You may have seen the articles around about Blokarts and Otaraua Park https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/kapiti/105060594/multi-milliondollar-park-development-on-the-cards-for-the-kpiti-coast . While blokart sailing is mentioned in the draft plan, there is not actually an ideal area in the plan for us.
Capital blokart Club Inc have been working to get a sailing venue in Wellington region for many years. We have met with Kapiti Coast District Council (KCDC) many times and blokart sailing is mentioned in the draft plan for Otaraua Park. While there is not an ideal spot for us in the present draft plan, it is a good start.
To help evaluate Otaraua Park for blokart sailing suitability, we have tried sailing on the soccer fields when they are not used in the summer.
The fields are sailable in the right wind, however the area is less than ideal because of its low elevation and positioning in regards to the hills, trees and predominate N-NW wind. The wind is a bit restrictive on this low lying area and being grass it needs extra wind to overcome frictional loss.
The predominate wind for Kapiti Coast is North to North West. The hills and trees close by the fields are probably a welcomed shelter for soccer players, but is a disadvantage for blokart sailors.
Blokart sailing needs a flat, hard area that is exposed to the wind. An area of around 10,000sq/m would be ideal. It would not have to be fully sealed and could contain grassed areas. Looking at the plan, there is a couple of areas that would work for blokart sailing:
1. The cross-over area between #17 and #9 could work with modification. A concern would be the height of the multi-purpose hub and grandstand (#8), as this would be a potential wind block.
2. The Hardcourts area (#18) could work well for blokart sailing as it has close parking and is well away from wind blocks like the grandstand. The height of the surrounding trees would need to be considered.
Please checkout the plan online https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/Our-District/Our-Community/Parks-and-Recreation/otarauaparkfuture Where you will see links to the Draft development plan, Consultation Document and Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/otarauaparkfuture
We want everyone to have a look over the plan and give feedback.
