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5:10 AM Mon 30 Mar 2009 GMT
 | | 'The Southport Broadwater - sand banks in every direction waiting to ground unwary skippers. - Southport Broadwater'
Gold Coast City Marina
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It just won't go away!
Whenever criticism is directed at the Gold Coast, it's a safe bet the state of the Southport Broadwater will receive prominent mention.
Sand banks seem to breed throughout the Broadwater; not only do they breed, they move around!
A sand bank preventing access on Monday will likely be gone by Wednesday, waiting to trap another unwary skipper in its different location.
Some of the criticism of the extreme need for dredging is directed at the Gold Coast City Council, but council says, I believe quite correctly, that it is a State Government problem and that the council is doing all it can.
This week I spoke with Dean Leigh-Smith, general manager of the Gold Coast City Marina and a man perhaps more aware of the problems facing Gold Coast boaters than anyone.
'I can only hope the recent State and Council elections will see a continuation of those always trotted out pre-election promises to do something about the Broadwater,' he said.
'The 'lack of' factor has been well documented and it becomes painfully obvious to any regular boater that our beautiful waterways within and surrounding the Southport Broadwater have suffered from a lack of maintenance and dredging for more than two decades.
'In addition to my duties with the Gold Coast City Marine, I am also dealer principal of one of the longest-established brokerages here on the Gold Coast, Leigh-Smith Cruiser Sales.
'Consequently I have a first hand interaction with many boat owners and sadly, I have to point out that many have either sold their boat or are thinking along those lines, all because of the pitiful state of our waterways,' he added.
As Dean points out, a skipper's pride can be seriously 'dented' when at the wheel of his pride and joy his voyage comes to a grinding halt wen it runs aground, often in a navigation channel!
'Put simply, the 25,000-plus registered boat owners in South East Queensland have been paying ever rising registration fees, premium rates for living on so-called premium waterways and for what?
'In effect, we have been paying for the deep water access to our favourite anchorages and fishing spots, but since the Gold Coast Waterways Authority was abolished in 1991 these funds have been allocated elsewhere.
'I think the Broadwater and its connecting waterways and seabed have fallen victim to the 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality,' he added.
While some authorities claim major dredging operations are simply not affordable, Dean Leigh-Smith believes he has an answer.
'If a percentage of the sand from the dredging spoil and sand bypass were to be sold, say, to concrete companies, the process has the potential to be either significantly offset or even self-funding,' he declared.
Leigh-Smith is not speaking solely as a marina manager or yacht broker.
'Not at all,' he said, ' I also fear that our struggling marine manufacturing industry could continue to suffer, not due only to the global financial crisis, but through the inaction of so many levels of government since 1991', he explained.
'In short, I see the only way to guarantee the future of our waterways and the marine industry at large is through the rein-statement of something along the lines of a 'local maritime-waterways authority' with representation from industry groups, Marine Queensland, fisheries, transport, EPA, boat owners and relevant government departments.
'I believe this to be crucial for the protection and management of our waterways,' he added.
Recent 'gossip' around the waterfront that other 'port authorities' from other areas could be brought into assist does not wash with Leigh-Smith.
'The Port of Brisbane Authority has been suggested; it deals with ships entering and leaving the Port of Brisbane, so what could it possible bring to the Gold Coast's tourism and leisure-based activity,' he said.
Leigh-Smith claims the biggest issue is for a non-politically biased master plan to be implemented with focus on the initial dredging of the Southport Broadwater.
'Another focus should be on the formation of additional man-made islands, similar to Wavebreak Island, to provide safe anchorages for the increasing number of vessels,' he explained.
'A realistic and practical view for future marina infrastructure to allow our local boat building industry to be profitably sustainable is yet another focus needed.
'Perhaps the greatest issue will be to ensure that any newly formed 'marine board/authority' has sufficient funds and proposals to put in place.
'Unlike governments, which change every two, three or even four times every decade,
the waterways are our backyard and must be managed and cared for accordingly and into the future.
'I hesitate in saying it, but I guess what we need most for our industry is plain 'common sense', not usually found in large quantities in government circles.'
by Bob Wonders
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