Bosun is home

[Bosunof]

Bosun is now alongside at Port Edgar and ready to take up her normal duties. That should be good.

However, I would like to say that our trip North included meeting some really great people. Grimsby Harbour Control was very helpful. At 4 am when sudden fog descended and he lost sight of us, he turned out of his warm cuddy to turn on the foghorn and used a powerful torch to signal to us where the entrance was. Didnt meet him again but would have liked to share a beer with him.
Whitby same again, very helpful harbour control and even better help given by the man at the marina. Great advice, history and stories.But what trusting and genuinely helpful souls.
Hartlepool was a fine marina and a smashing example of how to develop a quayside area.

Can Edinburgh Leisure take a leaf from the books of various marinas and companies around Britain to make something really fine out of the foundations at Port Edgar with a super staff that will encourage so much more activity and support? I hope so.
So many marinas pride themselves on return business.

 

[Shuggy]

Glad to hear she's back - you've had your trials in the last year! I think she was close to being lost? Hope you enjoy her even more as a result. She's a cracking boat.

Port Edgar's an interesting proposition - I have always thought that most cruisers in Edinburgh are so close to the west coast that unless you fancy a quick race of an evening, you're better spending the 2-3 hours on the road to get to awesome cruising crounds than you are on the East. But then all I've ever done on the Forth is play with dinghies out of Granton, dodging the sewage and rubbish.

Is it really worth invesitng more in Port Edgar when it's so industrial? I'll probably get shot down, but I wouldn't take the risk.

Shuggy

 

[Bosunof]

All the sailors that I have discussed the place with agree that there is plenty of potential. There is plenty of custom. Quite a number of cruisers come here on their way down the coast or across from Le Continong. Certainly it is the only real haven for Edinburgh. You have spelt out some of the problems with Granton. Leith is a no go area for casual in and out stuff. Where else is there? It is under the bridges but is a stepping off point for all the East coast and there is some fair cruising possibilities in the Forth. It is a decent distance from Grangemouth. A good day's sail gets you round to the Tay and /or down to Lindisfarne.

The place could be made much more attractive although that would mean quite an investment

 

[KenMcCulloch]

I completely agree. For me and for many I think the attraction of being able to get to my boat several times a week (and by public transport if required) outweighs any question about the relative merits of the Forth as a cruising area. I understand there are plans 'in the pipeline' to develop and upgrade the marina - what effect the current manifestation of the contradictions at the heart of capitalism will have on that I have no idea.