Holyhead Marina

[Heckler]

Haslar Marina in Gosport has a 'wave break' structure around its exposed side. This is piles into the seabed with wooden planks between.
The engineering is not impossible, but it probably helps to have a few hundred yachts paying Solent prices to fund it.

There is probably a limit to what people will pay to keep their boats in the water through winter storms?
How many of the these boats have seen significant use over the Winter? I'd guess most were just there because its a cheaper/easier option than laying up ashore?

At the end of the day though, there will always be boats trashed by storms.

I I kept mine in HH for a couple of years until just over 3 years ago. NE were to be feared, the whole marina, no piling, would start oscillating. The fetch from the east, although in a protected harbour was enough to allow serious swell which would hit the so called breakwater pontoon where all the big boats were. this would start the dance, the swell would carry on to the harbour breakwater wall, bounce off that and then meet the incoming in the marina. The yard is small, not enough for all the boats at any one time, iirc you were allowed 3 months out only. I wintered in the water the first year, wasn't happy and went to Pwllheli for the second year where a 90mph storm damaged my boat! Go figure! The catastrophic failure of components mentioned by the manager on the Daily Post interview, take a look at the pix here of the fixings for the pontoons https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597283927017309/permalink/1644903022255399/

 

[Heckler]

I am unable to find them. Can you give any more direction please?

Sorry Vyv, try here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597283927017309/permalink/1644903022255399/

 

[Halo]

I have sailed round the UK twice - with a gap of 15 years between times. One of the main differences I noticed second time round was the boat population of many marinas had changed dramatically.
- Firstly many marinas now have large wind farm service vessels tied up to pontoons - using big lines to very modest cleats
- Secondly there are many other larger vessels tied up to marina pontoons - such as commercial fishing boats, survey vessels, UK Border, Fisheries protection etc
- The average yacht and cruiser has got much bigger
I suspect that in a blow the wind forces on pontoons in many marinas now exceed what the initial designers were working on initially and there will be more problems in future as a result.

What does the committee think??

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have sailed round the UK twice - with a gap of 15 years between times. One of the main differences I noticed second time round was the boat population of many marinas had changed dramatically.
- Firstly many marinas now have large wind farm service vessels tied up to pontoons - using big lines to very modest cleats
- Secondly there are many other larger vessels tied up to marina pontoons - such as commercial fishing boats, survey vessels, UK Border, Fisheries protection etc
- The average yacht and cruiser has got much bigger
I suspect that in a blow the wind forces on pontoons in many marinas now exceed what the initial designers were working on initially and there will be more problems in future as a result.

What does the committee think??

I agree completely. Add ten or twenty years of fatigue and minimal maintenance and I am surprised more marinas haven't disintegrated.

 

[chrishscorp]

I have sailed round the UK twice - with a gap of 15 years between times. One of the main differences I noticed second time round was the boat population of many marinas had changed dramatically.
- Firstly many marinas now have large wind farm service vessels tied up to pontoons - using big lines to very modest cleats
- Secondly there are many other larger vessels tied up to marina pontoons - such as commercial fishing boats, survey vessels, UK Border, Fisheries protection etc
- The average yacht and cruiser has got much bigger
I suspect that in a blow the wind forces on pontoons in many marinas now exceed what the initial designers were working on initially and there will be more problems in future as a result.

What does the committee think??

Last time we came back in to pompey harbour we were a little surprised to see the Border force cutter tied up on the outer pontoon in Haslar Marina, at 42 Metres and 260 tons she dwarfed everything in the Marina, we all commented how bizzarre it looked when there was a perfectly good HM dockyard with empty berths not 250 yards away vastly more suited to berthing her.
Wind would not neccesarily be an issue in that location but serious wash can be.

 

[GrahamM376]

Sorry Vyv, try here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1597283927017309/permalink/1644903022255399/

Stu, Can't view photo, have no intention of getting Facebook account.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Stu, Can't view photo, have no intention of getting Facebook account.

You could go to gmail, get a use-once email address, use it to create a use-once faceache account with a made up name, look at photos, then forget both. A faff, I know...

 

[Keef]

Sad that there was so much damage caused. I've sailed out of Holyhead ( as first mate on a delivery trip) and it is a pretty run down place. If I had a boat of my own I'd be nervous about keeping it in such an exposed location. The staff at the Marina who I met were lovely, but the whole area is run down. The local supermarket where we went to pick up supplies for our trip down to the IOW was a freakshow to say the least.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

The local supermarket where we went to pick up supplies for our trip down to the IOW was a freakshow to say the least.

Frequented by royalty when Wills and his missus lived nearby.

 

[Triassic]

Last time we came back in to pompey harbour we were a little surprised to see the Border force cutter tied up on the outer pontoon in Haslar Marina, at 42 Metres and 260 tons she dwarfed everything in the Marina, we all commented how bizzarre it looked when there was a perfectly good HM dockyard with empty berths not 250 yards away vastly more suited to berthing her.

I don't suppose they find quite as much business in the HM dockyard though......

 

[savageseadog]

Sad that there was so much damage caused. I've sailed out of Holyhead ( as first mate on a delivery trip) and it is a pretty run down place. If I had a boat of my own I'd be nervous about keeping it in such an exposed location. The staff at the Marina who I met were lovely, but the whole area is run down. The local supermarket where we went to pick up supplies for our trip down to the IOW was a freakshow to say the least.

Ha! Ha! I'm sure they'll make you very welcome should you decide to go there again!

I'm pretty sure that the larger vessels played a significant part in the destruction, the Marina was happy to take the money though.

Perhaps there should be an investigation into why a least one very expensive Government vessel (Border Force) was left on the Marina given that the weather was forecast. It strikes me as sheer negligence when the boat could easily have been moved to safer locations, such as the Ferry dock or even Liverpool.

 

[lw395]

Ha! Ha! I'm sure they'll make you very welcome should you decide to go there again!

I'm pretty sure that the larger vessels played a significant part in the destruction, the Marina was happy to take the money though.

Perhaps there should be an investigation into why a least one very expensive Government vessel (Border Force) was left on the Marina given that the weather was forecast. It strikes me as sheer negligence when the boat could easily have been moved to safer locations, such as the Ferry dock or even Liverpool.

Exactly what was forecast, and how accurate was that?
Were the winds outside what we'd expect as the design parameters of a marina?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Sad that there was so much damage caused. I've sailed out of Holyhead ( as first mate on a delivery trip) and it is a pretty run down place. If I had a boat of my own I'd be nervous about keeping it in such an exposed location. The staff at the Marina who I met were lovely, but the whole area is run down. The local supermarket where we went to pick up supplies for our trip down to the IOW was a freakshow to say the least.

It sounds a bit like Stranraer. Even before the ferries moved to Cairnryan it was a rather sad place, I guess because travellers by car and HGV interact with port towns far less than rail passengers did. No more going up by a late train and staying in a hotel for the morning boat.

 

[TSB240]

Ha! Ha! I'm sure they'll make you very welcome should you decide to go there again!

I'm pretty sure that the larger vessels played a significant part in the destruction, the Marina was happy to take the money though.

Perhaps there should be an investigation into why a least one very expensive Government vessel (Border Force) was left on the Marina given that the weather was forecast. It strikes me as sheer negligence when the boat could easily have been moved to safer locations, such as the Ferry dock or even Liverpool.

Being wise after the event? It so easy isn't it.

The 90 mph winds were not forecast!

The Marina had survived the forecast wind strengths in its previous 18 year experience.

Please don't promulgate your theories and stick to facts. All of us living in the area were caught out by the ferocity of the storm.

 

[savageseadog]

Being wise after the event? It so easy isn't it.

The 90 mph winds were not forecast!

The Marina had survived the forecast wind strengths in its previous 18 year experience.

Please don't promulgate your theories and stick to facts. All of us living in the area were caught out by the ferocity of the storm.

Gales from the NE were forecast. Every mariner on the planet knows that forecasts are only accurate to a force or two. How many North Easterly gales or storms has Holyhead Marina survived? Not being wise after the event at all.

 

[Skylark]

Saddened to read that this thread has deteriorated in armchair expert naval architects with degrees in hindsight and others making completely unwarranted derogatory and disparaging comments on Holyhead and its residents.

As a long standing bertholder myself, I know a lot of people directly impacted by this natural disaster and I can't imagine that some of the comments on here offer them much comfort at what must be a difficult time.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Saddened to read that this thread has deteriorated in armchair expert naval architects with degrees in hindsight and others making completely unwarranted derogatory and disparaging comments on Holyhead and its residents.

As a long standing bertholder myself, I know a lot of people directly impacted by this natural disaster and I can't imagine that some of the comments on here offer them much comfort at what must be a difficult time.

It's only natural to speculate on why the disaster occurred and how/whether it could have been prevented and I imagine that you berthholders will also have an interest in the reasons, as will your insurance companies.

It's no great surprise to find that a coastal community in the UK suffers from deprivation, which is a recognised issue all round the coast.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Perhaps there should be an investigation into why a least one very expensive Government vessel (Border Force) was left on the Marina given that the weather was forecast. It strikes me as sheer negligence when the boat could easily have been moved to safer locations, such as the Ferry dock or even Liverpool.

Were the lifeboat people negligent too, because they didn't move their boat until it was too late to gain access along a short length of pontoon? They had to board from the inshore lifeboat, but then they had the training, experience and equipment to do that, unavailable to keepers of other boats.

 

[savageseadog]

Were the lifeboat people negligent too, because they didn't move their boat until it was too late to gain access along a short length of pontoon? They had to board from the inshore lifeboat, but then they had the training, experience and equipment to do that, unavailable to keepers of other boats.

Complacency can strike anywhere

 

[lw395]

Were the lifeboat people negligent too, because they didn't move their boat until it was too late to gain access along a short length of pontoon? They had to board from the inshore lifeboat, but then they had the training, experience and equipment to do that, unavailable to keepers of other boats.

Negligent is a strong word, one I wouldn't use, but I'd say it was not their finest hour.