Western Port
Features inside HISTORY
PAGE 23 FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 24 WESTERN PORT SCOREBOARD
PAGES 27-29
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5 March rch – 11 March 2013 3
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Low tide and time THIS time of year is when Western Port has its secondlowest and highest tides after spring. Looking out over Hastings Bight this week, it’s almost as though someone pulled the plug in the bath tub. Wait six hours, however, and it’s back to normal – plenty of water for everyone. Western Port’s three-metre tide presents challenges for boat skippers of all types. It’s also the reason Western Port is home to tens of thousands of migratory waders and seabirds, with the bay listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance. More than 270 square kilometres of mud flats are exposed at low tide and other areas of Western Port are very shallow. It’s a haven for seagrass beds, mangrove and saltmarsh, providing a wide diversity of habitats for wader birds as well as important fish species such as King George whiting, bream and mullet. Picture: Keith Platt
Islanders ferry unhappy By Mike Hast THE ferry from Stony Point to French Island and Cowes on Phillip Island is likely to be cancelled more often due to rule changes. The ferry service was suspended on Saturday afternoon after wind of more than 25 knots was predicted. New WorkSafe rules forced the operator, Inter Island Ferries, to cancel two trips, disappointing islanders and tourists. Ferry boss Frank Denvir said new restrictions had been put in place last year after WorkSafe officers had in-
spected jetties at Stony Point, Tankerton on French Island and Cowes. “We’re now not allowed to operate when the wind is over 25 knots and blowing against the tide,” he said. Waves made it unsafe to board or leave the ferry from fixed-height jetties. Mr Denvir predicted there would be more cancellations during winter and spring when Western Port was windier. About 20 trips have been cancelled since last April. In 2008, Mr Denvir said that despite the vagaries of weather, services were rarely cancelled.
“The cancellation rate is less than one per cent despite waves of up to three metres, winds of 35-40 knots and the outdated, badly designed piers that we have to use.” Mr Denvir has been trying to get Parks Victoria to improve the three jetties for many years. Floating pontoons would make the jetties safer due to Western Port’s tide of up to three metres. Parks Victoria has built pontoons at several Western Port jetties in recent years including Hastings, Rhyll, Blind Bight and Warneet, all of which are
mainly used by recreational boaties Mr Denvir said Stony Point was fine except during easterlies but Tankerton and Cowes were more exposed. He said French Island residents had complained about cancellations but he had explained it was not the fault of Inter Island Ferries. French Island Community Association president Michelle Neesham said she did not want to comment until the group had received a formal reply from Mr Denvir. When the ferry is cancelled, islanders are either stuck or have to use
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their own boats. One resident, David Paonetti, did two trips on Saturday afternoon in his 4.2-metre craft – one for his own family and one for friends. Ferries have been running to French Island from Stony Point since 1994. The service started with a couple of 25-passenger vessels between the mainland and the island. Inter Island Ferries now has two high-speed passenger catamarans running to French Island, Phillip Island and out to Seal Rocks. Parks Victoria could not be contacted before The News went to press.
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