Holyhead Marina

Hugely sad for everybody involved. Just a blessing no lives lost.

Let’s hope the owners get prompt and full settlement from their insurers, and doesnt turn into a lengthy “who’s to blame” episode.
I guess there may be implications for use of other marinas that don’t have all round secure shelter? A F10 (if this was indeed what it was) is hopefully rare when sailing, but not particularly rare for 365 day berthing - though perhaps the direction slightly more so.
 
shaunksb said:
Long standing family friends own one of the big Moody's on the back leg up from the lifeboat that we always go away with for a week or two in the summer.

He always keeps his boat in over winter.

I phoned him yesterday to see how he was (he's eighty and has just had a fall this week).

Before I broached the subject of the boat he told me he'd just bought a cradle for her and had her lifted out. He had a little whinge about how much it had cost.

He had not heard the news about the devastation.

He has had his boat for twenty five years, from new.

I told him the money he spent on that cradle was probably his best ever investment in the boat...

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That's good news. It would've been a lot for him to take if he'd lost the boat. From all the photos it looks like one of the boats on the rocks is a big Moody that is hopefully in repairable condition.
 
lpdsn said:
That's good news. It would've been a lot for him to take if he'd lost the boat. From all the photos it looks like one of the boats on the rocks is a big Moody that is hopefully in repairable condition.
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The report I've had is that there are two boats that aren't total losses (presumably we're talking about boats that are on the wall or rocks). One of the boats is the Farr 45 which I referred to earlier, it wasn't new but the new owner has only had it for 6 weeks.
 
savageseadog said:
The report I've had is that there are two boats that aren't total losses (presumably we're talking about boats that are on the wall or rocks). One of the boats is the Farr 45 which I referred to earlier, it wasn't new but the new owner has only had it for 6 weeks.
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I saw that one in the photos. Hopefully she can be repaired quickly. And fair play to the crew who flaked the main to have come through that and still be neat on the boom.
 
I think the Farr 45 has a carbon hull so may have been able to cope with the beaching especially if she landed on shingle rather than rock. She was ra I guess at H H only a few days before and going well.
 
brainstorm said:
I think the Farr 45 has a carbon hull so may have been able to cope with the beaching especially if she landed on shingle rather than rock. She was ra I guess at H H only a few days before and going well.
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I suspect she was just lucky enough to be washed higher up the shore and avoided the repeated battering other boats will have got.
 
Is it just me, or is anyone else struggling to understand why this hasn't been covered in the 'news' section of ybw.com? Heartbreaking for all concerned.
 
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I have absolutely no experience whatsoever of keeping a boat in a marina so please forgive me if this sounds rather naive. Given we knew this storm was coming so far in advance why were the boats still there, let alone unattended, when it struck? Is it that owners were under some false illusion that they would be safe there, or are owners so detached that they have no opportunity to intervene?
 
Triassic said:
I have absolutely no experience whatsoever of keeping a boat in a marina so please forgive me if this sounds rather naive. Given we knew this storm was coming so far in advance why were the boats still there, let alone unattended, when it struck? Is it that owners were under some false illusion that they would be safe there, or are owners so detached that they have no opportunity to intervene?
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It actually sounds a bit nastier than naive to be honest. It is quite common to keep boats in marina in winter. In most cases they're probably safer than onshore. In fact virtually all the damage that has happened to boats belonging to people I know has happened on the hard and it is always the time when my own boat is out of the water that worries me most.

Yes, some marinas are better protected than others (I moved marina for the winter with this in mind - neither were Holyhead). Holyhead has always been exposed to the East but there was a heavy concrete breakwater pontoon there to protect boats. For some reason it failed. That was not to be expected so trying to blame the boat owners is really bad form to say the least.

Apart from anything else I believe there's a shortage of space ashore locally (and despite there being no issues this time that is rather windswept - certainly was when I was working on a mate's boat there).
 
I'm sorry if it sounded nasty, it certainly wasn't meant that way, nor is it an attempt to blame the boat owners. It is simply a straightforward question from someone who has no experience of keeping a boat elsewhere than at home. Given the amount of money some people have invested in their vessel, me included, I was genuinely asking if marinas are generally perceived to be safe havens, or is it a case of owners being so far away from their vessels there is nothing they can do when the weather turns bad.
 
Triassic said:
I have absolutely no experience whatsoever of keeping a boat in a marina so please forgive me if this sounds rather naive. Given we knew this storm was coming so far in advance why were the boats still there, let alone unattended, when it struck? Is it that owners were under some false illusion that they would be safe there, or are owners so detached that they have no opportunity to intervene?
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My boat is in Port Bannatyne marina this winter as an experiment. A complete failure, as it happens, because work, illness and weather have between them scuppered every weekend when I might have been aboard. I was not too chuffed to see the B from the E forecasts, but there was nothing I could do. Where would eighty boat owners at Holyhead move their boats to at a couple of days' notice?
 
Triassic said:
I'm sorry if it sounded nasty, it certainly wasn't meant that way, nor is it an attempt to blame the boat owners. It is simply a straightforward question from someone who has no experience of keeping a boat elsewhere than at home. Given the amount of money some people have invested in their vessel, me included, I was genuinely asking if marinas are generally perceived to be safe havens, or is it a case of owners being so far away from their vessels there is nothing they can do when the weather turns bad.
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My boat was damaged (slightly) by Storm Zeus whilst in a marina last year. My insurers waive the excess for damage whilst in a marina which suggests to me marinas are the safest place to be in foul weather so I'm not sure what you expect the unfortunate (as opposed to indifferent) Holyhead owners to do? Put to sea in a freezing gale when warnings not to drive are in place? The pontoons at Holyhead were rightly closed off before they failed, so how close anybody lived is a bit irrelevant.
 
Triassic said:
I'm sorry if it sounded nasty, it certainly wasn't meant that way, nor is it an attempt to blame the boat owners. It is simply a straightforward question from someone who has no experience of keeping a boat elsewhere than at home. Given the amount of money some people have invested in their vessel, me included, I was genuinely asking if marinas are generally perceived to be safe havens, or is it a case of owners being so far away from their vessels there is nothing they can do when the weather turns bad.
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Holyhead has always been bad in easterlies and I know several people who have been trapped on boats on the club moorings in summer, not able to get ashore for a day or two. The marina has also had its problems in the past but insurers are generally happier for a boat to be in a marina than on a mooring in winter. This event was exceptional, as was the one on the west coast of France a few years ago which destroyed even more boats.
 
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Triassic said:
I'm sorry if it sounded nasty, it certainly wasn't meant that way, nor is it an attempt to blame the boat owners. It is simply a straightforward question from someone who has no experience of keeping a boat elsewhere than at home. Given the amount of money some people have invested in their vessel, me included, I was genuinely asking if marinas are generally perceived to be safe havens, or is it a case of owners being so far away from their vessels there is nothing they can do when the weather turns bad.
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OK, it just came across quite strongly. Yes, marinas are considered safe for the winter. Insurance companies generally give cover for a marina or ashore for the winter. As I said, I for one consider ashore quite risky especially as many yards available to me are quite exposed. My boat was ashore for Hurricane Ophelia but the locals tell me it wasn't much worse than a F6 to 7 because of upwind shelter. She survived.

Not all marinas are equally sheltered so there's a trade off when choosing one for the winter. I'm sure no one expected the outer breakwater to part at Holyhead but there would've been the expectation of more wear and tear on cleats and lines and fenders there than at a more sheltered location.

Many boat owners around there appear to be from Manchester or Liverpool and the surrounds. You certainly don't hear many strong Welsh accents, so I guess they were too far away to react and in any case would've had nowhere to go. As you'll have seen in the videos the marina entrance was chained off to prevent access.
 
Yes this ex storm was forecast to give 50 mph easterlies which the Marina has previously weathered in the last 18 years . Nothing a cause for concern . The Marina used to go around and double up lines for free.... A service that would reassure remote boat owners that their pride and joy was safe.

Safe access to the large commercial craft attached to the outer leg of the Marina was not possible due to the movement of the pontoons at the height of the storm at night and a covering of Ice.
The local Stenna Irish ferry left it's berth and circled in the Lee of holy island without passengers as conditions deteriorated. Around this time the winds were reaching a consistent level of 90 mph. The AWLB was rescued out of the breaking up Marina by boarding from the onshore LB. It was based less than 50 feet from the Marina pontoon access gate. I am sure the commercial boat owners and the Marina would have taken greater action if they had expected these conditions and had time to respond safely. Perfect storm, domino effect of overloaded pontoon structure and some very unlucky private boat owners and liveaboards. One was interviewed on the local TV tonight. He could see the mast of his boat sticking out of the water but was more concerned about helping clean up the polystyrene soup. Local fishing charter boat owners have also been victims of the low life underclass of Holyhead who have been quick to steal anything they can to provide their next fix!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-43285378.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-43292691
 
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