New Dover marina - not open yet?

[Leighb]

Swell running into a marina can be very unpleasant, the RNSYC at Lowestoft can be very uncomfortable with a easterly swell which manages to refract round two right angles to cause a most unsettling movement.
a new and very very expensive marina was built on the South Coast of Madeira a few years back. Whoever designed it totally failed to allow for the huge Atlantic swell and all the pontoons were wrecked the first winter, it has never been occupied. The local authorities have boarded it all up to hide the embarrassment! Over the next few years a good part of the outer breakwater has also been destroyed. The sea takes no prisoners if you underestimate it.

 

[Gary Fox]

Yes the RNSYC cost me a couple of fenders while waiting for weather, it's totally worth faffing with the bridge to the more sheltered place up river.

 

[johnalison]

Most marinas I know are pretty sheltered. I have weathered storms in Brighton and although not restful, at least there was no swell. The outer berths at Cuxhaven can be a bit unsettled, but the rest are OK.

 

[Tomahawk]

Which bit is the "pedestrian pier"?

 

[bluerm166]

Biggleswader ,your info. is entirely correct .I have finally found brief seconds of a video showing short steel piles that make the wall under the pier imperforate ,so the swell can only be passing through the entrance and as suggested is directed to and focussed at the narrower end of the marina.I daresay the long gradual slope of the seabed doesn't help.
See

at 4:04 .
As for when the marina will be complete I was expecting that to include snazzy buildings on the curved arm ,incorporating suiatably snazzy ablutions,but apparently they were unfunded in the main project and remain an artists impression. Unfortunately a new 'artist' has dreamt up a scheme in this planning application,which presumably aims to give one the full docks experience or maybe that of being on a container ship.
Shipping in a pool, bar, hotel and restaurant at marina development

 

[Gary Fox]

I wonder how many million pounds of taxpayers' money will be thrown away on rectifying this latest civil engineering fiasco, which was entirely predictable by anyone who has slopped water around in the bathtub?

 

[Tomahawk]

It should come out of Dover Harbour Board's cash. They are by all accounts not short of a penny or two.

 

[Pye_End]

...and it has to be remembered that yachting is a very small part of their income. They are far more interested in the development of the port as a whole, and we are lucky that they look to be so diverse.

 

[PeterWright]

Biggleswader ,your info. is entirely correct .I have finally found brief seconds of a video showing short steel piles that make the wall under the pier imperforate ,so the swell can only be passing through the entrance and as suggested is directed to and focussed at the narrower end of the marina.I daresay the long gradual slope of the seabed doesn't help.
See

at 4:04 .
As for when the marina will be complete I was expecting that to include snazzy buildings on the curved arm ,incorporating suiatably snazzy ablutions,but apparently they were unfunded in the main project and remain an artists impression. Unfortunately a new 'artist' has dreamt up a scheme in this planning application,which presumably aims to give one the full docks experience or maybe that of being on a container ship.
Shipping in a pool, bar, hotel and restaurant at marina development

Thanks for that but what a horrendous video, cutting every 5 seconds or so to a different part of the project unrelate to what we just had a 5 second glance at. Must be designed for a goldfish!

Peter.

 

[PeterWright]

It should come out of Dover Harbour Board's cash. They are by all accounts not short of a penny or two.

Also funded by the EU, but I don't suppose they will be interested in helping to sort out the problems!

Peter.

 

[Tomahawk]

Also funded by the EU, but I don't suppose they will be interested in helping to sort out the problems!

Peter.

Indeed..
I won’t ask if the EU actually looked at the design to enquire if it would work before handing over cash...

 

[Tomahawk]

Thanks for that but what a horrendous video, cutting every 5 seconds or so to a different part of the project unrelate to what we just had a 5 second glance at. Must be designed for a goldfish!

Peter.

Agree..
A video designed to stop you actually seeing what they fudged up have done..

 

[Daydream believer]

Seems to me that the lock was put in the wrong place. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[Daydream believer]

Yes the RNSYC cost me a couple of fenders while waiting for weather, it's totally worth faffing with the bridge to the more sheltered place up river.

Try outside the RNSYC at Ostend. They can teach you a thing or two about swell in a harbour.
I actually took my sleeping bag & slept on the quayside one night, like a homeless person, just to get some kip, whilst loads of people spent the night tending lines.
I have seen a picture of the swell going onto the road around the fish dock years ago but I cannot find it now

As for harbours with tide running through them, I think the biggest I have seen is Roscoff. Not sure how successful it is & i have not been there in rough weather. the tide does get a fair lick though.
I seem to recall that Treburden is open both ends once the cill gate opens. Not sure if the tide runs over the peninsular link enough to clean the silt

 

[Habebty]

Seems to me that the lock was put in the wrong place. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

How so? I’m not sure they could have put it anywhere else considering all the old marina is going to be filled in?

 

[Gary Fox]

They can't fill in the Welly, surely it's a listed structure?

 

[pvb]

They can't fill in the Welly, surely it's a listed structure?

The plan is to fill in the outside marina (Granville, etc).

 

[Daydream believer]

How so? I’m not sure they could have put it anywhere else considering all the old marina is going to be filled in?
View attachment 113377

Move it forward & put it in the entrance to the new marina. Lots of marinas have locks.
ie. Shotley, Eastbourne etc there is room for boats to wait without obstructing ferries & large ships.
By making the inner marina open it would help boat movement within the whole marina easier as well
Road bridge could still operate Ok
Would that not have been a solution?

 

[Biggles Wader]

The whole idea of the new marina is to give 24 hour instant access and putting a lock at the entrance would stop that or make it inconvenient. They intend to charge mooring fees on that basis too so having a lock would mean less income. I always thought the new marina was a good idea but with certain reservations. The swell problem can be dealt with but I think it will require an extension to the outer marina breakwater to stop reflected waves getting in and bouncing around the pontoons. My other reservation is noise. The entire development is very close to and downwind of the new cargo wharfs with their attendant cranes and 24 hour activities. That has got to be noisy?

 

[Gary Fox]

There already is 24 hour access to the marina, has been for years, you can tie up anytime in the tidal basin.
The Granville has some tidal moderate tidal restriction, and the Wellington dock is very restricted, but noticeably cheaper.
The noise is bad enough already, I have spent a week or two in the Wellington over the years and the traffic is continuously loud, with regular crashes, hooting and sirens when a lorry forgets to 'Links Fahren'
I still like it though, the place has a lot of character. I pulled in on Christmas Say 2019, it was spooky with all the ferries tied up, I was the day's only activity!