An analysis of the weather affecting the offshore work in the Maui programme January - May 1976

The offshore stage of the Maul project began with the arrival from Japan in December 1975 of the tower that forms the base for Maui Platform A. After a period of inspection, performed in Golden Bay, the tower was ready to be towed to the installation site on 23 December 1975. It was finally upended, after some delays due to bad weather, on 4 January 1976. When level, pin piles were to be driven through the centre of each leg to secure the tower permanently.' This work was also delayed, largely because of the weather, and it has been stated that the weather in the South Taranaki Bight was the worst experienced in the past 20 years. This paper considers these statements and investigates some aspects of the weather in the South Taranaki Bight, mainly during the period January yo May 1976, compared with previous years.