Annual General Meeting for 2009

FBA Newsletter for October 2009

Problems with the Proposed Marina at Frankston

Erosion of Frankston's Beach

Annual General Meeting for 2009

The Annual General Meeting of the Frankston Beach Association was held on November 22 at the Frankston Yacht Club. A good number of members and visitors were in attendance.
 

Presidents Report

Download a copy of the President's Report presented to the 2009 AGM. This report provides a summary of the activities of the FBA for 2009, as well as presents the objectives of the Association for 2010.

FBA Newsletter for October 2009

The second Newsletter for 2009 has been distributed to the many residents who live near our wonderful coastline. This edition focuses on the problems envisaged with the development of a "Safe Harbour" at the foot of Olivers Hill.

To find out more, just download a copy of the Newsletter, or why not have a look at some of our earlier Newsletters.
 

Problems with the Proposed Marina at Frankston

Below is Part I of a multi-part discussion on the problems surrounding the marina. Part 2 will follow in 2010 and will review the financial and environmental implications of the proposed marina. 

Q.  Who are the current proponents of the proposed Frankston Marina?

A.  The current de facto proponent is the Frankston City Council. The FCC is supported by the Department of Sustainability and by Tourism Victoria.  

Q.  Is Frankston a suitable location for a marina?

A.  An experienced yachtsman who has cruised the Victorian, Tasmanian, New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand coasts for more than 40 years and stayed in his boat at some 30 marinas and visited many more, poses many questions as to the suitability of Frankston as a safe and protected location for a marina.

This man claims that none of the marinas at which he has stayed are built projecting out from the coast and exposed to the prevailing winds and seas. He advises that all the marinas where he has stayed are located on those parts of the coast where there is primary shelter from the prevailing onshore winds and seas. These marinas are situated in sheltered bays, in river reaches and behind headlands and promontories where there is natural land protection from the elements. 

Q.  What effect will the weather have on the proposed Marina at Frankston?

A.  The onshore winds at Frankston throughout this winter (from the north and back to the south west), have been very strong and persistent.

Residents living on the side of Olivers Hill have complained about the ferocity and persistence of the wind over the winter months and those residents living at the base of Olivers Hill are having increased problems with erosion of their land caused by unusually large waves and increased tides. The car park at the foot of Olivers Hill is untenable during the times of the strongest onshore winds due to constant sea spray.

Wind tables produced by the Bureau of Meteorology for the Frankston area reveal the following wind conditions to date this year:

Look at the damage that the storm in April 2009 did to a solid rock and concrete structure!

Q.  Who would want to operate or patronise a retail outlet, a commercial business or a hotel located in such a marina and be only 2 metre above sea level and within 100 metre of waves breaking on the marina walls for months on end? Who would want to keep a boat in a marina exposed to such  onshore winds and spray?

A.  Very few persons - if any. 

Q.  Is the skipper of a yacht acting in a safe and prudent manner if he/she decides to seek refuge in bad weather in a  marina that is situated on a rocky coast on which the winds are blowing and the waves breaking ie. in a marina on a lee shore? 

A.  Many scholarly writings on this subject from experienced yachtsmen clearly indicate that a decision to run for shelter in bad weather to a marina on a lee shore is unsafe. Adlard Coles writes about an ocean going yacht reduced to matchwood within 1 hour of grounding on a lee shore, Des Sleightholme writing in 'This is Cruising' describes how the slightest error can be fatal, while the authors of 'Yachtmaster' write, that in rough weather there is always the danger of a lee shore on which the wind is blowing and the sea breaking. Particularly dangerous is a gradually sloping beach. In strong winds you should keep well clear. The prudence of approaching a lee shore must be carefully considered, it may well be safer to remain at sea and wait for the weather to abate. In the event of engine or gear failure, it can be difficult to get away from a lee shore and difficult to enter what appears to be a safe harbour. The consequences of grounding on a lee shore may be the loss of life and the loss of the vessel. These opinions are generally supported by professional and prudent seamen. 

Q.  Are there more suitable locations in Port Phillip Bay to establish a marina?

A.  The western half of Port Phillip Bay, the river Yarra and Queenscliff provide sheltered coastal areas where marinas would be better located.
 

It is clear that a marina at Olivers Hill in Frankston cannot be considered a 'Safe Harbour' in bad weather. In fact Marine Safety Victoria in their safety brochure show Olivers Hill as being the most exposed and dangerous part of Port Phillip Bay.

Public patronage of a marina at Frankston and the attached commercial facilities is likely to be low.

Planners would be well advised to understand that money will not solve fickle environmental problems. Planners must rethink their position with regard to developing marinas in Port Phillip Bay. Intelligent understanding and realistic decision making is required.

Part II of this discussion on the marina will follow in early 2010.

In the meantime, if you want more background information on the marina, click here.
 

Erosion of the Beach

Throughout the month of September 2008, the beaches to the north and south of Frankston Pier experienced severe erosion, during a period of sustained westerly gales and very high tides. This loss of sand from the dune system placed parts of the boardwalk in danger.

Aware of the frequently flawed methods used to correct beach erosion in other coastal areas that often create more extensive problems, the FBA sought advice from Dr. Wayne Stephenson, a geomorphologist from the University of Melbourne. Dr. Stephenson has studied the Frankston and Seaford beaches for many years and has advised the Beach Association on previous occasions.

Dr. Stephenson, in a comprehensive statement, advised that the beach would repair itself in time if left to recover, provided that nearby developments such as marinas do not interfere with the ability of the system to recover, by locking up sand or preventing it from moving around within the system.

A further severe storm occurred over the Anzac Day weekend of 2009, causing even more extensive damage to the beach (just when some natural recovery from the 2008 damage was beginning to occur). As a result of this storm, the sort of damage depicted in the image above now extends from the pier, south to the end of the sand beach. Access points for both beach goers and cleaning machines have been severely impacted, pedestrian access over the mouth of the Kananook Creek has been limited and beach signage has had to be re-located.
 

The preferred strategy for the time being (adopted by Council and supported by the FBA), is to leave the beach to repair itself (as per advice from Dr. Stephenson mentioned above). Given this, we are happy to report that as of November 2009, at least 50% of the beach and foot of the dune system has recovered.

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