Falmouth Yacht Haven - Rip off Britain?

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Captain_Chaos

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I have just returned from an extended week-end sailing from Plymouth to Fowey and Falmouth (we wimped out of going to Scilly 'coz of the forecast).
Decided to berth at the Falmouth Yacht Haven and got charged £19.50 for the priviledge! Thought it a bit steep and after one night we moved up the Fal. Flicking through an old log book, I noticed that the fee for the same boat (32 ft) in June last year was only £12 that means a staggering increase of 62.5%.
I know that the old sweats will say I should have anchored but the crew wanted a shower and a walk to the pub instead of a wet dinghy ride(it was blowing a bit) but how can they justify such a big increase?
If i had realised at the time how much the price had gone up I would have asked directly.
 
New transport sec wades in

in the normal course of events, the market finds a price.... 'cept that i am increasingly of the view that a few biggish private companies control the markket for leisure boating. SO! I will have massive lunch meeting with MDL and premier with THEM paying (or praps haul them up to westyminster) and then give them what for, and prices returned to rpi OR ELSE erm, public inquiry, windfall tax, nationlisation in the public interest, fat cats etc etc.

ooh this is good innit!
 
Nowhere..... I went round Nth foreland and straight over to Ipswich, my home port, so didn't stop on the east Coast.....

Stops were Haslar, Eastbourne and Ramsgate... can't remember which was the most expensive, but Ramsgate was the cheapest...
 
Well plainly NAS didn't stop there but if you count Ramsgate as the East Coast expect to be ripped off and horrified at the facilities & service. Every time we promise ourselves "never again" but geographically it has its uses and every few years we fall for it again !

Whoops tilt - have just read NAS on Ramsgate - perhaps it has got cheaper - it cost us a fortune and there was no water, no electricity, the pontoons were filthy and the staff unbelievably unhelpful - but I do admit that was about 4 yrs ago.
 
On the opposite tack, Harty Ferry. We used to moor there years ago - when we visited 3 or 4 yrs back and offered to pay for a buoy they were amazed and charged us £5 for 2 nights with free fresh fish !
 
Lowestoft is the worst place was £ 22 last year heaven knows this year.

Suffolk YH £25

All very well but when in holland dirt cheap and lecy thrown in most times.

All for 12 m boat. Think I'll have to learn how to use fish hook on bow, always looks to shiney to thro overboard, I assume up button is when wife can't be bother to do as she's told.

Perhaps we should blockade various marinas till they lower prices, better still blockade all major UK ports for a week to make sure the idiots in power don't up our fuel bills.
 
Its good value up the Fal...Truro Harbourmaster has several pontoons at £8.00 regardles of size

My Marina charges in Falmouth nearly doubled 2 yrs ago, they changed the rules on boat lengths..instead of being under 8metres I became over 7 metres!
 
We stayed on Falmouth marina in '89. It was still under construction. Very expensive at the time, especially as the showers and stuff were in portocabins.

The thing that put me off the most was the rules issued upon our arrival, I remember reading them out on a makeshift soapbox in the cockpit to our crew.

Though shalt not hang washing
Though shalt not make a noise after 9pm
Though shalt not have a barbecue
Though shalt not blah blah blah

I still have them somewhere. It would stop me ever visiting again.
 
Cant understand people whingeing about marina fees at the £20 level. I've just had to pay that for 24 hrs parking for my car - and that didnt require pontoons, electricity, water, more than one staff.

Has anybody here any real idea of the capital cost of creating a marina and the annual cost of running one. Round here (the Bristol channel) we have had marinas go out of business making a loss when reasonably full, and marinas sold off to a management buyout. A sure sign that there isnt a lot of money in them. So what would be the cost of building a new marina?
 
The reason I complain about marinas is because I hate them. Every quiet backwater or secure anchorage now seems to have one or has one on the books.

This means in many situations you have no choice but to pay to use a pontoon unless you carry on and stop a mile from where you wanted to be.

They look incredibly ugly and destroy beautiful area's charging an arm and a leg for the privilege.
 
Hi Shipswoofy,

Totally agree with you!! Marinas are an absolute blight on many an otherwise lovely spot. I don't understand the 'need' to surf from one rip-off point to another, as many seem to do. Give me an anchorage any day (or night), well away from the racket and the ridiculous cost.

Cheers Jerry
 
Re: And The Dart- Rip off Britain?

Again agree 100%

Just look at the Dart, both sides full of marinas, an eyesore and 25 to 30 quid a night to boot, or just a stop over to use the bogs is £12. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Where as upstream, Dittisham a nice haven with just swinging moorings.


poter.
 
Another PR triumph for MDL

excellent contribution Jon. You may have missed the context here but not to worry. Note: if HMGovt does actually call- it ain't an option to say "no thanks" and actually wd be a very GOOD idea to buy lunch, imho.
 
Re: And The Dart- Rip off Britain?

[ QUOTE ]

Where as upstream, Dittisham a nice haven with just swinging moorings.


[/ QUOTE ]

And where you'll still pay to anchor let alone use a buoy - and half of it goes to that poor moneyless chap Big Ears ! Sad really as I'm sure he really needs our mooring fees more than we need the money /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
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