Pt Lonsdale - Proposal to "kill off" Clarkes and Marcus Hill Beacons

[packo]

Hi,

A recent Notice to Mariners shows there is a proposal to decommission both the Clarkes Beacon (near shore foreground object) and Marcus Hill Beacon (background object). The visual alignment of these two marks part of the Marine Park boundary on both sides of the Heads. It also gives a clearance transit for Corsair Rock when inbound from the East.

In addition a number of older divers might use the very prominent "Clarkes Beacon" lining up with various vegetation patches as good visual transits for various dive sites along the Lonnie wall. This allows "eyes-up" navigation which in a cross current can often be easier than using a plotter or just GPS numbers.

If you want to put in any feedback, the NtoM download link is here:
Notice to Mariners

That notice suggests you need to contact MSV to get a copy of an "information paper". I did this, but later found that document on a boating industry website. The download link is here:
Info paper

This shows the proposal has been kicking around since May. Any feedback needs to be sent in by 30th September. I'll probably put in a submission to kill off the hard-to-see background beacon, but keep Marcus Beacon as a useful foreground mark with many other uses while futzing around in the Rip.

If neither of these beacons means anything to you while diving in the Rip, then you can forget you read this post.

cheers,
packo