Umhlali Ski Boat Club protests after 18 months locked out of Tinley Manor launch site

Umhlali Ski Boat Club members staged a peaceful protest on Saturday after 18 months without access to the Tinley Manor launch site, driving in convoy and gathering at the former beach access road that is now closed to public cars.

Convoy, memorandum and no municipal representative

A group of about 25 club members drove from the Tinley Manor off-ramp towards Club Med before assembling near the closed access road. Members briefly parked on the Club Med access road during the protest.

The protesters had planned to hand a memorandum to an invited representative from the Kwadukuza municipality (KDM), but no officials arrived to receive it.

Club leaders and their concerns

Acting club chairman John van Rooyen led the convoy. He said the club had believed the closure was temporary while a resort was under construction and stressed that the club
id not want to target Club Med directly.

“We want to stress that our fight is not with Club Med. The municipality runs the launch site and it is they who need to come to the party on figuring out access,”

History and heritage at stake

The club has used the launch site since the early 1970s. Founding members who joined Saturday’s protest included Marc de Charmoy and Jeff Blesovsky, who formalised the club and launch site with Peter Seymour, Rob Heenan, Beyrick Jackson and Doug Tweedie in the early 1970s. De Charmoy said:

“Theres more than 50 years of heritage here and the club is a well-known part of the community,”

and added that some members had bought cottages in the area based on the knowledge they could launch there.

Access route and agreements

While KDM manages the launch site, access now runs through private land owned by Tinley Leisure, where Club Med is situated. An access agreement existed with the former landowner, Tongaat Hulett, but “the Courier understands there is no equivalent agreement with Tinley Leisure.”

Attempts to resolve and municipal response

Van Rooyen said the club met KDM officials in April and presented “practical options to restore access,” but had received no response to its proposals or an indication of timeframes. According to The North Coast Courier (published on The Citizen / Caxton Local Media), the Courier reported after KwaDukuza’s June council meeting that the municipality was considering alternative sites.

Practical implications for members

Members said launching elsewhere can be costly and less convenient. One club member noted potential visitor fees and equipment charges at other clubs, saying visitors might pay R300 to launch and R350 for use of the tractor, and that visiting club members can be given priority and some clubs have daily limits on launching.

Responses and editorial note

Neither KDM nor Club Med had responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. According to The North Coast Courier (published on The Citizen / Caxton Local Media), “At Caxton, every story is written by humans. We use AI only to perform quality checks – never to generate the news.”