Coronavirus effect on summer season berth decision

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Mostly Solo

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First post here, so hope it’s in the correct place?. I’m concerned that there will soon be no opportunity to go to my boat, currently in a marina on the south coast of England. It close to the end of a winter contract and I have to decide what to do. It’s a few hours drive and so if I book a berth for the summer and Coronavirus causes a lock down I’ll never get to go sailing or even see it. In which case I might be better taking it out of the water now and not pay hefty summer rate marina fees. Any one else facing this dilemma?
 
Ah, thank you. So to clarify, what I’m trying to find out is, has anyone else made a decision on what to do in this situation, what factors did they take into account, is there any information that might have a bearing on it. Are there any owners not putting their boats back in the water after the winter? I think the marina will be open but perhaps we won’t be able to get to it.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

I don't think it is an issue. The boat is an ideal location to self isolate. Unless they stop all travel from your front door to the boat then why not cast off and go sailing. Currently, they have closed several marinas on the French side of La Manche but nothing stopping you popping over and anchoring off.
 
I was in the same quandary ..We have a winter berth in a marina, contract ends 31 March. Then we have to move back to a trot mooring on the Dart. Today we made the decision to stay for the next year in the marina. Even if we can’t use the boat, I feel much more confident that it’s safer where it is. And if we can use it, it’s much easier to get to it.
 
At present the UK government advice is just that ... advice. Not law . Not regulations .

The UK is not a police state as seems to be the case in other countries.
 
As live aboards we are self isolating by default but our contract is renewable 1st April. We usually pay 12 months in advance, but are wondering if that is wise in case marina gets in financial trouble.
 
Robin said:
As live aboards we are self isolating by default but our contract is renewable 1st April. We usually pay 12 months in advance, but are wondering if that is wise in case marina gets in financial trouble.
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Why would it
People need to park their boats somewhere .
 
Whilst UK is not a police state there is a package of emergency legislation going through parliament over the next few days that will give the government powers to do just about anything they think necessary to tackle covid19. Its probable that movement restrictions similar to those in place on mainland Europe will be brought in which will restrict travel to the coast and also place restrictions on boat use.
My UK marina (Mylor Yacht Harbour) has emailed us to say that at present they’re open for business and will remain operational as long as they’re permitted to do so.
Our other boat is in Greece and the yard has been in touch effectively saying don’t bother coming out to Greece at the moment as all arrivals from outSide of the country are required to undergo 14 days quarantine. They’re still operating and movement in Greek coastal waters is permitted but how long that’ll be allowed is open to question. Italy has banned all boat recreational movement: there’s a thread on scuttlebutt with reports from sailaboutvic who’s stuck in Licata at present until restrictions are lifted.
 
Mostly Solo said:
First post here, so hope it’s in the correct place?. I’m concerned that there will soon be no opportunity to go to my boat, currently in a marina on the south coast of England. It close to the end of a winter contract and I have to decide what to do. It’s a few hours drive and so if I book a berth for the summer and Coronavirus causes a lock down I’ll never get to go sailing or even see it. In which case I might be better taking it out of the water now and not pay hefty summer rate marina fees. Any one else facing this dilemma?
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Personally i would leave it on the hard & see if you can get a contract where you pay by monthly standing order & the option to swap mid season. You can always launch, move the boat elsewhere & cancel the SO. if the marina will not play ball. Lots of boats will stay on the hard, so there will be water berths. The shortage of wages will stop people using their boats, so the marinas will not be full. Obviously you have to offset the cost of haul out & re launch in the calculations
If you normally travel by car, I would expect that to continue, even if stopped for just a short while. If by public transport then definitely do not launch the boat
If you are berthed where there are places to sail with plenty of nearby anchorages, rather than marinas, then you will be able to sail OK because you are self isolating. If you want to rely on marinas at the end of each trip then forget it.
 
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My boat is sitting in the water in Croatia with no way of getting to it for the forseeable future, I wish I'd visited before it was too late. I'm in Southern Germany. :cry:

I would not count on freedom of movement being always available, they have locked down Italy and rumour has it that France is next. If the numbers in the UK continue to climb at the rate they have been going for the last few days then it will likely happen in the UK too - emergency powers are already through parliament I believe. We're expecting it here soon. All non essential activities have been cancelled by the government here and even car production lines are shutting down - which costs millions - mainland Europe is gradually grinding to a halt ... and across the pond even New York is on lockdown.

The problem I had was that as towns and then regions got shut down with police turning non-residents away it became more and more difficult to find a route through that didn't have a roadblock somewhere.

My advice, act quickly while you still have options open. (y)
 
I have paid up for my mooring, booked a launch date. Business as usual as far as i'm concerned. Who are you going to infect while driving to your boat? You don't have to get close to anybody walking along the pontoon or rowing out in the dinghy. You are as isolated as you can be on the boat.
 
neil_s said:
I have paid up for my mooring, booked a launch date. Business as usual as far as i'm concerned. Who are you going to infect while driving to your boat? You don't have to get close to anybody walking along the pontoon or rowing out in the dinghy. You are as isolated as you can be on the boat.
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It has nothing to do with who you may infect while on the boat , it's all to do with restrictions of people moving around , you may not infect anyone while sailing but you may or get infected your self while filling your tank up.
 
neil_s said:
I have paid up for my mooring, booked a launch date. Business as usual as far as i'm concerned. Who are you going to infect while driving to your boat? You don't have to get close to anybody walking along the pontoon or rowing out in the dinghy. You are as isolated as you can be on the boat.
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You have the best case scenario in mind, but when a family with two or three snotty nosed, hyperactive, human petri dishes (young children) come charging along the pontoon in your direction, are you going to jump in the water?

They'll be climbing over the trolleys and touching everything they come into contact with - mine were a nightmare as youngsters. They make great carriers too, doesn't seem to be so serious for young children.
 
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