Marlborough’s new ‘spokesbuoy’ has a name

Marlborough locals and visitors may have spotted Maritime New Zealand’s red and yellow ‘spokesbuoy’ in harbours over the summer. The marker was introduced to create a bit of fun for boaties while inspiring them to think about safety steps, like wearing lifejackets and checking the weather. 

In January, Kelsie Small from the Marlborough District Council floated the idea of a competition to name the buoy. An incentive was offered - the person who nominated the winning name would walk away with a handheld VHF radio, for use on the water. 

The resulting Facebook post gained traction fast. 

Marlborough Harbourmaster Jake Oliver told rova he was nearly blown away by the sheer amount of engagement.

“We had over 170,000 views on the page, over 4,000 reactions to it, and just over 100 people commented along the way.”

The response was so great that a list of more than 80 names had to be whittled down to four finalists. Participants were asked to pick between Buoy George, Bob, Good Buoy, and Buoyonce. 

Rova can reveal that, with 1,100 votes, Bob was crowned the winner. 

Buoy George came a close second at 972. 

Thirteen people nominated the winning name, so one was drawn at random to receive the radio. Oliver said it was great to see a local picking up the prize.

“I think the reaction could be summed up as ‘happily surprised’. He was very excited to have won. It’s also great to provide a bit of communication equipment to a local person to help them on their safer boating journey.”

“This one also ties in really nicely with our recent bylaw change late last year - which requires two forms of communication on board - which aligns with the Maritime NZ and safer boating messaging,” he added.

Bob the spokesbuoy will continue to travel around Marlborough, popping 15-30 metres from shore for a few hours at a time.

Oliver said he won’t rule out further campaigns, now he knows everyone is on-board.

“It certainly shows us that there’s a real positive way and a really effective way to engage with the community and spread messaging. So you never know, you may well see another competition next year.”