Menai Straits Visitor Moorings

[Lyndon]

During our usual trip from Barmouth to the Isle of Man for the TT we returned via the Straits and found ourselves stormbound in Caernarfon for a few days.
During our first visit to the very friendly Royal Welsh Yacht Club the steward gave us a copy of their handbook.
This was a really useful book with tidal advice etc but on the back page there was a bit of an advert from the local council for visitor moorings. Apparently the whole of the Menai Straits have only 3 visitor moorings for which (if you are lucky enough to find one) they wish to charge £10.50 a night!!
The facility of Menai Pier is also offered at a charge of £15 a night.
It all seems a little overpriced when you can be tucked up in Victoria Dock at Caernarfon for little more than the price of a swinging mooring!

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[timevans2000]

Hi Lyndon,

I have picked up moorings on the Straights before outside the Gazelle Hotel and never been charged. I have also left my boat there for a week and by prior arrangement, paid £20 for the week. I agree that Victoria Dock would be my destination every time if I was sitting out some grotty weather. I have been stuck on a swinging mooring outside the Gazelle in a F8 unable to get off the boat. This was only 100 yrds to the beer, but it was far too dangerous a dingy ride. The waves were crashing over the bow of our boat!

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[Lyndon]

Hi Tim, the point I was making really was the lack of facilities for visitors, we usually pick up any spare mooring off the Gazelle and hope for the best,ie the owner isn't going to return at 0300 and the mooring is a good one.
I assume we'll see you in Barmouth for the 3 Peaks start?

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[timevans2000]

We will be there, although I need to scrub the boat. We have 3 1/2 months of grow on the bottom of boat and it will be my last opportunity before summer cruise. Where is the best place for a scrub in Barmouth?

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[tcm]

Lyndon this is a bit tight waddish, isn't it? Esp for an esteemed employee of the royally-expensive BT. I mean, we rent inert bits of wire from BT which are totally incapable of holding a boat and yet cost far more than a tenner a night! harumph!

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[vyv_cox]

Off the Gazelle is almost the worst mooring location in the Strait in a good southwesterly with the tide SW-going. By contrast, as close to Menai Bridge as possible can be a flat calm, even in really big winds from that direction. Beaumaris Bay is also well sheltered in SW but not from any N and E. My mooring was about 300 metres N of the Gazelle, just off Lady Margaret's Bay, now I understand cleared of moorings for fishing. This location was slightly better than the Gazelle in big winds but less convenient.

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[Lyndon]

Me tight waddish?(who told you?)
Contrary to popular belief this humble BT engineer needs to be a little "tight waddish"!!!
I think that phrase applies to the local council who can only manage to put down 3 visitor moorings in the whole of the Menai Straits.
Don't know about you but £10.50 seems a little excessive for what you get, not exactly encouraging the visiting yachtsman.


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[Lyndon]

Probably the best place is up on the beach near us (if there is room) or alongside the wall outside the Harbour office.
Maybe see you there unless we go out sailing.

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[Mangusta]

Re: £10.50 per night

Compared to parking a car or a ticket to watch a footie match and many of the moorings we have had in the Baltic, this is good value, I agree with the majestic tcm on this one.

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[Twister_Ken]

If I\'ve understood the articles in ...

...Sailing Today right the local council will be paying a lease to the Crown Estates Commission for the right to use the seabed, and the CEC will have set the cost of the lease at a usurious rate. So unless the Borough is going to take a loss on moorings, they have to charge the poor bloody yottie an excessive amount too.

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[rickwat]

Beaumaris don\'t want visitors

I've been around Beaumaris a few times and the bay itself might well be sheltered but it's always been completely full of boats you could tuck under your arm and walk home with and the token visitors buoy (OK there may be 2 but I'm not so sure) is on the other side of the straits exposed to pretty well any wind or tide and if its calm enough to leave it might well be a lethal dinghy trip back.

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[vyv_cox]

Re: If I\'ve understood the articles in ...

Well, my info is not up to date but we paid about 120 pounds for a mooring for the season. This includes all the Crown Estates levies, etc. 10.50 per night seems horrendous to me, particularly as there are no facilities whatsoever without some local knowledge.

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[Lyndon]

Re: £10.50 per night

Yes but we're not talking about moorings in the Baltic, parking cars or going to football matches are we?
We pay approx £240 a year for our mooring in Barmouth so I still argue £10.50 a night is excessive.


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[Quiddle]

I use Menai pier regularly and have never been asked to pay, even during conversations with the HM. The defaced notice on the pier about charges seems to be disregarded and as long as the Prince Madog can berth no one minds. I've also been given free overnight mooring off Beaumaris after speaking wih RAYC. In all I think the straights have pretty good mooring facilities. If you don't fancy forking out £10 for a mooring then there is a good anchorage by the Mermaid Inn opposite Caernarfon

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[salamicollie]

Killer in the south west of the states is the Carnarfon Harbour Dues - rumoured to be nearly £600 worth of the Port Dinorwic Marina annual fee's !, Must admit I have had many nights on buoys in the Straits/alongside St George's Pier and never been charged..

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[rickwat]

If you can take the ground

Behind the wall at Dickies of Bangor is bliss and nominally free with permission but if you go in the shop you will probably spend about £50 if you aren't interested in boats. I spent about £120 and thought I was a model of restraint. If you are on a budget better dry out (so called) in the mud of the adjacent Penrhyn Harbour - you can't walk through the mud but you can take in the views which is what the Straits are all about and difficult to put a price on.

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