Campaign against anchoring charges?

[Guest]

Have you seen Sailing Today's the campaign to challenge the illegal practise of imposing charges for anchoring? It's a commendable effort which sounds like it might succeed - given they have a successful barrister fighting the case.

The grounds specified are that a right to administer anchoring does not equate to a right to charge for anchoring. The idea being to request anyone asking money for anchor dues to show you the charter by which they have this right, and to then offer your name and address to which they should send a copy, along with their request for payment.

The barrister involved would like to hear of all charges ...

[Kim, I trust you won't delete or edit my post?]


Humperdinck

Email: HJ@Seacracker.org
Website: www.seacracker.org

 

[AndrewB]

I wish them luck.

Have you tried refusing to pay for anchoring? I did in Dartmouth some years ago. They didn't force it, but being treated as a pariah isn't the ideal recipe for a relaxed holiday. I've not been back there in 10 years now.

 

[alant]

Thought this had been sorted out a few years ago on the East Coast.
Didn't a local council lose a case for anchoring & mooring charges?
Any further news on the Keyhaven story last year when the police launch was called because of a refusal to pay?

 

[yoda]

I quite agree. If we don't stick together onissues such as this we will end up in a terible state. I have read the article a couple of times and while I think I understand where I should pay charges I'm not sure that that equates to the learned legal man interpretation. What we need is is clear opinion onwhere we shouls and shouldn't pay. Suspect he is reluctant to give such advice however. That said I still think we have the right to anchor and only by exercising that right will we continue to maintain the right to do so. Keep up the good work ST. PS Kim Subscribe to PBO as well so why don't you look into the subject as well?

Yoda

May he force be with you.

 

[steve_cronin]

Anchoring charges are absolutely necessary..

.. otherwise how are you going to fund the dory (ies) and the crews employed to collect the "Anchoring Charges"?

Alderney doesn't charge if you use your own tackle and neither did the rip-off Newtown River once before we got brainwashed into believing that we were supporting the NT by paying up. Technically Poole Harbour COULD charge short term harbour dues but in practice never does.

It is a case of following national governments who see any pursuit as an ideal target for taxation.

As to the police being called to Keyhaven, as I remember the officers were forced to admit that the "offenders" were well within their rights to refuse.

Steve Cronin

 

[jamesjermain]

I haven't read the ST article so I may be at cross purposes, but I hate paying something for nothing and resist whenever possible.

On the other hand, what we pay for anchoring is often Harbour Dues, which is a fee to cover the cost of providing nagivation marks and lights, maintaining the harbour infrastructure, landing slips and steps, dredging etc. Personally I don't mind paying a fair price for this. For one thing, we cannot argue that we shouldn't pay light dues because we already pay harbour dues for the inshore nav aids we use - and then refuse to pay harbour dues.

JJ

 

[dickh]

No anchoring charges...

I don't know of any anchoring charges in the Thames Estuary area. OK so it's all mud, but you can anchor almost anywhere as long as it is out of any shipping channel, and usual anchorages are marked on the chart - usually only a short row to the nearest pub/club house for food etc. And it's nice & quiet
Whoops... shouldn't have said that, we'll have all you south-coasters up here...

 

[mtb]

The small club at Pinmill r, Orwell tried to do this but there was an uproar.
The local's that had been there for generations put their own ground tackle had never paid and would not accept it .They felt it was just a way for the
CHOSEN FEW to charge the masses .
Mind you there were also moves by the local council / port authority to move in !!, so I dont know what the situation is now .
Me I think if your not actualy in a harbour then why pay
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Hi it is a good campaign but a very poor mag compaired to YM every time I have bought it I have been disapointed with it lack of content I also think that PBO is not up to the standard of YM IMHO cheers bob t

Bob T

 

[Guest]

On ST vs. YM

I've only ever bought ST twice and I find it rather poor value for money - it's as if they won't give their staff writers space to really get to the meat of things.

I am firmly of the belief that YM is the best sailing mag, and I actually prefer it now (under Sarah Norbury's stewardship) than as it was under any of it's previous editors.

I only mentioned them because this time the anchoring article did seem to have wider appeal!

Humperdinck

Email: HJ@Seacracker.org
Website: www.seacracker.org

 

[Rabbie]

I spent an afternoon a couple of years ago in that pathetic 'anchorage' in Keyhaven. Come the evening and the harbour launch. 'What are your intentions Captain?', I recall the man with the bag around his neck calling. I replied, 'One, to spend the night here and, two, not to pay anything for the dubious privilege'. He replied, 'Fair enough', gave me a pamphlet on Keyhaven and left. Never saw a single blue light all night.
Rab.

 

[bigmart]

Re: On ST vs. YM

It struck me that the ST Campaign was a pretty poor attempt to steal the thunder from YM articles about extortionate Marina Charges.

Bigmart

 

[AndrewB]

Anchor Charges & Harbour Dues.

You cannot seriously argue that in places like Tresco, the anchor charge in any way reflects the cost of the 'harbour infrastructure' (one grubby public loo, free to everyone else). And I would be extremely surprised if any of the money finds its way back to the General Lighthouse Authorities.

No, it's just a means of turning a quick buck, levied because of the anomylous historical rights of certain local authorities. The charge may be small, but it is still exploitative, and I for one resent it.

 

[Sinbad1]

Re: What strange comments!!

This thread is VERY important.

The article in ST is about the abuse of power by local authorities. Many local authorities have extended their cash generating to include making a charge for anchoring. This is unlawful and it has been the court case between the Ipswich Authority and two members of the Pinmill Sailing Club where the right to make these charges has been challenged and found to be without foundation.

Thus without a statutory instrument, authorities can NOT charge anchored vessels. Its that simple.

If however you do not want to make a challenge to the collector, then by all means make a payment, but I would suggest that it be clearly marked as a 'contribution' other than an anchoring fee.

It is unacceptable in any country that the freedoms of the individuals are erroded without the consent of the representatives of the people (Parliament). This freedom in particular affects us sailors and I for one will support this admirable campaign from ST.

Perhaps I should state that I am not English, and if the Poms are happy to let this country be run by bullying collectors for this and that, then so be it. I will not not fight for YOUR freedoms on my own!

As the thread has run off on a tangent in respect of the merits of the various mags, I will contribute as a reader of all the sailing and motor boat mags. ST is an excellent mag with a wide choice of technical and sailing info. It is a pity that either YM or PBO seem to duplicate the technical research with a similar article. YM has seriously deteriorated in quality over the years and has lost much of its 'substance'. PBO is fine if you have a plywood boat in the garage and want it to stop leaking.

There is however something in all of them.

 

[billmacfarlane]

And also ...........

use of facilities like using a freshwater tap to fill your tanks.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Re: What strange comments!!

Hello
As in most things in life there is a cost. If people do not pay for service ,that service will stop . There are lots of other option for harbour authorities to get money.
Lets say baning the use of heads on boats in the harbour and fining those that do then puting £5 p p charges on the WC .Charging £ pp for the use of showers Making a landing fee Lot and lot of way to make people pay so before kicking up to much fuss think of options IMHO cheers bobt

Bob T

 

[dononshytalk]

Hello
As in most things in life there is a cost. If people do not pay for service ,that service will stop . There are lots of other option for harbour authorities to get money.
Lets say baning the use of heads on boats in the harbour and fining those that do then puting £5 p p charges on the WC .Charging £ pp for the use of showers Making a landing fee Lot and lot of way to make people pay so before kicking up to much fuss think of options IMHO cheers bobt

Bob T

The best one I came across was back in the nineties at Lundy. One used to have to pay some sort of dues in the pub at the top of the Island - with the first round of drinks. Then one summer a chappy turned up on the beach with an old bus company's ticket machine - and demanded £5 per head for landing!! That was the end of summer runs down there for the weekend - used to be great - down on the ebb on a friday evening and back on the flood after lunch on Sunday. Don't know what they do these days!