The crew at Half Moon Marina is buoyant to be recognised as the best boat-mooring and maintenance facility in the country.
At the recent New Zealand Marinas and Boatyard Conference, Half Moon Bay Marina was awarded the nation’s coveted Marina of the Year accolade.
It’s the first time the east Auckland marina has collected the top prize, after it received a “highly commended” acknowledgement two years ago, says Half Moon Bay Marina general manager, Mark Hollier.
In the recent New Zealand Marina Operators Association (NZMOA) awards, Half Moon Bay Marina also had a highly commended recognition in the Boatyard of the Year category, won by Bay of Islands Marina.
The NZMOA had a panel of five independent judges for the awards, alongside a team of experts from the boating industry.
The judging panel said Half Moon Bay’s recently expanded complex that now hosts 580 boats and employs 22 staff has “achieved full maturity, realising its potential while addressing rising boating costs and delivering operational excellence across the board”.
Hollier says the team at Half Moon Bay Marina is “delighted” with the Marina of the Year status.
“It’s validation of all the hard work we’ve done over 25 years.”
Hollier, who was modest about the marina’s achievements when the Times talked with him, says he and his staff know there’s strong local pride for it in east Auckland, especially withing the boating fraternity, and “we feel very much part of the community”.
The New Zealand awards follow on from Half Moon Bay Marina attaining the Five Gold Anchor status by the International Council of Marine Industries Association (ICOMIA) earlier this year.
Hollier says Half Moon Bay is the only marina in New Zealand to be rated at that very high international standard.
“A lot of hard work goes into achieving that.”
He explains ICOMIA is an international non-profit membership organisation serving the recreational boating industry worldwide.
Its 240 members are national recreational marine industry associations, as well as businesses supporting the sector.
Waiheke Marina, New Zealand’s newest marina, received an outstanding initiative award at the NZMOA prize-giving for its construction, “achieved without causing permanent changes to the seabed or coastal currents”, judges remarked.
The Waiheke marina developers joined forces with SF Floats and Whangārei’s Heron Construction to create 2100 square meters of floating pontoons, built in Whangārei and towed to Auckland.
Those pontoons support its car park and marina complex.
