Northland news in brief: Aquabots to do battle; and major fundraiser

A Kamo High School team, above, is one of 11 from Northland competing in the National Aquabot Finals in Tauranga this Sunday. Photo / Tania Whyte

Aquabots are go

Eleven teams from Northland will be using their smarts to assemble underwater robots that will battle it out for the title of the best Aquabot in the country tomorrow.

The teams from Northland will be competing in the National Aquabot Finals in Tauranga. The region is well represented with teams from Matarau, Parua Bay and Tangiteroria Schools and Kamo High School. Bay of Islands College and Opua School are travelling south as well. From the Far North, two teams from Panguru are making the eight hour journey.Winners from the event will earn qualification to the International Finals at the University of Maryland, just out of Washington DC, in June next year. An Aquabot is a remotely operated underwater vehicle. It can have varying levels of sophistication, which generates a broad appeal to children and youth. Students design and build an NZAquabot from the supplied kit and develop skills in its operation.

Tooth fairy trial adjourned

The trial of Northland’s “tooth fairy” in the Kaikohe District Court has been adjourned. A date is expected to be set in March next year when the judge will release a decision regarding the trial of Claire Wihongi-Matene, 43, dubbed the “tooth fairy” by local supporters. Wihongi-Matene faces seven charges brought by the Ministry of Health in April 2019 – one alleging she claimed to be a health practitioner; six for allegedly performing a restricted activity. She is understood to have made and repaired dentures from her home on Mangakahia Rd, south of Kaikohe, with about 205 clients’ dental work paid for by Work and Income. The judge-alone trial is expected to last several days.

Waipapa fundraiser

A major fundraising event at BaySport stadium in Waipapa today aims to help a member of the inline hockey community in his battle against cancer. Jimmy’s Puck Off to Cancer will start at noon with a six-hour hockey game, food stalls, silent auctions and raffles. Money raised will help pay for unfunded medical treatment for Kerikeri player Jimmy Hawes, 32, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The Stingrays, Northland’s inline hockey team, hope to raise $20,000.

Cool temperatures expected

Cool temperatures across Aotearoa New Zealand may have had you reaching for that hot coffee despite surpassing the first day of meteorological summer. This weekend will be dry for most as a ridge of high pressure starts to develop over the North Island. MetService Meteorologist April Clark warned although strong southwesterlies are bringing in cool air from the south, the ‘fresh’ airmass currently present is set to linger, with warmer air from the north unlikely in the next week or so.

Coastal waters warm

Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal waters were unusually warm last month, says Niwa. November sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were between 1.1C to 1.8C warmer than average, depending on the region. The north and west of both islands had the warmest November SSTs on record since at least 1981. Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said marine heatwaves conditions could continue into the new year with an indication temperatures may become more unusually warm again during the second half of December into January. Marine heatwaves are classed as periods of unusually high SSTs for more than five days. In parts of the eastern Tasman Sea near the west coast of both islands, a marine heatwave has been ongoing for more than six months. Localised marine heatwave events have been occurring in coastal waters near Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and Fiordland for several months.