bdh198
Well-Known Member
Exactly, and then that harbour master will charge the visitor the appropriate fee.
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Cheap overnight mooring buoys in the Solent?
- Thread starter thecommander
- Start date
Exactly, and then that harbour master will charge the visitor the appropriate fee.
lw395
Well-Known Member
I'm sure we were paying over a fiver a night for Sonata moorings 30-something years ago.
So I don't think charges have really run ahead of inflation on the whole.
£17 is perhaps 4x what it costs to park a car on the street for a few hours in a lot of places.
It's not much more than you pay to pitch a 2 man tent in the bum end of nowhere.
It's way cheaper than B&B.
It's cheaper than eating in a pub.
There are places you can anchor for free.
If you overnight on your boat 30 nights a year, you are doing better than many of us. That would be about £500. If that's in the top five of boat-related payout you're doing quite well.
Anyone who's owned boats over a period of time and adds up where the money's gone will probably find they'd have got better value if they spend more nights moored away from home at £15-£20 a night.
The only people this tends not to apply to is the retired who cruise continuously for a few months. That racks up and income is less.
Not bad, just 100m further upstream people are prepared to shell out £3,000 for an annual mooring.
On the first few tenner a night moorings at high tide you might feel as though you are anchored in the middle of the Solent but this is all in the mind because the land spit at the entrance takes the sting out of the weather. On a high summers day I would prefer this location over the main upstream marina at 3 times the cost.
If a seasoned local like prv had not heard the news about the extra moorings then the offer has not circulated that far, I suspect they will not be 100% occupied for a few months. Beaulieu are a bit old fashioned when it comes to promotion, they currently have the best summer short haulout deal in the Solent but you will not discover this unless you trawl through the web site and scrutinize the regular price list.
BTW no need to phone ahead though the harbour office is manned well into the evening during the summer season.
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thecommander
Well-Known Member
Interested to know how these costs compare to elsewhere in the country.
I get the feeling the Solent is a bit of an anomaly because theres a captive market of very wealthy people who turn up at Newtown Creek and think £17 for a 50ft boat is cheap!
No problem with anchoring, I just get a better nights sleep knowing I'm properly attached to something.
Indeed but there is no need to start shouting the phrase "illegal occupation" across the water.
I arrived at my mooring recently to find an interloper. They spotted me approaching and sprung to action to leave, I said "I can see you are in the middle of lunch so I'll take the next buoy and drop back later". Then they noticed I was singlehanding and moved to another buoy regardless. This is how the world works outside the the imaginary tempest in a teacup land known as YBW.com
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bdh198
Well-Known Member
That's exactly the kind of good sailor neighbourliness I would want to encourage! My concern is with the few (and they are in the minority) who might just assume they can take whatever buoy or mooring they want regardless and give no forethought to the 'owner' of the buoy or mooring.
I agree, in hindsight 'illegality' is probably a bit strong a word, and I certainly wouldn't advocate shouting it at people who might very reasonably have used the mooring and are ready to vacate it swiftly when the owner returns. However, it is nevertheless occupation of the mooring space without permission so perhaps more appropriately described as a mild form of trespass.
RobbieW
Well-Known Member
When you pick up anothers mooring you really dont know exactly what you've just attached to. I'm a lot more comfortable on my own anchor than a random mooring
obmij
Well-Known Member
I've been woken pre-dawn by a fishing crew - who kindly informed me I'd secured myself to their gear.
Angele
Well-Known Member
Actually, happens to me not infrequently. Having told the marina I'm away for a night or seven and I get back sooner than I was expecting, I am not in the least surprised or perturbed if I find someone in "my" berth. The marina will allocate me another and I can stay there until they are gone. So long as the alternative is of a similar length, I don't feel possessive about my normal finger pontoon.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
It is supply and demand. You will find similar costs in the popular rivers in the SW such as the Dart, Fal or Fowey. Cheaper if you go to the less popular places. Just the same as hotels and any other facility that serves a visitor market. If you want access to the facilities provided by others you have to pay, although as already suggested there are several places where you can anchor free.
lw395
Well-Known Member
I've not really noticed saving any money by going elsewhere.
In France you might generally get a walk-ashore pontoon for a bit more than UK swinging mooring?
I think you need to leave the English Channel for things to get significantly cheaper, even then it's not guaranteed?
Likewise I'd rather be on a decent mooring if the wind is anything but light, most of the anchorages are either exposed or crowded a lot of the summer.
A good trip somewhere nice is remembered long after you've forgotten saving a tenner.
But some of the best places have been free.
As I said, try some of the clubs.
Particularly mid week.
Bembridge used to have some moorings outside?
Seaview?
Portsmouth SC?
Hardway?
ECA?
Marchwood?
Portchester?
Royal Victoria?
Anyone know about further up the Medina these days?
johnalison
Well-Known Member
We have often stopped in Lymington, on a buoy or the mid-river pontoon, which I don't think has been mentioned. We have always found it quiet and comfortable, and only a very short dinghy hop to the shore for supplies or a drink. I think the last time we were charged about £16.
Seajet
...
In Chichester Harbour it's a local byelaw that one may pick up someone else's mooring, but must not leave it unattended, and of course clear off when required.
I often pick up a spare mooring in Sweare Deep if waiting for the tide, and on the very few occasions the owner has returned they have always been extremely apologetic about it !
Usually one is invited to stay alongside for drinks or even a meal, with a bit of luck.
NB a lot of moorings are privately owned, so not some commodity for the harbourmaster to offer around.
I do remember picking up an unoccupied mooring in Bosham Channel, on inspection the chain was so corroded I don't think it would have held a wristwatch let alone a boat !
A good look is essential with unknown moorings, especially in significant winds and / or tides.
I often pick up a spare mooring in Sweare Deep if waiting for the tide, and on the very few occasions the owner has returned they have always been extremely apologetic about it !
Usually one is invited to stay alongside for drinks or even a meal, with a bit of luck.
NB a lot of moorings are privately owned, so not some commodity for the harbourmaster to offer around.
I do remember picking up an unoccupied mooring in Bosham Channel, on inspection the chain was so corroded I don't think it would have held a wristwatch let alone a boat !
A good look is essential with unknown moorings, especially in significant winds and / or tides.
colhel
Well-Known Member
I guess I'm in the minority but i think the cost of overnight or short stays are generally good value, especially when you compare it to camping site charges or even car parking.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, it doesn't compare so well with what we often pay in the Baltic, which might be around 16 euros for a night on a pontoon berth with electricity, though showers are usually extra.
Seajet
...
I agree; when I went with my parents in their motorhome I thought the charges of £25-30 a night were horrendous when all the site has to provide is somewhere to park, maybe mains power and a pretty average toilet block - compare that to the cost of building and operating a marina !
duncan99210
Well-Known Member
I own my club mooring gear, the club has permission from the Harbour Commisioners for a set number of mooring, for which they pay a fee (which forms part of the charge I pay to the club for the mooring). I have no problems with someone using my mooring whilst the boat isn't there but do worry that they'll fail to appreciate that it is designed for my boat, a Hurley 18 weighing in at less than a ton, but it looks the same as the next mooring along which is designed to take a 30 foot boat weighing about five times as much.
Better to use managed visitor moorings properly rated to the type of boat rather than risk damage to mooring or boat by using a random club mooring. Or just drop the hook.
Better to use managed visitor moorings properly rated to the type of boat rather than risk damage to mooring or boat by using a random club mooring. Or just drop the hook.
SimonD
Well-Known Member
Things have changed for the better in 2016, 8 buoys have be categorized for visitor use. Flat rate of £10 per night.
http://www.beaulieuriver.co.uk/visiting
Solent price deflation, coming to a harbour near you soon
Does anyone know about landing from these buoys? Looks like there's a slipway and road in the corner.
mainsail1
Well-Known Member
It seems to me that there is not a lot to land for, unless you take your dinghy (with outboard) up to the Royal Southampton Yacht Club annex at Ginns Farm on a day when it is open.