Boating from the med?

[Guest]

Lots of people have their boats here in UK. I moved ours to the med, for a season, and as predicted by someone on same pontoon, stayed. The main good thing is the weather.

The main crap thing is the extreme shortage of berths, and of course not being able to flit down there for a weekend.

A friend called and sed that, after all, he would be coming to France (from Spain), because his annual berth in Majorca wouldn't be available for renewal. No reason given, just that he'd have to be out by end of May. Perhaps they had a better offer, or just don't like him much.

Does this happen in the UK yet? I notice people bemoaning outrageous price hikes from MDL. But do annual paying berth holders get chucked out of a marina, and refused a berth at any price, not because they're awful but simply because they marina is full, and the boat sales people have more sway than an individual, so they get to provide the new berth with new boat?

 

[Guest]

berths in uk

My experience with MDL, apart from being bl**dy expensive, is that once you are an annual berth holder, providing you pay the 10% in time (by 31/12) then your berth is reserved for you and if you ask to move to a different pontoon for some reason they will try to accommodate you if possible.

The caveat to this is that if you p*ss someone (or everyone) off in the harbour office then they can make it very difficult to get a berth there again should you sell your boat and, say, the 'new' owner takes over the berth with the boat as happened in our case a few years back (when we were the 'new' owners, tee hee). With a waiting list on the Hamble this can be an easy way for marinas to avoid difficult customers.

 

[Guest]

Re: berths in uk

We are with MDL, and were a bit slack renewing our berth this year, and the staff were very good. I didnt comfirm the birth that they offered until last month, and didnt put my deposit down until the same time, and we had no problem. And this at a Marina which is totally full this year. (We managed last year to get our birth in May.)

Whilst we have seen a price increase, I do feel that the service we get, and the quality of facilities that we have, are so good that I have no real complaints. I know that when we get down there it will be peacfull, no hasles, the staff will do anything they can to help, and the toilets and showers will be spotless. Considering the levels of services that I experience from other companies and people who provide services to myself and my company, I actually think that I get good VFM from MDL! (We were in the north and paying only £1000 per annum for a 12 meter birth on a river, and even though we now pay £3500 for 10.5 meters I still think that this is better VFM. No locks, 24hr access, quite, friendly people, no low lifes, what more could you ask for?)

Yes its not cheap, but then nothing is nowadays, and usually they treat you like crap and dont actually give you what you pay for anyways.

 

[Guest]

Re: Yep, more GBRO\'s here

Maybe not as bad but my marina has decided to bring in 'minimum berthing charges' whereby they charge you for the maximum length of boat that a pontoon can take rather than the actual length of your boat so if you've got a 12m boat in a supposed 14m berth, tough sh*t. Also, standing charges for electricity usage and I quote 'for the benefit of berth holders' despite the fact that it's tripped half the time and a Health and Safety inspector would have a seizure if he saw the wiring

PS GBRO = Great British Rip Off

 

[Guest]

Re: GBRO which marina is it....

Universal on the Hamble, which must be one of the few non-MDL marinas around but they've cottoned on to how MDL operate. Actually, to be fair, the staff are friendly and I quite like the place because the car parking is close to the pontoons and it's pleasantly quiet

 

[Guest]

Re: GBRO which marina is it....

Ah yes know it quite well (a few yrs ago) . Yes nice and quiet as you say. Hope some of the extra charges are spent fixing the access road (or is the muddier downriver end not part of Universal?)

 

[Guest]

Re: GBRO which marina is it....

and we'll make sure to avoid it

 

[Guest]

Re: GBRO which marina is it....

No, none of the extra money has been spent on fixing the access road, or on fixing the lethal and antiquated electricity supply, or on putting some hoses on the water taps, or on dredging the so-called access at all tides berths, or on proper security, or on proper heating in the toilet block. It's one of the cheaper marinas in the Solent but it's still very expensive by any other standard (just under £5k for a 12m boat with electricity). Heaven knows where the money goes but it's certainly not re-invested in the marina