Summer is nearly gone and autumn is in the air but weatherwise this is definitely the best time of the year to be in Knysna. We have had glorious weather for the past few weeks with generally warm days without extreme heat or humidity and little or no wind. The Easter long weekend is upon us and there are several public holidays over the next couple of months with good prospects for everyone to slip away for some time here in Knysna so it seemed a good time to send out a brief newsletter to keep you up to date.
A word of warning! During the December holidays, while walking along the jetties in the harbour it was very disappointing to see that many boats did not appear to be displaying the SANParks Garden Route vessel permits (discs). We remind all Members that in terms of the Club Bylaws and Rules all boats must have valid Certificates of Fitness and SANParks stickers and, as applicable, valid Recreational Fishing Permits and Skippers Licenses and anyone who does not comply may not be allowed to launch their boats or to moor them in the harbour. More importantly SANParks have informed us that they intend carrying out spot inspections at various launching facilities in and around Knysna over Easter and the last thing you will need while on holiday is to be fined or prevented from using your boat on the estuary, so please make sure you comply with all the requirements.
Henry the heron has become a very familiar sight at the Leisure Boat Club, often hitching a ride on the bow rail of boats entering the harbour. The photo below was taken less than two weeks ago and Henry stayed there all the way until I had moored my boat. Very sadly, earlier this week one of our members, Alan Griffin found Henry in a very sad state with a badly damaged leg. Alan managed to catch Henry and took him to the vet, who carried out two operations and successfully amputated the leg.
The latest news is that Henry will be on antibiotics for a couple of days and thereafter he will have to be fed because he will not be able to hunt again. On a slightly more positive note, the vet informed Alan that Henry is actually Henrietta and that she is at a ripe old age. Alan has told us that he will make sure that she will be assisted and looked after for the remaining days of her life. We can only guess what caused this horrible injury, perhaps a crab, perhaps a dog, who knows.
We are all nature lovers at LIBC so this is a really heart-rending story and we can only hope it has a happy outcome. Whatever happens we will keep you informed.
There was more bad news late this week when a whatsapp notice went out reporting a boat missing from the front of Leisure Isle east of the Hippo Pool. Everyone was alerted, including NSRI, SAPS and AllSound as well as KYC and LIBC. Later the same day, it was reported that the boat had been found outside the Heads, but by that time it was caught in the surf before NSRI or anyone else could get near it and sadly the boat was wrecked on rocks and was a total loss.
As mentioned above, we had experienced very rough seas and the Heads was wild and it is thought that the heavy swells in the lagoon must have broken the mooring line despite the fact that it was securely moored with a chain. Our sympathy goes to the boat owner for this most unfortunate accident.
HARBOUR NEWS
As mentioned in the February newsletter, Harbour Management has started to work on the annual maintenance programme with the focus being on repairs to the vehicle entrance boom and finger jetties. We have been procuring materials and labour and the intention is that the real work will start after the Easter weekend.
We also started to plan the Toilet Block upgrade and in so doing we came to the realisation that we should look at the bigger picture and before we incur any unnecessary expenditure we must determine where the club is heading in the longer term.
For this reason the Committee has decided to hold back on any work on the toilet block for now. Instead we have started a study to decide whether we should construct new Members’ ablution facilities near to the Clubhouse, inside the Members’ enclosure and accessible only to Members. The existing Public Toilets will be upgraded and maintained in good condition but will be for the use of non-member visitors and the public.
While discussing this we also decided that the time may have arrived where we need to think about improved office facilities to enable Harbour Management to simultaneously undertake administrative work and monitor the harbour and slipway areas. All this will involve considerable expenditure and for this reason the Committee will not rush into anything and we will undertake a proper feasibility study over the next several months before presenting a proposal to the next AGM, which will also take into account other future needs of LIBC.
We have asked one of our Members, Andrew King, who is a well-known architect in Knysna to assist and provide guidance in what could be a big project for the Club. We will keep you informed.
SANPARKS
SANParks have published a notice of a public meeting to take place at 15h00 on 5 April 2022 at the Knysna Church Hall, 30 Fichat Street, Knysna as part of the public participation process towards developing the Knysna Estuary Management Plan as required in terms of national environmental legislation. LIBC will be represented at the meeting and any interested Members are also encouraged to attend.
WEBSITE AND CONTACT DETAILS
Physical address: Erf No 2060, Links Drive, Leisure Isle, Knysna, 6571
Phone 079 378 8252
Note that the phone is manned during LIBC office hours only,
September to May: 06h00 – 18h00
June to August: 07h00 – 17h30
Email : libcknysna@gmail.com
Website: www.libcknysna.co.za
LIBC GATE NUMBER: 065 509 3553 (Your phone should be automatically registered on the access control system to enable you to use the facility to open the gate, but please check and inform Clive if you have a problem).