falmouth haven - the rip off has started

[Birdseye]

This years mooring bills have just dropped on the mat and the increase over last year is 10% when inflation is almost zero.

No justification - the harbour authority have created an unnecessary layer of bull**** ( name change, website etc) and management speak and appointed new staff but no material change in what they are offering. No wonder that last year the visitors moorings were usually half empty .

No effort made to justify this increase. I wonder how many customers will move on.

 

[Ru88ell]

2% increase at Mylor, but then it's probably 3 times the Haven cost to start with.

 

[KevO]

They pushed ahead with sweeping 'reforms' last year which involved very significant price hikes across the board and the heavy handed withdrawal of historical private moorings etc which has been discussed on here several times previously.

The local lobbying group 'Falmouth Harbour Users Association' FHUA which was fighting for greater transparency in the running of the Harbour appears to have withered on the vine... certainly I've had no response whatsoever to multiple e-mails asking for an update on the campaign. I tried yet again to ask what their response was going to be to the public consultation in respect of FHC's request for even greater powers to act and set locals laws etc but yet again, nothing, nada, zip.

Well above inflation price rises will be the norm from now on... after all, they've got a new website to pay for and a cash cow that they can milk to their heart's content.

We/they should have protested during the tall ships race last year IMHO... A couple of dozen boats with big banners waived in front of the international media may have caused a few red faces in the corridors of power!

 

[Garry & June 'Friendship']

I am not renewing at Mylor this year. Will be moving from there at beginning of April to the Yacht Haven only for a few weeks or so to await a favourable weather window before setting off across channel en route for the sun, and cheaper moorings. I have to say that although Mylor is a nice enough place the fee's are just ridiculous. Then again I suppose if people have more money than sense and are prepared to pay it then good luck to them. I would have liked to wait at Mylor an extra month for better weather but if I had done so I was told I would have to pay visitors day rate for the month. I wont even scare you with the quote for that ! The yacht haven is less than half the price even though not cheap itself.

 

[Ru88ell]

I have to say that although Mylor is a nice enough place the fee's are just ridiculous.

So nice that there's still a three year waiting list for a mooring! I'm glad my boat is only one of the tiddlers!

 

[FWB]

I am not renewing at Mylor this year. Will be moving from there at beginning of April to the Yacht Haven only for a few weeks or so to await a favourable weather window before setting off across channel en route for the sun, and cheaper moorings. I have to say that although Mylor is a nice enough place the fee's are just ridiculous. Then again I suppose if people have more money than sense and are prepared to pay it then good luck to them. I would have liked to wait at Mylor an extra month for better weather but if I had done so I was told I would have to pay visitors day rate for the month. I wont even scare you with the quote for that ! The yacht haven is less than half the price even though not cheap itself.

I have no idea how the costs at Mylor compare to other marinas and I don't care. There is nowhere else I would rather keep my boat than at Mylor. It's not a case of having "more money than sense" it's a case of being able to afford to keep the boat where I wish, which is at Mylor.

 

[Birdseye]

I checked comparisons with the Solent ( well Portsmouth which is the Solent to me) and its possible to get a mooring for much the same cost for a full year as Falmouth for the summer. Falmouth is a nice place but it is in the back of beyond down there in Cornwall so there is no justification for south coast pricing levels.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have no idea how the costs at Mylor compare to other marinas and I don't care. There is nowhere else I would rather keep my boat than at Mylor. It's not a case of having "more money than sense" it's a case of being able to afford to keep the boat where I wish, which is at Mylor.

Fair enough. Mind you, I checked, and it's almost exactly twice the cost of the marina next to my swinging mooring.

 

[Little Five]

I checked comparisons with the Solent ( well Portsmouth which is the Solent to me) and its possible to get a mooring for much the same cost for a full year as Falmouth for the summer. Falmouth is a nice place but it is in the back of beyond down there in Cornwall so there is no justification for south coast pricing levels.

As many on here have said before it is supply and demand, the bedrock of capitalism. They will soon drop their prices if no one will pay their rate.

 

[theotter]

So nice that there's still a three year waiting list for a mooring! I'm glad my boat is only one of the tiddlers!

Never be fooled by waiting lists...research has shown that those on waiting lists are generally the same people on waiting lists all along the coast and therefore one small glitch in the market or marina development can neutralise a waiting list over night!

On the subject of Falmouth charges I was horrified to be charged £12.00 per night for a 10m boat at anchor off the Visitor's Yacht Haven last year. When asked how they justified this against Dartmouth/Salcombe for example they said because it included the 'facilities', namely showers, loos and washing machines. I don't want all that stuff but would be happy to pay for it as and when but not every day. To add insult to injury I was single handed and get charged the same as someone with 6 people on board all using the 'facilities'. I will make more effort to give it a miss next time!

 

[JumbleDuck]

As many on here have said before it is supply and demand, the bedrock of capitalism. They will soon drop their prices if no one will pay their rate.

If there is a three year waiting list for moorings at Mylor their prices are clearly below what the market will bear.

 

[KevO]

Never be fooled by waiting lists...research has shown that those on waiting lists are generally the same people on waiting lists all along the coast and therefore one small glitch in the market or marina development can neutralise a waiting list over night!

On the subject of Falmouth charges I was horrified to be charged £12.00 per night for a 10m boat at anchor off the Visitor's Yacht Haven last year. When asked how they justified this against Dartmouth/Salcombe for example they said because it included the 'facilities', namely showers, loos and washing machines. I don't want all that stuff but would be happy to pay for it as and when but not every day. To add insult to injury I was single handed and get charged the same as someone with 6 people on board all using the 'facilities'. I will make more effort to give it a miss next time!

These facilities are NOT available for mooring holders though even though I for one actually live aboard for quite a few weeks at a time throughout the season. It would be nice to be able to nip ashore for a shower and do a dobie run once in a while, especially when the showers etc are actually only 20ft from me in the same yard where I pay an additional £200 to store my inflatable for 5 months (when it's not made fast to the back of my boat that is!).

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

These facilities are NOT available for mooring holders though even though I for one actually live aboard for quite a few weeks at a time throughout the season. It would be nice to be able to nip ashore for a shower and do a dobie run once in a while, especially when the showers etc are actually only 20ft from me in the same yard where I pay an additional £200 to store my inflatable for 5 months (when it's not made fast to the back of my boat that is!).

I had a very nice residents berth in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and chose instead to move my boat to Mylor as it seemed to me to be a better place to sail from. We were there for several years and loved it. It's not at the lower end of the market at all, but it is sheltered, safe, webcammed, restauranted, good for dog walking, pretty, good for walking, non-industrial, far from motorways, accessible at all states of tide, the water is blue (as opposed to Solent brown), and I could list a dozen other attributes.

The market determines the prices. Thats the way it should be with private enterprise facilities. With public facilities the electorate should be in charge.

 

[Garry & June 'Friendship']

If there is a three year waiting list for moorings at Mylor their prices are clearly below what the market will bear.

lol I was told the waiting list was actually 5 years !!! well whoever has been waiting that long better give them a call pretty quick as from April there will be one nice berth available. !

as the saying goes 'you pays your money you takes your choice'... or something like that. !!

 

[Resolution]

Fair enough. Mind you, I checked, and it's almost exactly twice the cost of the marina next to my swinging mooring.

Hey Jumble, aren't you lucky up there? I checked and Mylor is about half the rate MDL are asking for Hamble Point Marina. Market forces at work I think.
Peter

 

[Seven Spades]

I had a very nice residents berth in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and chose instead to move my boat to Mylor as it seemed to me to be a better place to sail from. We were there for several years and loved it. It's not at the lower end of the market at all, but it is sheltered, safe, webcammed, restauranted, good for dog walking, pretty, good for walking, non-industrial, far from motorways, accessible at all states of tide, the water is blue (as opposed to Solent brown), and I could list a dozen other attributes.

The market determines the prices. Thats the way it should be with private enterprise facilities. With public facilities the electorate should be in charge.

I thought your motivation for moving was the damage you sustained to the boat in Yarmouth?

 

[skyflyer]

If you have a swinging mooring at MYH you get discount if you come alongside that - give-or-take - ends up costing pretty much the same as a night at FVYH. I have tended to favour FVYH for a night before a passage, therefore as its an easy trip to the shops, Chainlocker, Waterfront etc and nearer the harbour entrance to boot.

The FYVH facilities are, IMHO, on a par or even slightly better than those at MYH.

That mooring was for a boat I had a share in and have now sold. I put myself on the MYH waiting list for a mooring of my own, four years ago, in case I ever bought my own boat outright. This year i did that and when I contacted them to ask if I had reached the top of the list I was offered a mooring. (as an aside, in then I was also offered one by the local yacht club, so took that, so MYH have a swinging mooring available now!)

However, a chance conversation with an old gaffer of this ilk (no names - no pack drill) last year revealed that - effectively - one's progress up the waiting list is not linear. If you spend money on engineering and maintenance you rise to the top of the list a bit quicker!

I don't really blame them for this. Just that i suspect much the same applies everywhere. The marina wants tenants that are happy to spend money within their organisation. Once you have a boat and are looking for a mooring, things happen faster than when you are looking for a mooring with a view to then buying a boat!

[edited to add] Also if you thing £12 is steep for anchoring at vVistors you can pay the same to truro harbourmaster to tie to their floating pontoon up the Fal with no facilities other than a rubbish bin

 

[Triassic]

The market determines the prices. Thats the way it should be with private enterprise facilities. With public facilities the electorate should be in charge.

Indeed, unfortunately it appears to me that at Falmouth they took what had been a historic public harbour facility and allocated all the available facilities to a private company........

 

[Ru88ell]

If you have a swinging mooring at MYH you get discount if you come alongside that - give-or-take - ends up costing pretty much the same as a night at FVYH.

TBF, swinging mooring holders get a 25% discount if you stay on a pontoon overnight in the summer. You can stay alongside all day and have free use of the shore power. I do this regularly. We also get unrestricted use of the water taxi, wifi, and can keep a tender ashore in the rack. Parking is also free. Facilities are tons better than Falmouth Haven, which I've used a couple of times; MYH are always immaculate and not so poorly ventilated that you can't see your hand in front of your face. They also have CCTV which can be driven remotely (currently out of order) - and before now I've spotted an issue and called the staff who've rectified it in minutes.

 

[Seajet]

I'd be very dubious of ' X years waiting lists ', the marinas and moorings I know around the Solent might mutter about this but in fact there are plenty of spaces and one can stroll straight in; very sad to hear what is happening in Falmouth, I can't help thinking their timing is off to wind up the charges.

I suspect it's the same old story of ' we management will only be here a short while so let's screw the customers, the long term is S.E.P, someone else's problem ' !