SA Yacht Squadron Opts for Nature not New Marina
Members of the Cruising Committee of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron have thrown their support behind Stansbury's Oyster Bay Preservation Committee, opposing the development of a marina. Chairman of the Cruising Committee Adam Wynn said the committee had four main objections to the project, including the fact there is already a marina at Port Vincent and another at Wirrina. 
'Stansbury - ’delightful, historic and beautiful’'
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'Oyster Bay is a delightful, historic and beautiful part of South Australia and a favourite destination for cruising boats. To destroy its natural beauty for the benefit of a few would be tragic,' he concluded.
'The existing marinas provide more than adequate space and facilities. Neither of them are travelling very well, both are undersold and under-utilised and it would be foolish to add another marina in the foreseeable future. South Australia does not need another languishing marina development,' he said.
'Such a development would also spoil the nature of the place and ruin the very thing people go there for. Most of the cruising community would like to see things left in an unspoilt state and the marina at Port Vincent is perfectly adequate as a shelter on that side of the peninsula.'
While noting that the majority of Stansbury's residents seem to be opposed to the development, Mr Wynn also explained adequate provision for yachts can be made at much less cost and with less destruction of the natural environment.
'Recent minor modifications to existing boat ramps at Christmas Cove, Penneshaw and Arno Bay have provided excellent facilities for yachts without a big disruption to the natural beauty of the place,' he said. 'All that is needed is space for a few yachts to seek shelter and pick up supplies; space for hundreds of boats is completely unnecessary.
'In the near future we hope to pursue discussions with the District Council of Yorke Peninsula on ways of improving existing facilities with much less cost and disruption.
In their ongoing campaign against the development, members of the Oyster Bay Preservation Committee have forwarded a submission to Planning SA, with copies to a number of state politicians and the DCYP, and contacted four Adelaide-based yacht clubs.
'We were delighted to receive a call and visit from Adam Wynn, and to get their support for our stand against the Stansbury marina proposal, whilst also learning he had contacted other major clubs and they, too, agreed the marina is not needed,' Committee spokesperson Trevor Carbins said.
Given Major Project Status by the SA Government in March last year, the committee and others are now awaiting the release of the Stansbury Development Company's Environmental Impact Study. Once this document has been made available it would then be put out for public consultation and presented at a public meeting in Stansbury.
About Stansbury:
Located 213 km west of Adelaide, Stansbury is a pleasant holiday spot on the coast of the Yorke Peninsula. It is 17 km from Port Vincent and 23 km from Yorketown.
Stansbury was originally known as Oyster Bay because of the region's reputation as a place where the best oyster beds in South Australia could be found. Governor Musgrave renamed the town 'Stansbury' after a mysterious 'Mr Stansbury' who was a friend of his.
The town grew up as a ketch port. The grain from the surrounding area was brought to the port where it was loaded on ketches and shipped across Gulf St Vincent to be loaded on the larger ships at Port Adelaide.
Today the town operates as a service centre for the surrounding farmers but its primary focus is on tourism. It has a charm which is quite distinctive and it attracts holidaymakers from Adelaide who want to escape from the city.
by Yorke Peninsula Country 
