Tourists Pierre Colin and Denise Lahey, who are visiting Dunedin in a 21m yacht, said a guide to marinas in New Zealand did not show the lower South Island because there were no facilities south of Nelson and Picton.
In Otago Harbour, yachts could be berthed at commercial wharves, but in most cases this was unsatisfactory for security reasons. The only reason the couple could berth their yacht, Quest, in the harbour was because the Otago Yacht Club had moved some of its boats and offered to watch the yacht while the couple travelled through Otago. However, the situation was less than ideal with the boat yesterday sitting on mud.
Club commodore Bert Youngman said it was the fourth time this year a private "big" boat had wanted to berth in Dunedin.
Commercial wharves, which scratched the boats and provided nothing in the way of security, were the only option.
Quest was "right at the limit" of what the facilities at the yacht club could handle. Ideally, the area around the yacht club would be dredged, at an estimated cost of $250,000, so that big yachts could be accommodated.
It had been an issue for "quite a few years" and was something he had spoken about to both the regional and city councils.
A Port Otago harbour control spokesman confirmed there was an issue with accommodating large private vessels, with two "lay-up" berths at Careys Bay full most of the time. A floating pontoon in the Steamer Basin was used occasionally, but it was preferable that be kept free as it was used by boats for loading passengers.
Ms Lahey, a former Northern California Silicon Valley executive, said the couple had left on a round-the-world journey in December 2007. They stopped for a year in Whangarei while the boat was fitted out and started again in December 2008. They arrived in Dunedin on Sunday.
They had not encountered a shortage of berthing facilities in any country they had visited before coming to New Zealand.
Mr Colin said people, in order to survive the rough seas surrounding New Zealand, often chose to sail in bigger boats, but cities without facilities missed out on the benefits of a visit.
