moorings a lesson

[sailbadthesinner]

my brother and i have two moorings in the bay
one is for the hurley siloutte the other for the light dory like boat

three weeks ago boat picked up one
the substantial looking bouy is in fact only connected to a 1m sqaure steel plate sunk into the sand with 3 inch galvy chain

chap comes along and attches a big boat (reports say 40ft bilge keeler but i cannot think of such a boat) anyway it heads in cos it is stormy and holyhead is not tenable alhtough they are probaly thinking south stack overfalls which can be avoided easily you just have to give a decent offing

unfortunately the mooring bouy belies the size of tackle below
they take mooring and depart ashore
mooring drags onto very steep sharp rocks and the boat sinks

shit happen
an anchor might have helped but no evidence of one

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[oldharry]

Not as bad as the mooring a picked up in Red Wharf bay many years ago, in my W Nomad. Dropping tide and kids rampant to get ashore so picked up a vacant and buoy that was clearly not in current use. Tide went out, so thought I would just check what I had picked up before turning in for the night.....

....good length of chain, in reasonable nick - but not attached to anything!!!!!

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[Samphire]

Yes,it happens all the time and people just don't seem to learn.Apart from not knowing the condition or boat size the mooring is for, picking up a private mooring without permission is wrong.

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[Capt_Marlinspike]

Why is it wrong? These days there are so few places to anchor you are almost obliged to go on a mooring. If you come into a strange place out of hours there is no one to ask and few moorings are marked. So what is the alternative to picking up the first free mooring you can find?

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[boatone]

Well. it clearly wasnt a very clever thing to do in this case, was it? /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

Sorry, really cant agree with you here. The less you know about something the more you need to find out before you commit the safety of your boat and those on board.

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[Robin]

Whilst understanding your reason to an extent I cannot remember an occasion that I couldn't find space somewhere to anchor, though maybe not in the most convenient or sheltered spot if arriving late. I have though several times returned late to my own mooring when I had one in the past only to find it occupied and the crew not even on board - it has even happened (TWICE!) this year on our marina berth. Ask yourself how you would feel to return to your own mooring late at night to find it occupied and nobody on board?

In a similar vein we found an oik from the smoke parked off the road in our driveway, completely on our property because 'there was nowhere else convenient'. The police couldn't do anything because he was not on a public road (!) so for the 5 hours he was there we couldn't get our own car off the road. Cheapest parking in town that, I just wish I was thick skinned enough to use the same tactics it has to beat paying for parking.

As Sailbad's illustration proves too, picking up an unknown mooring that merely looks big enough isn't wise.

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[Capt_Marlinspike]

I hear what you say, I have come back to my marina berth in the past to find another boat in it. This is just bad manners. I would not dream of leaving my boat unattended on someone else's mooring. If I am on someone's mooring and they come back I will move straight away.
Last summer I arrived in Dartmouth, first visit there, at 04:00. Every marina berth was full with boats rafted up. The only suitable anchorage, according to chart and pilot book was full. So I picked up an unocupied mooring, what would you have done?

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[snowleopard]

makes a case for specifying max boat size on the buoy, it might prevent someone dragging your mooring away. on the other hand some people won't listen, like the chap who moored to the buoy on someone else's anchor trip line!

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[piscosour]

The old anchor trip-line ploy. It's a good ice breaker in a new place.

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[Robin]

It's actually a bit of an unfair question since I know Dartmouth well enough to find a corner there somewhere. We use Dartmouth as a truck stop en route to South Brittany every year and usually arrive from Poole at night or in the early hours.

Options include:-

Lay alongside the fuel barge and fill up when they open at 0800, their fuel price includes enough rip off for a mooring fee/forums/images/icons/smile.gif. We did that in July.

Lay alongside the YC pontoon (east side) but vacate by 0800.

Anchor in the pool between the Res Nova restaurant barge and Darthaven Marina

Lay alongside Res Nova, they have a pontoon but it may be in use already.

There are pontoons just upriver from Res Nova for visitors and rafting is expected (though 2 or 3 out at max)

Anchor between the above pontoons and the fore/aft buoys (there is JUST room)

There are pontoons on the west side by the top ferry now available for visitors that aren't too big, again rafting possible.

The River trip boats quay is available until they start operating, say 0830.

We have also anchored outside the harbour in a small bay on the east side, nice spot for a swim too.

Dartmouth marina berths are rarely available at the height of the season and they won't take bookings, you have to call when you arrive but in any event are priced to repel boarders! The visitors marina pontoons by the town quay are OK but watch the tide (current and depth) and they aren't really good for big boats nor will there be spaces for late arrivals.

The key as you mentioned is to always remain on board and be prepared to move, we have returned to our mooring after running across channel in a gale only to find it occupied and nobody on board. This year we came back to our YC marina berth to find a non-member has left a boat there 'whilst his mooring was being fixed'! He had apparently been told it was OK for a few hours (they knew we were not due back then) but he left it there 3 days, no telephone number and no contact address. We arrived at LW big springs, 41ft boat, 2 of us, just our regular single spring berthing line and fenders set for OUR berth and just inches under the keel with a very limited area deep enough for us to use. It was windy too and we had to go back outside to re-rig fenders and lines for berthing the other side to from our own berth. Fortunately we had found a berth free we knew we could use, but we had to waste 3 hours next day moving our boat back to her proper berth.


<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Samphire]

Ice might mot be the only thing that gets broken!!!!

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[oldharry]

Dont see why it is in principle 'wrong' Samphire? As long as you stay aboard and are prepared to move should the owner return, I really dont see what the problem is.

Leaving your boat untended is a different matter, not only because the owner may return, but as I found - things may not be what they appear anyway.

Ther is nothing more infuriating than rteturning to your mooring to find a deserted boat attached to it. Last time ti happened to me, the offending craft was moved (with HM's knowledge) to a vacant mooring where it was neaped for the next ten days....

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[Gunfleet]

re the drive - you're too soft. You should have had it towed away and sent him the bill.

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[Robin]

The police told me that I would be liable in the event of any damage! In the event the owner returned and took off in it before I noticed, my office is the other side of the house. Then he returned next day and did it again - though this time a neighbour saw where he went so I could catch him, he was a couple of streets away and his girlfriend answered the door, wearing very little at all.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Samphire]

I feel it is morally wrong as it is someones private property,either they paid for the tackle,or rent it from a club or authority.What is wrong with anchoring apart from not knowing how to? From a seamanship point of view how do you know what is on the bottom or even what state the ground tackle is in.I know I would sleep sounder on my own anchor than on something unknown.The original post stated that the boat who used his light mooring went onto the rocks,hardly makes any difference whether or not someone was onboard(other than risk to life and limb),its plain bad practice and bad manners.
We were in Oban during the flocking flaggers outing (CCC whiskey cruise) all marinas were full and everywhere was packed,saw a boat leaving a mooring off the prom and asked if we could use it,chap said owner was a friend of his had lent it to him as he was away, and we use it for the night as he was off to Tobermoray.
Fair enough we had permission.
I know it happens and always will ,but inevitably when a boat drags or breaks adrift, the owner has no one to blame but themselves.

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[Joe_Cole]

I agree. Nothing wrong in using a mooring, so long as you stay on board.

If I return to my mooring and somebody is there I'll raft up if conditions permit it. If conditions don't permit it I'll ask him to move.

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[Robin]

At least if you stay on board and are REALLY prepared to move immediately the owner returns there is some justification. However are you REALLY prepared to move at 3am in the dark with a F6 blowing the rain - and where are you going to go now? If the answer is 'drop anchor' then I think that is case proved.

I came back late one night some years back and woke a crew up on our mooring. The boat, a large powerboat, was pitching, wind against tide and they suggested we should just tie alongside them. I'm afraid I was a little rude, oh and they had tied a warp through the plastic handle of our pickup buoy and were hanging off that and not the mooring strop because it wouldn't reach their cleat.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Joe_Cole]

You were quite right to be a little rude in that situation!

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[Rich_F]

Mooring - the Moral Maze

I would tend to agree, especially if you don't know for sure what weight of boat the mooring is intended for.

In the event of dragging the mooring, you would be morally obliged to track down the owner, and pay for the mooring to be relaid.

What's less clear is what happens if you last out a blow on a strangers mooring. How do you know if you've caused any damage below the water? Should you feel a duty to have the mooring checked afterwards?

Morally, anchoring seems much more straightforward.

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[longjohnsilver]

Surely the whole point is that you have no idea if there's any ground tackle nad if there is what condition it's in. The only way is to get wet and check it out yourself and if not prepared to do that then anchor!

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