marinas

[DogWatch]

Yeah, right, so why can't you buy a postcard of a marina then, but the shops sell thousands of views of moorings in bays & estuaries?

oiy!

more plagiarism, that's my marina rant and you know it

 

[Searush]

I'm sorry Dogwatch, you can't claim intellectual property rights if you have no intellect - especially when you are claiming to own a fact rather than an idea or original thought.

Oooh, I'm feeling mean tonight.

 

[Phideaux]

Sovereign Harbour (Eastbourne Marina) is bloomin lovely.

There is an active berth holders assoc., the actual berthing areas are divided up into smaller sections with lifting bridges. Access is via lock gates which are very well organised, but the channel outside is daunting the first time through.

The water's edge stuff is silly, too much from a sailing point of view. There are restaurants galore, multiplex cinema, supermarket (proper big one), and then - then you have Eastbourne itself beyond all of that.

It is reasonably priced too and very secure.

And there was I, hoping that you were eluding to scantily clad beauties

 

[ccscott49]

1) Safety/Shelter
2) Cost
3) Location
4) Access
5) Facilities

 

[Channel Ribs]

And there was I, hoping that you were eluding to scantily clad beauties

GWS

 

[Slow_boat]

1. Cost
2. Shelter
3. Water
4. Gas
5. Clean showers/loos
5. Acess to shops for re-provisioning

 

[Pete7]

I love windfarms, so elegant & graceful. I enjoy watching them on land & sea, but I accept that there are thousands of Nimby's that profess to dislike them. We have some of the largest windfarms in the UK off the N Welsh & Wirral coasts, they actually improve the view, unlike marinas which destroy habitat & spoil the view. But why should my opinion be the same as yours?

Me too, I wonder if they will create there own little eco systems around them as the shell and weed take hold. Could be a good fishing spot in years to come.

Pete

 

[Channel Ribs]

Me too, I wonder if they will create there own little eco systems around them as the shell and weed take hold. Could be a good fishing spot in years to come.

A possibility which has some people very excited about tidal turbines!

 

[Searush]

A possibility which has some people very excited about tidal turbines!

& how many nylon lines, paternosters & lead weights will it take to stop a turbine & knacker the bearings then? I can't see any one being allowed to fish/ dive/ anchor anywhere near a tidal turbine. What are the rules for the ones in Strangford at present? I can feel a Google coming on

 

[snooks]

Yeah, right, so why can't you buy a postcard of a marina then, but the shops sell thousands of views of moorings in bays & estuaries? Ever seen a painting of a marina?

Ever thought that the views on the post cards are of the landscape, not the moorings?

And how much better would the landscape be without the bright pink moorings everywhere?

But these are all mute points, I was simply seeing how you like someone criticising where you choose to keep your boat, the same way you did to everyone who chooses to keep their yacht in a marina with your "Blinking 'orrible boat car parks" remark.

Live and let live

 

[Slow_boat]

I'm not a fan of marinas or car parks but they are necessary. Without marinas, the rivers/coast would be choken up with moored boats, without car parks the roads would be choked up with parked cars.

As for overnight stops, imagine if everyone who went into a marina picked up a bouy or anchored, how crowded would the anchorages be then?

Each to their own.

 

[Theshipscat]

Until recently my yacht was in Chichester Marina, she's now on a tidal mooring in the harbour.

The Marina was convienient. The services were top notch. The staff very obliging. My yacht was always clean below(ish) and above. The scenery was ok, I like looking at boats. Working on her was soooooo easy. The lock was only a pain in the ass on bank holidays when all the caravaners headed up to Easthead.

The Mooring I can get to it 3 hours either side HW, after 1/4 mile in a tender. There's no staff. There's no facilites. I have to fill up at Northney, who even charge if you want to pick up a passenger. My boat is always covered in Duck ****e and there's a thick carpet of grass on the hull. The scenery is lovely at high tide and stinky at low. Working on her is a pain.

So why not go back to the marina?
Chichester marina £3400 pa.
Mooring £128.

The marina is good but at an extra £3272 it's not that good.

I've also got the benifit of a club and it's members. It may not be right next to the boat but at £1.60 for a pint of good bitter it's worth the journey. We also have our own lift out facilities.

 

[Searush]

Ever thought that the views on the post cards are of the landscape, not the moorings?

And how much better would the landscape be without the bright pink moorings everywhere?

But these are all mute points, I was simply seeing how you like someone criticising where you choose to keep your boat, the same way you did to everyone who chooses to keep their yacht in a marina with your "Blinking 'orrible boat car parks" remark.

Live and let live

Artists can be selective & include/ exclude what they wish. Most seem happy to include moored boats & even unocccupied moorings. Postcards & calendar photographers are selective of their viewpoint too, and, in my experience, they often select the view to include moored boats to enhance the scene. I have yet to see a chocolate box cover or jigsaw of a marina. There are, of course, many pictures of marinas, but only on advertising media for the marinas themselves as far as I can tell, and you have not been able to contradict me on that.

Sure, you are welcome to your overpriced "facilities" & I am sure you enjoy them, but it surprises me that you are so sensitive to comment. I suspect I may have hit a nerve, in which case I apologise. No doubt in 10-20 years SWMBO & I will be unable to cope with with dinghies/ dock ladders & moorings & may need to use the wretched marinas myself. So it goes.

(as an aside, the word you were seeking is "moot" derived from the Viking parliaments, rather than mute which means silent, but I suspect you know that)

 

[Channel Ribs]

& how many nylon lines, paternosters & lead weights will it take to stop a turbine & knacker the bearings then? I can't see any one being allowed to fish/ dive/ anchor anywhere near a tidal turbine.

The ones they are putting in here are doughnut shaped, so they are very resistant to fouling from nylon and other jetsam.

All the excitement come not from the area immediately around the turbine but the overspill from that area, once left alone for a while will probably be teeming with edible life.

 

[snooks]

Sure, you are welcome to your overpriced "facilities" & I am sure you enjoy them, but it surprises me that you are so sensitive to comment. I suspect I may have hit a nerve, in which case I apologise. No doubt in 10-20 years SWMBO & I will be unable to cope with with dinghies/ dock ladders & moorings & may need to use the wretched marinas myself. So it goes.

I'm not sensitive and no nerves were hit here, I was playing devil's advocate, however with comments like "blooming 'orrible car parks" and "wretched marinas" are you sure the positive comments about marinas haven't hit one of your nerves??

I was just pointing out that because you think moorings and boats contribute to the scenery, it doesn't mean they do.

As to my marina being overpriced? How would you know? Yep it's more than I would like to pay, but I'm tight! We can afford it and we choose to keep our boat there. It's our choice, if we thought it was overpriced we'd go somewhere else.

The marina has a friendly community feel and there always someone on hand to hold the other end of a bolt, if you need to do up a deck fitting from down below. It all depends on what you get from a marina, I get reassuring Emails from the berthing master letting me know there has been no damage during storms etc. Piece of mind is worth a lot in my book, and it's nice to know our boat is checked at least twice a day.

I think our marina offers good value. My girlfriend and I value our time on the boat, we'd rather be sailing than rowing, and can be off the berth within 10 mins from parking the car.

We pay for the convenience, and I realise how convenient walk ashore access is when I've left the boat keys in the car! Not to mention getting our kit on and off the boat quickly and easily in one trip. It's all the little things than make the marina worth it.

Just because you hate marinas, it doesn't mean they are overpriced, or anyone who keeps their boat there is unable to climb from a dinghy to their boat. We just choose to keep our boats somewhere different.

So why the contempt for marinas?

(as an aside, the word you were seeking is "moot" derived from the Viking parliaments, rather than mute which means silent, but I suspect you know that)

I did, but I forgot, words aren't my thing, I work in pictures (without moorings)

 

[Sans Bateau]

In no particular order

Easy vehicular access
friendly helpful staff
good solid pontoons with plenty of turning room for the boat
clean showers/toilets
secure
plenty of serviceable trolly's

Well thats what I've got anyway.

 

[Matt341]

The top 5 for me would be -

1) In an estuary so not immediately out to sea, e.g. Milford Haven.
2) Shelter
3) Electric! Surprised it hasnt been said yet but when staying onboard in the winter I find it an essential, hot water, charger, kettle etc. Not so bad for a few nights in the summer as you dont need heating as much and hot water isnt as important.
4) Not in the middle of a town, no car noise and need some walks for dog walking
5) NO LOCK!!

I can agree that some marinas dont look visually pleasing but not all of them.

For example I have seen quite a few postcards around the area with the marina we are in.
An example I just found online -

Everyone has different requirements, e.g. some dont mind locks as they tend to go out for long periods and then others hate locks. Some need electric and others dont. Some people need to be close to town for shops, train station etc. when they travel down without cars.

It also depends on availability, we were on the waiting list for this marina for nearly 4 years.

Ian

 

[Theshipscat]

If someone wants to give me £3282 a year I'll move back into Chichester Marina tomorrow. It's somewhere convienient to keep a yacht, it's a very pretty place and it's full of boats, which I love (ones with sails anyway). However it's the sailing that's important. I wouldn't sit in a marina looking at the view all weekend and I wouldn't sit on my new mooring doing the same all weekend. I want to get out there and create a wake. Where I end up is up to the day I've had and the weather. Might drop the Spee lash in a nice bay or motor into a nice cosy berth for a hot shower and a proper bog.

Mind you when I go to Tescos I like to park my car 1/4 mile from the store hopefully with a nice view of the South Downs. Hate carparks.

 

[Theshipscat]

One thing no-ones mentioned is: Within sailing distance of lots of good places.

Security is not good in an open harbour. Lots of boats have been broken into this year and dozens of outboards have been knicked. They caught one lot of theives and a fence. The fence got (I believe) £65 fine and some community service. The theives a family from Lee Park went to court last week, I've yet to hear the outcome. I've fitted a pressure sensitive alarm to my deck. They step into the cockpit they get a 130 decibels. Hopefully enough to scare them off.

 

[Quandary]

Marina's

Matt,
Your picture serves to prove the Searush point, up until then it was 1 all but after, it is Snooks 1- Searush 7 and the game is now over.