Boat owners buoyed by dredging plans

Bega MP Andrew Constance said plans to dredge the sandbar, which has given yacht crews grief and even prevented cruise ships from visiting Batemans Bay, had begun.

“Stakeholder consultation, including discussions with Maritime NSW and the Batemans Bay Sailing Club have occurred, technical assessments have been undertaken to establish an appropriate dredging depth and sediment and environmental studies are underway,” he said.

Mr Constance said that discussions with Euro-

bodalla Shire Council concerning the disposal of the dredged sand were in progress, and that all these activities would enable the project’s feasibility and estimated costs to be confirmed.

“I am keen to see this work done quickly, because this is a safety issue,” he said.

Batemans Bay Sailing Club commodore Peter Smith said he and his club members were “naturally delighted” with this development.

“We would like to gratefully acknowledge the strong support of Andrew Constance, the Eurobodalla Shire Council, and Department of Lands and Waterways in bringing the issue of the Batemans Bay bar the closest it has been to resolution for several decades,” he said.

Mr Smith said the whole Batemans Bay community would benefit, not just yacht crews.

“This combined support will hopefully provide a positive outcome for all users of the Batemans Bay waters and underlines the importance of aquatic activities to the shire.

“At the moment, a lot of boat traffic goes straight past the Bay without stopping because of the bar.”

Like Mr Constance, Mr Smith said safety was the main issue.

“At low water, the bar has about half a metre of water on it, and we think between one-and-a-half and two metres would be good,” he said.

“At the moment it is dangerous. People have had props and keels damaged. When you have one metre of water on the bar and a metre of swell on the other side, it gets interesting.”