Northland boaties urged to slow down

Northland Regional Council is reminding boaties to slow down and minimise their wake, warning that large waves created by some vessels are posing safety risks to other water users and causing damage to shorelines, boats and marine structures.

Northland Regional Council deputy harbourmaster Peter Thomas said the council was seeing an increasing number of boaties creating unnecessarily large wakes across the region.

He said some larger recreational vessels in particular are creating damaging wakes that travel through the water as a set of waves, which can cause a number of issues for other water users, as well as environmental damage. 

“Excessive wake can cause environmental damage, including shoreline erosion, and safety hazards for other recreational water users, particularly smaller vessels like kayakers, paddleboarders, and small dinghies, which can be swamped or capsized.

“Passengers can also be knocked off balance and injured or thrown overboard.” 

Thomas said property and marine structures can also suffer damage, with large wakes rocking moored boats, causing damage to vessel fittings and the structures that they are moored to as well. 

“Good practice for vessel skippers is to keep a proper lookout and slow down well before areas where their wake could cause issues,” he said.

“Lose your wake by letting it pass your vessel and don’t pull it along with you, then proceed at 5 knots with no wake.”