Never have I ever… borrowed a mooring

[stranded]

Planning on doing single handed cruising this year for the first time - done and enjoyed passages where destination is known, but not moseying. Mostly in south Britanny while the admiral is back home doing various summer season things. I’m horrified by the potential for embarrassment in marinas. So it’s going to be anchoring wherever possible. Except it seems, it rarely is : from the pilot there’s barely anywhere to anchor any more, so “it may be necessary to pick up a mooring buoy”. In such a situation, “necessary” seems some way short of a good reason to trespass on someone else’s property - to me “necessary” is “moor” or “die”, not moor or have to go somewhere less convenient. Yet it appears to be a thing. The attitude of a returning owner is obviously a bit of a lottery, but short of a “Moor Here” sign, is there a secret code by which one might judge whether such borrowing is welcome/tolerated/likely to be the last thing you do.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

There is no code that I am aware of, unless it is of course a visitor mooring. Waiting a a borrowed mooring and not leaving the boat is the only option if you have to. Owners of moorings will be worried about misuse, for whatever reason e.g. over weight, accidental stress on it.

For single handing buy a copy of Stress Free Mooring which is full of short handed, single handed tips for pontoons et cetera.

 

[johnalison]

The rules seem to differ from place to place, and even creek to creek. The first rule is always to ensure that the buoy you pick up is up to the job for your size of boat. Where visitors’ buoys exist and are marked as such, you will usually be unwelcome on an unmarked mooring, though they may be available by arrangement, as at Salcombe. In the Yealm, at least when we last went there, the rule was that a visitor could pick up any buoy that didn’t have a tender on it, and to some extent this is a rule of thumb. Philosophically, my feeling is that where moorings have been laid on a bed that would in the past have been used as an anchorage, a visitor should be allowed to use a suitable unoccupied buoy, but I don’t think that local authorities always see things that way.

 

[stranded]

The rules seem to differ from place to place, and even creek to creek. The first rule is always to ensure that the buoy you pick up is up to the job for your size of boat. Where visitors’ buoys exist and are marked as such, you will usually be unwelcome on an unmarked mooring, though they may be available by arrangement, as at Salcombe. In the Yealm, at least when we last went there, the rule was that a visitor could pick up any buoy that didn’t have a tender on it, and to some extent this is a rule of thumb. Philosophically, my feeling is that where moorings have been laid on a bed that would in the past have been used as an anchorage, a visitor should be allowed to use a suitable unoccupied buoy, but I don’t think that local authorities always see things that way.

Thanks guys. The “under th his mooring buoy field is an anchorage” argument gives me something concrete to hang on to.

 

[LittleSister]

. . . In such a situation, “necessary” seems some way short of a good reason to trespass on someone else’s property

But you are not trespassing on someone else's property!

While they may own the mooring tackle, they don't own that bit of river or bay and are curtailing your, and everybody else's, right to navigate (including anchoring) there. So traditionally, partly in compensation for that, and partly because it then suited almost everybody, including mooring owners, it was quite the norm, and expected routine, that you'd borrow a mooring (with all due care and respect for the kit) when away, but always stay onboard and be prepared to move again promptly, regardless of the hour, should the owner return, and accept that others might well be borrowing yours while you are away.

Sadly, with the increasing atomisation of our society, materialism, and marina berths (whose occupants aren't freeing up a 'reciprocal' mooring for someone else when they're away), and the decline in the feeling of the fellowship of sailors, the knowledge of the tradition, the care and respect for others' property (including mooring gear) etc., increasingly some mooring owners are viewing their mooring as a sole property right they don't legally or, in my view, morally have. (This is especially so in pressured areas such as the Solent and South Coast more generally.)

I've borrowed moorings on numerous occasions in various places on mine and others boats. It is not at all unusual.

So, do not be afraid to borrow a mooring if you wish to, but do so only responsibly:
- Look at the boats moored fore and aft and to either side of the mooring you are considering picking up, and make sure these are at least the length and displacement of yours. You must not overload the mooring you use.
- Be aware that you have no idea how well, if at all, the mooring you pick up is maintained. Are you prepared if you should find yourself drifting away in the night because the mooring chain or whatever has rusted away to nothing?
- Take great care not to harm the owner's gear in any way.
- Be prepared to leave as quickly and amiably as possible - day or night, tide in or out - and find somewhere else, should the owner return while you are there.
- Be prepared to put up with being shouted at if a returning owner is apoplectic that someone else has borrowed it. (This has never happened to me, but I've seen and heard of it happening.) Just stay calm and polite, and move away as swiftly as possible.
- Note that if the mooring is owned by a boatyard, harbour authority, perhaps even a sailing club, they may expect a fee for its use.

Happy sailing!

 

[ylop]

Thanks guys. The “under th his mooring buoy field is an anchorage” argument gives me something concrete to hang on to.

I’m not sure it’s a particularly good one - the crown estate (or some other statutory body who claims to own the seabed) is charging the mooring owner a fee for the luxury of occupying the bit of seabed. You wouldn’t park a campervan across someone’s driveway and go to sleep and then use the excuse “well it used to be a field before the houses were built”.

In areas where anchoring was common usually the mooring association had been made to leave an area for anchoring or offers visitor moorings.

 

[Minerva]

Up until last season I had a mooring in a “honeypot” location. There was nothing worse than coming back on a Sunday afternoon to find some selfish so an so on my mooring and having buggered off ashore for hours. When you’ve got a long drive home and work to go to the following morning it was infuriating. Plenty of visitor berths near by too!

 

[Sea Change]

I've never picked up a mooring without permission and left my boat unattended on it. The two reasons being- a: the owner could come back, and b: it might not be up to the job.

I did have to do this in an emergency once, I started my engine, dropped my mooring, and found that the morse lever had completely seized. Oops. Fortunately I drifted down directly on to any empty mooring, and was able to tie on their while I jury rigged the engine controls.

I had my brother and his family onboard at the time and had promised them a boat trip, which I delivered.

 

[benjenbav]

Almost calls for a large sign to say something like: I am aboard and will move immediately. Call on 07123 123456.

In French for OP’s use case as a nice courtesy.

 

[stranded]

Almost calls for a large sign to say something like: I am aboard and will move immediately. Call on 07123 123456.

In French for OP’s use case as a nice courtesy.

That sounds like a very civilised solution, thank you.