A Paget couple has appealed to the Ministry of the Environment to prevent the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) from expanding its recently completed marina at Red Hole.

In September, the RHADC applied for permission to extend the marina's breakwater by 62 feet toward Harbour Road and add three berths to overcome an engineering error.

Howard and Lesley Rego, who live on the hillside above Red Hole and overlook the marina, were the only objectors to the plan, which the Development Applications Board approved in December.

But the Regos, who bought their house 12 months ago, have refused to give up. They petitioned for an appeal on January 2 and they have until Friday to submit their argument to Environment officials.

A letter from the RHADC's engineers, Woodbourne Associates, said one of the marina's floating docks extends beyond the 1,000-foot breakwater intended to protect it.

"Without the extra length of breakwater, several craft at the end of the floating jetty would be exposed to adverse storm conditions," wrote architect Paul Lowry, who cited an error in processing the survey data. The Regos said the RHADC should solve the problem by reducing the size of the floating dock to accommodate the existing breakwater rather than expand what they insist is already an eyesore.

"This could go on forever. The people of Bermuda should not have to give up more seabed," said Mr. Rego.

But the RHADC, which earns a significant income from each berth, rejected the idea. Vice-commodore Jack Rhind said the club's berths are leased for 15 year periods at undisclosed rates which vary according to boat size. "It's not a very satisfactory suggestion to tell people who have berths there (that they are going to be taken away)," Mr. Rhind said. Although the water inside the marina is still public property, the couple considers the extension as further privatisation of the bay. RHADC officials see the extension more as a filling in of the rectangular area the club already uses.

"If this sort of private development on public space goes on unabated, there will soon be nowhere for the majority of us, who cannot afford or do not want the luxury of private club membership, to enjoy." Mr. Rego said.

"This large, American-style marina has already killed the charm of the bay," they wrote in their October letter. "It is already completely out of context with the size of our Island and this bay in particular. To make it any larger would totally destroy what little is left."

Mr. Rego said the marina had a "Monte Carlo look". He likened the marina's lights, which outline the floating docks at night, to an alignment of runway lights - which would be better suited to more commercial, less picturesque areas of the Island. Mrs. Rego said visitors used to stop at the bottom of Red Hole to admire the Hamilton cityscape, but the RHADC's facility has obliterated the view.

But Mr. Rhind said some people do not think the marina is an eyesore.

"We've had many positive comments from people who've said how nice it looks," he said.

The Regos also claim that the backwash created by the breakwater in certain wind conditions had swamped small boats. The couple also said they regularly witnessed near collisions between boats entering and leaving the marina and the boats moored near the entrance, and that extending the breakwater would make these problems worse. But a letter from RHADC commodore Scott Carswell claimed that the new breakwater creates no more backwash than the old one and that no boats are near enough to be affected. Mr. Rhind added: "Extending the breakwater is not really going to take up any more of the bay.

"When we put this new dock area in, it actually better organised the bay than before."

The Regos have circulated a petition against the project with several dozen signatures, including those of now-independent MP Trevor Moniz and ex-UBP MP Jim Woolridge. The Bermuda National Trust will send a letter about the project to Ministry of Environment officials this week. "The Bermuda National Trust does have concerns about the continuation of marina development," said Peter Drew, the Trust's conservation officer. "Confining areas of the marine environment for exclusive use tends to provide benefits to relatively few people, while excluding the majority from areas of our coastal waters."

Architect John Gardner, another of the marina's critics, said the RHADC, after compromising with objectors to develop a plan, applied later for several changes. He said the club might not have received approval if the original approved plans resembled the existing structure with the proposed extension.

But Mr. Gardner decided not to launch any opposition this time. Ian Murdoch, a member of Friends of Fish, a marine watchdog group, was also disappointed with the extension said: "The Dinghy Club is located in a pretty poor marine environment" - which also includes a boat yard and several other moored boats. It probably isn't doing any more harm."

Jack Ward, the Principal Curator at the Bermuda, Aquarium, Museum and Zoo refused to comment on the case because, as a senior member of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, he could be asked to give his opinion on the issue to Government. But he said that once floating docks, concrete breakwaters and pillars get fouled up, they provide additional habitats for sea creatures.

Environment officials will allow the RHADC to respond to the Rego's appeal, and then ask the Regos to offer a counter response before the documentation is evaluated by an independent reviewer from Britain.