The buoy is back

After annual maintenance, the wave buoy is back in action for summer in the BOP.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council wave buoy is back for summer, providing keen surfers and boaties with real-time reporting of sea conditions.

It's located 13 kilometres off Pukehina Beach in 63 metres of water, centrally positioned within the curve of the BOP coastline.

The buoy measures attributes including wave height, spread, period and water temperature.

BOPRC senior environmental data officer Craig Putt says the buoy was deployed in 2003 but requires regular maintenance to remove marine growth.

'Most of this is done at sea, using a barge and crane every three months.

"However, the annual service usually carried out in October to November every year requires the buoy to be brought ashore and opened up for a complete overhaul.

'It takes the better part of a week to complete the annual service,” he says.

Council uses data from the buoy to model BOP open coastal waters.

'One of the added benefits has been near-real-time reporting of sea conditions for other water users such as surfers and both recreational and commercial boat operators.”

For keen Bowentown boaties, the council is planning to put in in a second buoy there in the near future.

This will give those who head out on the water in this part of the Bay the same near-real-time data, says Craig.

'It will also help them make informed decisions regarding bar conditions,” he says.

According to council, the buoys are too close to shore to provide warning of an impending tsunami.

For more information, visit: www.boprc.govt.nz

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