The Port St Francis small craft harbour and marina provides a protected water area of 2.5 ha with 200 moorings for recreational and fishing craft.
At the initial stages of the project A R Wijnberg Inc (who merged with PRDW in March 1997) worked with the developers, architects, contractors and other members of the professional team to optimise the layout of the marina. This included the EIA procedures to ensure acceptance of the development by the local community. Rock excavated from the harbour basin was used very effectively for construction of the main and secondary breakwaters, and reclamation for the housing development adjoining the secondary breakwater.
An innovative breakwater design, including a detailed physical model study, saw the first deployment of Core-Locs, an economical single layer armour unit developed in the USA. The main breakwater extends into a design depth of 8m, exposed to breaking waves with wave periods of up to 16s. Other aspects of the design included a concrete crown wall for the main breakwater, walk-on moorings with reinforced concrete piles, a slip-way and quay walls.
During construction of the harbour three near design storm conditions were experienced. This required emergency repairs and some remedial work to the incomplete structures, after the storm. The harbour was successfully completed in November 1997.
