Watchet..... again.

[Rustyknight]

Just seen on the local news that Watchet harbour took another battering....... hopefully this weekend wont make things even worse.

BBC News - Watchet harbour wall battered by Storm Ciara
Harbour wall battered by Storm Ciara

 

[Gwylan]

That is so sad. We have loved Watchet over the years.

 

[38mess]

That is so sad. We have loved Watchet over the years.

Just going off on a tangent here, on the watchet web cam I can see what looks like a pier, would this be Weston?

 

[Rustyknight]

Looking at all the crane activity just inland, I'd say it was to do with the new nuclear reactor being built at Hinkley Point, with Burnham on Sea just visible in the far distance.

 

[graham]

They used the biggest crane in the world building Hinkley Point power station. It is called "Big Carl"named after the father of one of the directors.

From that angle I'm sure Weston Pier would be hidden behind Brean Down which is the long headland at the S.W. end of Weston Bay

 

[Allan]

It doesn't rain but it pours! More problems for one of my favourite places.
Watchet marina faces action by bailiffs

 

[PCUK]

Presumably this will set the precedent for other berth holders to copy which will finish the marina financially. Could the Watchet boat owners association take it on as a cooperative?

 

[rotrax]

I bought a boat from Watchet in 2009.
With only a 1.3 metre draught we could not get alongside the fuel berth even then.
Lovely spot, but it is, I am afraid to say, without massive investment, a lost cause.

 

[shirazchaz]

Back inthe late 1970's I used Watchet as a port to load charter vessels with about 1,000 tonnes of animal feed for Libya! The facilities were "similar" to those at the other end of the trip!

 

[NotBirdseye]

Presumably this will set the precedent for other berth holders to copy which will finish the marina financially. Could the Watchet boat owners association take it on as a cooperative?

I believe the quote for doing a full dredge was £250,000 so that right there is the minimum people would need to gather. With boats leaving all the time and I think council restrictions hindering the process... it's hard to imagine a way forward for this unlucky marina.

 

[ribdriver]

Enforcement order served on Watchet marina

It gets worse

 

[NotBirdseye]

It's not so much worse as forcing their hands to actually do what they said they were going to do as part of their lease and that means dredging (which they have been reluctant to do and I do understand why but those were the terms).

 

[Yellow Ballad]

Well it looks like the council are going to get this back in their hands and I can't see them getting it any better? I don't think I can blame the leaseholders, I think they've been sold a duffun.

I really want to make the trip across, for the last 4 years I've planned it but haven't because it's got progressively worse. I'm not actually sure I can get in at HW and back out again now?

I Imagine the fact it's not a massively important port (with Cardiff the other side) means the investment isn't top of the pile, I know of land folk that are turned off by visiting by car because it's so run down.

Maybe knocking the sill out a few metres and boats being able to get in and out from 1/2 tide will make the difference, I'm a 1.6m draft whose happy to sit in mud.

 

[sarabande]

The council (SWand T) are the authors of the problem. They sneaked a "Clear out the mud" clause into the contract, and then colluded with the Environment Agency to prevent the mud being swooshed out in the early years when there was a half decent depth of water and therefore some power in the outgoing tide.

There used to be a Watchet Fishermens Cooperative that knew about the flows in the harbour but I think it ( was ? ) disbanded when the marina started up. Mud has always been a problem in the area, hence the development of the small fishing boat called a Flatner which could take the ground and not tip over.

 

[NotBirdseye]

Completely granted but I'm pretty sure maintaining the marina is pretty standard contractual stuff and surely dredging would be under that?

 

[Sneds]

Will the council take on the running of the marina?
Or perhaps Cardiff Marine?

 

[PCUK]

I believe the quote for doing a full dredge was £250,000 so that right there is the minimum people would need to gather. With boats leaving all the time and I think council restrictions hindering the process... it's hard to imagine a way forward for this unlucky marina.

In the grand scheme of things £250,000 seems a small price to pay to end the marina's problems. If only my Premium Bond would come up!

 

[oldmanofthehills]

The Council bodged up the marina build by splitting it in two to please the non-existant fishing fleet, and then having the stream diverted so it flows through neither half they stuffed the marina from the word go.

I can get into marina with 1m draft but need to makesure i am on hammerhead if I need to get away with sill opens, to get the rising tide to Uphill.

Practically anyone can get into outer harbour if they dont mind scaling 20ft ladders and sorting out very long mooring lines but there is not much space on the wall

 

[NotBirdseye]

It's rather hard to get anything concrete about Watchet except a lot of hearsay and thoughts from people in the forums...

 

[Birdseye]

Watchet harbour used to have a bad build up of mud before the marina was built. I remember it well having frequently ploughed my way to a mooring. There was a stream flowing though but it wasnbt a big one and it left a gulley in the middle rather than clearing all the mud out.
The design of the marina with a cill made the problem far worse. Bristol Uni did some work on it and found that every tide was depositing an average of 80 tonnes of silt with the inevitable result that the operators would have a fequent dredging need. Simply not viable financially.The mooring income doesnt cover the costs. I am really surprised at the council notice - I would have thought they would avoid this dead duck like the plague.