BLUEWATER BAY LAUNCHING SITE
POSTED 18 OCTOBER 2007

PEARLY BEACH ONLINE RECEIVED AN ENQUIRY ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE PROPOSED BOAT LAUNCHING SITE AT BLUEWATER BAY, WEST OF PEARLY BEACH. THE FOLLOWING EMAIL WAS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO AN ENQUIRY BY PB ONLINE TO LOUIS ROSSELET OF THE DYER BOAT CLUB:

Hi Nina,

Your e-mail to Louis about the launching site refers.

Dyer Boat Club has submitted an application to have Blue Water Bay as the official launching site for Pearly Beach.

The reason for this is that Pearly Beach has no official launching site from where boat owners can launch their boats. The nearest harbour where this could be done is either Kleinbaai or Gansbaai harbours.

It has been proposed in the past that boats be launched at the end of Harbour road. An impact study was done and it was concluded that this site could not be used as it is too dangerous, and the damage done to the beach while launching and taking out boats would be too much. Underwater rocks would have to blasted out and the entrance of the sloep is often blocked by whales not allowing boats access on returning from the sea. The sea conditions are also very dangerous in swells and the there are also often people swimming there.

It was concluded that the only site that could be used safely by boat owners to launch their boats is Bluewater bay.

An application had to be made to firstly to the municipality and secondly to DEAT, in order to obtain permission to travel 200m on the beach with a vehicle.

The municipality supported the application and it has been forwarded to DEAT for approval. Similar applications have been made for Blousloep at Franskraal and Buffelsjag.

The essence of the application is that there has to be a controlling body which has to control access and ensure the site is used responsibly.

The Municipality have agreed that once the application is approved by DEAT, they will provide old telephone poles, with which Dyer Boat Club will fence off the access road onto the beach to prevent people from driving up live dunes. An access boom will also be erected to regulate access to the site of boat owners going to launch their boats. Obviously MCM will also have access to perform their duties. Only about the first 100m of Bluewater Bay will be used and no vehicle concerned with the launching of boats will be allowed further than that point.

There seemed to be a dispute as to on whose property the access road is, but this is also in the process of being sorted out.

I want to point out at this time that from the existing ablution block building (which will also be repaired and made functional once the site is approved,) the access road further on and Bluewater Bay falls outside of Pearly Beach’s boundary.

Once the site is approved :
Access will be controlled stopping joy riding on the beach
The road will be cordoned off to prevent holiday makers riding up live dunes
The site will be kept clean
The ablution block will be repaired and used again by members of the club

Trusting the above answers your question on the launching site.

As for who initiated / paid for the widening and resurfacing of the road, it has nothing to do with the club and was probably undertaken by the municipality in their normal course of maintaining roads on the Overberg area, as was Church street.

Best Regards

Frik Prinsloo