Kettle Park lights off; more sand for beach

By David Loughrey on Sat, 1 Oct 2011

News: Dunedin | DCC

The lights have been turned off at Kettle Park, and Dunedin's Middle Beach will be replenished with sand, after concerns the sea has worked its way dangerously close to light poles at the park.

The Dunedin City Council confirmed yesterday fences and signs were being installed along the edge of the sports ground in the interests of public safety, and power had been disconnected from the sports field lights.

The work is expected to cost about $60,000.

"A further inspection of Ocean Beach was held this morning following our monitoring of the latest pattern of storm activity," council parks manager Lisa Wheeler said yesterday.

"It is now clear that the erosion of the dunes adjacent to Kettle Park on the eastern side of Moana Rua Rd requires remedial work."

Dunedin man John Piper, who walks his dog on the beach each day, raised concerns about the issue this week, after he noticed heavy seas had eroded sand dunes to within metres of light poles at the ground.

The council is coming to the end of an extended consultation and research period, as it tries to find a way to deal with the constant erosion at the beaches from St Clair to Lawyers Head, which was made worse by severe storms in 2007.

The council has been shoring up the dunes since then, dumping extra sand and placing "reno blankets" - rock-filled wire netting - along the beach.

Yesterday, community and recreation services manager Mick Reece said a rip had formed at Middle Beach.

The council has a stockpile of sand at Tahuna, which it dredged from Otago Harbour, and 5000cu m would be used to replenish the beach.

Contractors would also attempt during low tides to remove rubble from the beach that had been dumped there in the past, but had been exposed.

Ms Wheeler said the swell at the beach was predicted to ease yesterday, and work was being organised to begin next week to replenish the dunes most severely affected.

In 2009, the council set aside $400,000 for the following three years to deal with the problems until a longer-term solution was found.

david.loughrey@odt.co.nz

So Much Quality...

All images via Mackie, and that's him putting a flextail into a very tidy turn in the first image. Much goodness on it's way from the remnants of the British Empire, ostensibly for Sacred Craft but it will all be displayed for sale here too. There's been waves here too which is a bit of a capper to it all. If I can squeeze a couple more sessions out of this swell combo I'll be well pleased.

Update: September 2011

There has been some erosion of the dune face at various points along the beach due to recent swell activity, mostly in the area located between The Esplanade, St Clair and the Moana Rua Road, St Kilda. Contractors have been instructed to remove overhanging sections of dune in areas where the face has been eroded to prevent clay capping material from falling onto the beach. Due to a lowering of sand levels, the stairway from the gravel track between the St Clair seawall and the tennis courts has been closed and the lower sections removed. This section of track may also be at risk of erosion during a predicted storm event and therefore will be closely monitored and repair works arranged where necessary.

A report outlining the Project Team's preferred management options for the long term coastal protection of Ocean Beach and requesting approval to publicly consult on these options is being presented to the Community Development Committee on 7th September.

Sacred Craft, Ekstrom, Mackie & More...

It's Sacred Craft Surfboard Show time again, October 8 & 9 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Not only is Carl Ekstrom this year's honoree but he's kindly offered up a spot in his booth for us to display our wares. Not only will Carl undoubtedly have some exceptional boards but there will be books, there will be shirts, there will be films and there will be some surfboards from Mick Mackie for people to check out and buy should they desire. The above HP Sidecut fish will be there- 6' x 20" x 2 5/8" of handshaped EPS joy for only $800. There will also hopefully be a few bonus items from our friends across the pond in the UK, but more on that as it gets sorted out. It'll be a fun show definitely. We're even expecting a one man Australian contingent and he usually brings swell so here's hoping....

West Edmonton

This is a blog about beaches and I have sometimes gone out of my way to find beaches where others might not expect to find them.  There's not much to say about this one, other than it's a pretty popular place.  It doesn't have some of the dynamic aspects that attract me to most beaches - but I guess there's no troublesome erosion, either.  Unlike most freshwater beaches in this part of Alberta, it doesn't freeze in the winter.  The waves come and go, generated by some sort of mysterious force behind the proverbial curtain.  It's surrounded by the 800 or so stores of the West Edmonton Mall.


The previous days have seen few beaches, other than the one at Clear Lake that I previously posted about, but we've seen many rivers, all of which are captured (if only briefly) in my other blog.  The Missouri River (Chamberlain, SD), the Cannon River (Northfield, MN), and the Mississippi River (St. Paul, MN) all drain into the Gulf of Mexico. The Red and the Assiniboine (Winnipeg), the South Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), and the North Saskatchewan (Edmonton) all flow into Hudson Bay, via the Nelson River.


Blogger/Google has changed some things, which explains my occasional playing with different thumbnail sizes and layouts.  It also means that the link to the map/aerial that I've traditionally provided by clicking on the title of the post, is now done by clicking on the location at the bottom of the post.

Clear Lake

High in the mountains of Manitoba...well, everything is relative, particularly the mountains of Manitoba.  Much of Manitoba is as flat as a cornfield - and some parts, like the huge leftover lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg, are even flatter.  But Riding Mountain National Park rises above the prairie and supports a rolling landscape of birch and spruce forest.


Wasagaming, on the southern shore of Clear Lake, is the only major development in the park, and by development, we mean vintage tourist cabin resorts and a public beach.  The beach here must be packed in the summer, but it seemed a bit out of place and I suspect it isn't original, or at least it isn't what this shoreline looked like two hundred years ago.  After all, where would all this nice raked sand have come from?


The best beaches on Riding Mountain are much more subtle and I couldn't capture them in pictures.  Lake Aggasiz, back in glacial times, lapped against the northern and eastern edge of the hills leaving a series of beach ridges that are now covered in aspens.  Which I guess means that this post continues the theme of the last post, which also deals with the shorelines of long ago lakes.

Lake Missoula

15,000 years ago, Missoula was underwater.  Something like 40 times.  And each time the ice dam would break and the water would race across Idaho and Washington and out the Columbia Gorge to the Pacific.  But between dam breaks, the lake carved shorelines into the hills above the University.


Saturday morning (September 2nd) I hiked up to the "M" on Mount Sentinel, which provided great views of the strand lines across the way on Mount Jumbo.  They show up well in the low light - but are pretty subtle when you're actually climbing across them.


Lake Bonneville (July 2007)

Little Black Wheels

After a bit of time due to Mick being a man on the move, we've finally got this sorted out. Copies of 'Little Black Wheels' will be available in the US very soon, as soon as the post office get them here in fact. It's a lovely film, I'll let you know prices as soon as we sort them out.

A little more Derek Hynd

Yes, that board did fly once he was done with it. Some lovely philosophizing from Derek as well as a few outrageous speed runs. I love the floater 360s too. Again, thanks to the Surfer's Journal for making this available.

No Fins Good

A bit more Kidman, this time filming mad bastard Derek Hynd knocking the fins of a channeled asym with one of the better surf video soundtracks ever. More Harry Partch than Kraftwork I'd say Derek. This thing will be interesting in the water for sure. Video courtesy of the Surfer's Journal site, which is predictably good as always.

Three Fins Good

Kidman, at North Narra on the 6'6" thruster Simon Anderson shaped him. It's based on THE board, the one Simon won Bells on in '81. (The one with the blue deck on the left.) So many layers of stuff going on there it's amazing, and Andrew still manages to lay a decent turn down.

The September of Australians

Ah the Aussies- they talk funny, they drink all your beer and they've been scoring all the good surf of late. At least they haven't been letting it go to waste, and they've been very good indeed about sharing the documentation. The inbox is full of image files so it'll be a decidedly aussie-centric month. Mick Mackie has been extra good with the high grade material, there will undoubtedly be a post a week involving him, so why not start there? Couple of sleek looking fish, very tidy stub with volan inlay, an exotic flex experiment- this stuff is golden, and we're just getting started. Go see Steiny tonight if you're in San Francisco.

And immediately the Australians are sorting me- that top photo is in fact by Dean Dampney. Entirely my fault, I plucked it from batch Mick sent and figured it was one of his. This is why you ask these things. I liked it well enough to use it first, and after checking Dean's website Submerge I can at least say I've got good taste- his photos are pretty amazing and worth a look. Sorry Dean, but feel free to share a few more- we'll give you full credit for here on.

Public to have say on erosion plans

Home » News » Dunedin

By Chris Morris on Thu, 8 Sep 2011

News: Dunedin | DCC

The public will be asked to have their say as the Dunedin City Council considers plans to combat erosion at Middle Beach that could lead to a "managed retreat" from the area.

Councillors at yesterday's council community development committee agreed to consult the public on a draft Ocean Beach management plan prepared by consultant Tonkin and Taylor.

The draft plan covered an area stretching 4km from St Clair to Lawyers Head and includes Middle Beach, where serious erosion occurred following severe storms in 2007.

The report recommended continuing the council's holding pattern of monitoring and sand replenishment work - put in place following the 2007 storms - in the meantime.

However, the report also canvassed 13 longer-term options and recommended a managed retreat from Middle Beach and Kettle Park, or construction of an inland buried backstop wall to protect the area, over the next 10 to 50 years.

Initial estimates showed the work could cost between $8 million and $19 million, including a clean-up of the old landfill underneath Kettle Park at risk of being further exposed by continued erosion.

Council community and recreation services manager Mick Reece said he hoped consultation could be completed by the end of this year, with recommendations that followed considered as part of next year's long-term plan hearings.

Detailed information gathered by the council's Ocean Beach project team would also be made public through the council's website to aid the consultation process, he said.

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

Garage Sale Steiny

Central Cal. charmer and all round legend Steiny is part of the Garage Sale Project. That means if you're anywhere near San Francisco this weekend you can score a fine addition to your art collection (or better yet, start an art collection) at a very reasonable price by going to between 730 & 740 San Jose St, SF CA 94110 on Friday (7-10pm) or Saturday (12-4). There will be photos and the like for sale, and Steiny will be the tall well dressed chap with the good stories. Do say hello to him.

Sea may win fight for coast

Home » News » Dunedin

By Chris Morris on Fri, 2 Sep 2011

News: Dunedin

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE

A digger works on top of the sand dunes at Middle Beach. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

Coastal erosion could force Dunedin's Kettle Park and nearby dunes to be abandoned to the sea, but only after millions of dollars are spent clearing potentially toxic industrial waste from an old landfill lying underneath.

The idea of a "managed retreat" from Middle Beach and Kettle Park is one of two recommendations to come from consultants Tonkin and Taylor, as the Dunedin City Council considers how to respond to coastal erosion threatening the area.

The suggestions came even as council staff yesterday warned of further erosion likely in the area over the next few days, with large swells having stripped sand from the beach and dunes between St Clair and St Kilda in recent days.

The Tonkin and Taylor report, made public yesterday, recommended a managed retreat or construction of an inland buried backstop wall to protect critical areas along the coast, over the next 10 to 50 years.

Initial estimates showed the work could cost between $8 million and $19 million, with any retreat including a clean-up of the old landfill underneath Kettle Park.

Members of the public were warned late last year to stay clear of the area's dunes after traces of arsenic, asbestos and other industrial chemicals from the landfill were detected.

The Tonkin and Taylor report was commissioned last year as part of council planning for the Ocean Beach Domain, which began in 2007 after severe storms caused significant erosion in the area.

The domain stretches about 4km from St Clair to Lawyers Head and includes Middle Beach, where the most serious erosion problems have occurred.

The report presented a draft management plan to be considered by councillors at next week's community development committee meeting, before being released for public consultation.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull declined to comment yesterday, saying he was yet to read the finished report.

Council Ocean Beach project team chairman Cr Colin Weatherall said consultation was still required before any decisions were made, which was likely to be several years away.

He would not discuss his personal views when asked about the recommendations or whether he considered the costs affordable.

"Certainly, at the moment, cost is a very large driver in council's budget numbers ... I don't have an opinion on the dollars. I'd rather see what the solution is first and then how we fund it secondly.

"We've got to come up with a practical solution long term that's good for Dunedin city and the community. Therefore, we need to listen to the community and what they want to do."

The report warned erosion had already exposed industrial waste from the landfill, and expected sea-level rise - bringing waves with greater energy - increased the risk of further erosion over the rest of this century.

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boards & waves

Waves courtesy of Ben who lives in Western Australia and boards courtesy of Ryan Burch who lives in some sort of weird future apparently. There were some waves here today, quite big ones at times too. Usual story, the points were a circus and the beachies mostly closing out. Unfortunately it looked better than it was, there were some corners off of head high waves, but there was a lot of water moving around so being in the right place at the right time was not easy, and the occasional sets of well over head high stuff kept you on your toes. Finally gambled too long and there was the set that was inescapable so some cartwheels were done and I called it a day. After weeks of soft, blown out 2 footers this was almost fun, and in a few days when it backs down a bit it will be fun for sure.