G
Guest
Guest
Having not come out of the water for 3 years, but now requiring the need to, I had a ring round the area (Thames Estuary) for costs of winter storage within reasonable travelling distance.
The first three phoned were all 55 pence per foot per week . The fourth which was my preferred site , and which was also recommended by a fellow sailor who stated that it was only 35 pence per foot . On phoning, I was told that it had now been increased to the not surprising figure of 55 pence. Clearly there is now a cartel in operation in most of our sailing areas in the UK with very high profits being made for very little in services rendered. In short they have us by the balls knowing that we have nowhere else to go unless we have to travel miles in winter conditions. I did ring another professional boatyard that charged 38 pence per foot but DID face opposition by a large YACHT CLUB nearby that has a huge area for hardstanding and does it’s own DIY.
Is it ethical that you join a Yacht Club just for the hauls and hardstanding with no intention of supporting events or taking a mooring ? Would many clubs be happy just to get money into the coffers by any means ? If this is ethical, should we not be getting out of the marinas in the winter anyway ? In my own case, based on many clubs only charging about 150 quid for membership I would save about 500 quid.
The first three phoned were all 55 pence per foot per week . The fourth which was my preferred site , and which was also recommended by a fellow sailor who stated that it was only 35 pence per foot . On phoning, I was told that it had now been increased to the not surprising figure of 55 pence. Clearly there is now a cartel in operation in most of our sailing areas in the UK with very high profits being made for very little in services rendered. In short they have us by the balls knowing that we have nowhere else to go unless we have to travel miles in winter conditions. I did ring another professional boatyard that charged 38 pence per foot but DID face opposition by a large YACHT CLUB nearby that has a huge area for hardstanding and does it’s own DIY.
Is it ethical that you join a Yacht Club just for the hauls and hardstanding with no intention of supporting events or taking a mooring ? Would many clubs be happy just to get money into the coffers by any means ? If this is ethical, should we not be getting out of the marinas in the winter anyway ? In my own case, based on many clubs only charging about 150 quid for membership I would save about 500 quid.
