Taieri Mouth camera working, but bar crossing safety concerns remain

Boaters looking for a day out at Taieri Mouth can now check a live feed to ensure the conditions are safe, but locals are concerned the camera may lead to inexperienced skippers making potentially life-threatening mistakes.

The publicly available feed (here) provides photographic updates on the conditions once a minute.

The photos are saved to the website for five days, allowing people to go back and see the state of the sand bar.

Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue chairman Martin Balch said the camera helped people decide if making the trip out to Taieri Mouth, south of Dunedin, would be worth it.

People who travelled in and found the conditions to be unfavourable would sometimes go out anyway, which could have dire consequences.

It would "certainly tell you if it’s not worth the trip", he said.

Crossing the bar was "very dangerous" and not to be taken lightly.

Although the $40,000 camera system was a useful tool, it was important people approached the area as they always did, with full preparation and training.

It would also be a valuable tool for rescues, as the updates could capture emergencies as they happened and remove the chance for miscommunication.

One boater, who declined to be named, said the camera was "useless".

The camera feed on a phone did not accurately show how bad the waves could be and would encourage dangerous behaviour.

Only experienced people who understood how the bar worked should be out on the water and those people would not need the camera feed, the boater said.

Boater Robin Allison shared those concerns, but appreciated the benefits of the system.

He had been out on the water yesterday to fish and said it was "bloody good" to be able to check out the location of the bar crossing before taking the boat out.

"We knew exactly where it would be."

wyatt.ryder@odt.co.nz