etiquette when you find someone else on your mooring

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


I did exactly that to a Frenchman in France who returned just as we were having dinner. He was very civilised and simply told us to stay on his mooring and he would pick up another overnight.


[/ QUOTE ]

I encourage people to use my mooring when I am away. If I find someone on it when I come back my approach is generally the same as your French friend. I certainly don't turn people off when they are eating or after dark when it may be hard, especially for visitors, to find another spot. The only exception is on the rare occasions when I am in a hurry to pack up the boat and get ashore, in which case I may have to ask people to move. Just a small contribution to keeping sailing relaxed and friendly. I quite often find several boats rafted on the mooring waiting for the tide into a local marina. If so, and as long as there aren't too many of them, I just hang on the back of the raft until its time for them to go.

I don't often pick up other people's moorings and never leave the boat on them unattended. I've never had a bad experience with a returning owner and on a couple of occasions a night returner has simply picked up another mooring rather than rouse us from our slumbers.

Do as you would be done by isn't a bad rule. We all contribute, positively or negatively, to the environment in which we take our recreation.
 
On the Yealm, a system of markers is used on the bouys to denote whether the mooring can be used or not. Works well for busy places like that. However the HM still take your dues.
 
[ QUOTE ]
This subject always seems to cause a lot of angst.
With popular anchorages nowadays so full of moorings, there is usually no space to anchor, so visitors have little option but to borrow a mooring.
It is not always practical to leave one person on board, e.g. single handers or a couple going ashore for lunch. Should the wife go to the pub first then swop over for husband to eat? Not all mooring areas have anybody who will admit knowing if a mooring is free.
As a visitor I would like to be made welcome or at least tolerated, not made to feel like a trespasser.


[/ QUOTE ]

For sure the popular areas are full of moorings where folk used to anchor but there is usually somewhere, maybe just not as convenient for the pub! Like you we would always want to be made welcome as a visitor but the way to ensure that is by being considerate, maybe at least ASK a neighbouring boat if they know the buoy is in use and the owners likely to return?

We once returned from a very rough cross Channel trip having been holed up waiting for the winds to drop below F9/10 for long enough to get home, once on our mooring we still had to (in those days) clear customs and then too had a 2hr drive home. We arrived at around 8pm to find a boat on our mooring, nobody on board it and no other club moorings free. This was in Poole where there are lots of places to anchor and also visitor berthing at the Town Quay but of course not free of charge. We had to go in the local marina and pay hugely for a berth overnight before we could sort something out next morning, so an expensive night and another day off work and we were already late back. We had to use a temporary mooring as the plonker on ours had gone off home to Birmingham and didn't move his boat until the next weekend - he was VERY lucky it was still there. Our moorings were exposed so no possibility of rafting up short term.

OK this was an extreme case but it is all too easy to make wrong assumptions as to whether a mooring owner will be returning, some like us often do so at all hours of the day.

We are now in a marina berth and have a berthing master that keeps things well in order and our berth is welcome to be used by visitors whilst we are away. Even so we had one that came 'for one night' and then left it for a week whilst they went home, didn't even leave a contact number for our berthing master to call. We had to find another berth ourselves but at least now we live locally so could return as and when to play musical chairs. To make things even more irritating they used our fixed warps and in such a way the anti chafes were not in the fairleads, and when they did finally move left the warps in the water.

This is not aimed at anyone in particular but just to explain there is always another side to consider.
 
I agree, your example was very inconsiderate and ignorant behaviour, but hopefully not common practice.
At the other extreme, we arrived at Ramsholt, R. Deben after a long trip from Holland.We arrived tired, at dusk after George the HM had gone home, and picked up a vacant mooring. Soon a dinghy came along to inform us that we were on his mooring and wanted us gone. We assumed that he had picked up another mooring and rowed over, but no, his boat was ashore but still wanted us gone. We picked up another adjacent bouy and he then told us that that was his friends mooring and was private.
We decided that he had an attitude problem so went below and shut the hatch.
That made us realise we were truly back in the good old UK.
 
Well, as one who has a mooring that is used heavily when we are away, I'm happy for others to use the mooring provided that they move away when asked politely. And we've never had any bother with people moving off.

I'm a little grumpy at present because a recent borrower has nicked my pickup bouy which I'd added to make mooring more simple. I hope that this is just the one bad apple......
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm a little grumpy at present because a recent borrower has nicked my pickup bouy which I'd added to make mooring more simple. I hope that this is just the one bad apple......

[/ QUOTE ]

I had forgotten too but one time our very large mooring buoy was removed and a tatty smaller one put in it's place that barely floated under the riser chain weight. At least the thieving barsteward put one back and even put the small pickup buoy back on.
 
I've borrowed a few moorings and had mine borrowed. Most people are very reasonable. I remember waking in the Dart to find the owner had come back, rafted alongside us with no fuss before I could get on deck, no problem. We stayed a bit longer and left after breakfast. I was quite prepared to move but in the circumstances there was no need.
Normally I leave a tender on my mooring if I'm back next day, if there's no tender a mooring is fair game generally.
Most places I just ask the HM if I can find him.
 
I kinda liked the approach I encountered when last in the UK, the swinging mooring had two pickup bouys - the smaller one marked for visitors.

The plus being that the owner can always return to his mooring, the downside being more likely to have a visitor alongside! and of course the ground tackle needs to be able to cope.

At the moment I only have a fore and aft mooring - but probably next year will also get a swinger /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif for part time use. Will probably take the dual mooring bouy approach.

I figure if one can have the mindset of "Give and take" rather than "mine all mine" then in the long run arguably works for all concerned.

FWIW IMO if picking up a mooring it is up to the visitor to be prepared to move, day or night!, at short notice - it's the risk yer take for a free (and nice?!) mooring.

Down here folk often add their telephone number to the bouy so folk can easily check.
 
[ QUOTE ]
... if there's no tender a mooring is fair game generally.
Most places I just ask the HM if I can find him.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can I come and park on your drive when your car isn't there? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sorry, but I installed I insure and I pay the CC fees for my mooring and it hacks me off something rotten to know that a boat will be sitting every Saturday night on my mooring when I'm away. Unfortunately my mooring is directly adjacent to 15 visitors moorings, but plainly doesn't stop people picking up my mooring when the Visitor moorings are full. I've even been asked as I was leaving "is this mooring free?" "£20" I replied. He looked totally bemused.

Donald
 
[ QUOTE ]
I've even been asked as I was leaving "is this mooring free?" "£20" I replied. He looked totally bemused.
[ QUOTE ]


HM in L'Aberwrach tried to tell us to pick up a buoy when we were anchored. He said he couldn't understand why we were anchored when there were plenty of free buoys. There are no free buoys we said, he said yes there were. So we said if they really were FREE we would use one perhaps next time, by this time he was beginning to cotton on.
 
Round here if there is a dinghy tied to a mooring then I would assume the owner will be back shortly. Likewise a fender secured to the mooring with the words <owner returning today> or similar would mean that at most I would borrow the mooring for a lunch stop and I would most certainly not leave the boat.
 
Some years ago I helped take a sailboat north to Oban, outside Ireland ( ...a 'gross navigational error!' ), and most of the trip was done without functioning engine - including the last 100 miles. We two were tired when we arrived, in the late evening, off the Oban Sailing Club moorings so we picked up a vacant one on the empty outer trot, and turned in. Next morning, my 'owner' phoned around to arrange a marina berth for the summer, to discover none to be had. He'd just assumed..... Wrong!

I phoned a friend, who told us he knew who owned the one we were on and that individual's boat was out of the water, but to shift to his own 'just in case' - which we did. Said friend turned up an hour or two later, and took us both off to his 'cottage' a few miles away for a shower and a dram. It emerged from inquiries the mooring we used originally was for sale, and after a bit of communicating, we ended up buying it. A 'win-win' all round....

Especially as, after a couple of seasons there, the boat came south again and the well-maintained mooring was left in the charge of the local club, for use by anyone they thought appropriate.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
<<Can I come and park on your drive when your car isn't there?>>

Yes you can - if I don't need it - and you'll move as soon as I do - unfortunately its nowhere handy !

Mind you - I'll also turn in driveways that say "no turning" out of preference.

Providing the "borrower" is nice about it, doesn't put me out unduly - I can't see the problem (must remember to put a mobile number on my mooring ...)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, but I installed I insure and I pay the CC fees for my mooring and it hacks me off something rotten to know that a boat will be sitting every Saturday night on my mooring when I'm away.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's such a shame when folk feel like this. For me, one of the attractions of yachting is the camaraderie between sailors. We're all practical folk and I get pleasure from helping people out - hopeful that if I need help I too will find a friendly face. I haven't been disappointed yet...
[ QUOTE ]
Can I come and park on your drive when your car isn't there?

[/ QUOTE ] Why on earth not - I'm not using it.

The trouble is, there are some inconsiderate sailors around. If I borrow a mooring and leave the boat to visit the pub, I have a sign that I hang on the rail with my mobile phone. That said, I usually prefer to anchor...
 
I occasionally use other peoples moorings if they are vacant. However, I never leave the boat and am happy enough to move should they return. I also plan where I'm going to go if the owner should return.

I'm also happy for others to use my mooring as long as they are prepared to move should I return.

Having read all in this thread I may well paint the max length on the buoy in addition to the boat name.
 
[ QUOTE ]
It's such a shame when folk feel like this. For me, one of the attractions of yachting is the camaraderie between sailors. We're all practical folk and I get pleasure from helping people out - hopeful that if I need help I too will find a friendly face. I haven't been disappointed yet...

Quote:

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps your moorings are more sheltered and visitor numbers smaller than hereabouts. I too enjoy camaraderie and being helpful but would feel that friendly camaraderie was being stretched somewhat when returning at 3am on a wet and windy night to find the mooring occupied, no others free and too rough to even comtemplate going alongside.

[ QUOTE ]
Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can I come and park on your drive when your car isn't there?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why on earth not - I'm not using it.


[/ QUOTE ]

We live close to a local High Street and frequently are blocked in or out of our drive by shoppers. I can assure you that we do not take a friendly approach and always call the police who send the local traffic wardens to deal. One guy avoided the wardens by parking entirely on our driveway, thus not subject to normal rules such as are valid on the road, he was there for 6 hours. I didn't catch him that day when he left (my office is in the other side of the house) but he came back again next day and a neighbour saw him go to a house two streets away, apparently visiting the teennage daughter whilst parents were on holiday. I finally got them to answer the door to be told that around Croydon it was common practice to park like he had! I told him that round our way it was common practice to return to a car a different colour from the one left, or even to no car at all if it could be towed, I think he took the point because although he was still rogering teeny daughter daily according to neighbours his car was nowhere to be seen.

As others have said, do unto others as you would be happy to be done to you. Camaraderie is great but taking the p1ss isn't!
 
Sometimes you just have to make a judgement about what's reasonable and sometimes you will be judged to be wrong. C'est la vie. I don't think we can write hard and fast rules about this, other than if possible, ask.
 
[ QUOTE ]
HM in L'Aberwrach tried to tell us to pick up a buoy when we were anchored.

[/ QUOTE ]

According to Reeds Nautical Almanac: "Anchoring is prohibited off L'Aber W'rac'h.".

This has deterred me from anchoring there in the past.

But your story suggests the HM does not enforce this rule, which is useful to know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

W
Downsizing to your boat.
2
Replies
28
Views
718
Wansworth
W

Share this page

Top