team member on the frontline.
Pop in and pay by eftpos at the Office
ThAT’s HANDY
A reminder that from 1 May 2021 we’re no longer accepting cheque payments, but we have a new eftpos facility at the Office for your convenience.
Is your holding tank full?
Try Mana Marina’s new portable pumpout unit
The Marina’s new Edson portable pumpout unit is now ready to go! Already nick-named ‘The Bowel Thruster’, this has a 240L capacity and a variety of fittings available to connect to deck waste outlets. Get in touch with the Office to book a pump out with Marina staff. This service is currently free of charge, and we’re pleased to be adding a great asset to our Marina facilities. It’s another step toward achieving Clean Marinas certification.
Reminders
Where do you get rid of old coolant?
Small quantities of coolant can be disposed of at Spicer landfill.
The Marina oil bund is for oil only.
Marine life thriving at Mana…
Too small for dinner, Marina Staff member Steven released this cray back into the water
let’s keep the water clean
We’ve been busy clearing away old mooring lines and rusted shackles from the piers, and last week pulled up a decrepit craypot from a berth. It should go without saying that these are an underwater hazard in berths so please store these onboard or offsite.
The good news is that there was evidence that marine life at Mana is alive and well — with a small crayfish found in the pot! Within the breakwater we’ve got an abundance of birdlife, fish, stingrays, an octopus, eels, invertebrates, visiting seals and the occasional sea horse — all the more reason for us to keep our waters clean, and why we keep reminding everyone to be mindful of what goes into the Marina.
On that note, here’s some easy ways to help:
Fish out any plastic or rubbish you see floating in the water.
Avoid spills at the fuel wharf — when refueling pay careful attention to when your tank’s nearly full. If you do have a spill, let Marina Staff know straight away and we’ll help you use the spill-kit on the wharf to clean this up.
Keep your bilge water clean (our top tips below)
8 top tips for keeping your bilge clean (and the Marina too)
How clean is your bilge water?
Keep your boat’s engine clean and well maintained.
Eliminate oil or fuel leaks.
Place an oil absorbent pad and tray under your engine to collect small spills and accidental drips.
Regularly check fuel and oil fittings leading to the tanks and engine.
Before pumping the bilge, soak up any floating oil with sorbent materials.
Don’t mix soap or detergent with oily bilge water, this will be more toxic than oil alone (try using an enzyme-based bilge cleaner which is less polluting.)
Pump your bilge less by keeping rain, and seawater from leaking into your boat.
If you’ve an automatic bilge pump, always make sure there is no floating oil in the bilge.
How good?!
America’s Cup is New Zealand’s Cup (Still!)
What a result — some edge of the seat races, and a terrific effort from Team NZ with an outstanding performance on Te Rehutai. A number of Mana boats travelled to Auckland for the event and reported a terrific lively atmosphere and impressive foiling speeds.
Yachties — save the date for the 2021 Marlborough Wine Race
Each yacht carries a bottle of new vintage carefully stowed — who’ll take line honours in 2021? Images by Tom van der Burgh
Pre Wine Race Fun Day // Sat 9 October 2021
Wine Race // Fri 15 October 2021
This well-established event sees a fleet of yachts racing from Waikawa across Cook Strait carrying the best of the new vintage Marlborough wines to Wellington. Put the date in your calendar and book your berth in the capital city sooner rather than later, as berths will be limited.
And that’s a wrap
I’ve spent nearly three years at the Marina now and I can genuinely say there’s a great bunch of boaties and community spirit alive at Mana. It’s been a pleasure to get to know so many of you over the years, to assist with grabbing lines, keeping berths occupied, improving systems and keeping things running smoothly alongside Neil. The Marina’s in great shape with an excellent team of Staff, Management and Board to keep the positive progression going. With my yacht still at Mana though, I’ll see many of you out on the water!
— Tara Cooney
That’s it from us for now. Wishing everyone a happy Easter and safe travels if you’re heading away over the holiday.
— The Marina Team