Not just the Solent

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Whilst taking our annual holiday in the West Country we came across a mooring fee that nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. St Mawes a nice place to pick up a bouy and go ashore for a meal...!? For a 38ft boat the harbour master asked for £20 for a 24 hour period, when we stated we were only going to be there overnight he reduced it to £10 but... Opposite for a little more in Pendennis Marina we were alongside with electricity, water, showers etc... I vote St Mawes as a very nice place to visit from the land.!!!

Pete
 
Agree that £20 sounds a lot for what it was - a swinging mooring. But whenever I feel stung, I try to console myself by putting it in the context of alternative holiday costs i.e. to house a family in a decent hotel for a night would cost a lot more than £20 - which makes it seem bargain!

On the flip side, I expect that the harbour masters etc look at our shiny 'toys' costing us £1000s, and they no doubt consider it daft that we baulk at paying a few quid here and there to berth them. The fact that it is because I have spent those £1000s that I no longer have anything left to pay for berthing doesn't seem to wash with them!!!

Rob
 
A Bargain!!!!!!!!!!

£20 is a lot considering we provide the bunks and breakfast and the boat they're kept in so comparing it to a night in a hotel doesn't really wash.

Comes down to greed IMHO
 
The fact is that if you want to take your family off to a venue away from home overnight, then most of your options would probably involve 5 times that amount as a minimum. So the key point about the comparison is the LOCATION - especially when you are able to berth your vessel on a town quay or in the middle of a bustling town which gives your family access to shops, restaurants etc. Remember that anyone else who wants that kind of convenience will have to pay centre-of-town hotel rates which are usually pretty steep - all I am saying is that you get to sit the same LOCATION for a fraction of the price. Put in that context it doesn't look so outrageous to me after all.

Of course I would also baulk at £20 for a short-stay on a swinging morring, but I don't expect anything free in life either!
 
It\'s not always a rip off.

Just sometimes the Solent isn't a total rip off. I went on a club cruise/race to Swanwick at the top of the Hamble. The berths were booked in advance and a 50% discount was negotiated. For a 36' boat I paid £11.50 for the night . The electricity was free too. The showers were the best I've had anywhere. Excellent value.
 
Rob, I don't expect anything for free and that was not the purpose of my post. It contrasts that for the price of a swinging mooring in St Mawes I had an all inclusive berthm in Pendennis 5 mins from Falmouth Town Centre. The average price we paid for a swinging mooring in the west country for a 38ft boat was £12 which is about the same as the Solent.

Pete
 
Yeah, I realise your original point was a simple comparison between the two - understood (and potentially useful for the future)! But I somehow strayed off (again) into discussing the cost of mooring generally and how I think people sometimes forget how lucky we can be with prime town-centre berthing locations - when that's what you want. Me.....I'm a mud-creek man myself.

Rob
 
The French are taking over the water Industry,The sooner they take over the Hotels,Marinas or build their own here the better.Just imagine ,:Shall we Formula 1 tonight in Poole or Mirabelle in Weymouth?'Central booking and 10% discount for a family room, servis et vin compris!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by bryantee on 09/07/2002 19:59 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
Especially when a nights berth is 20E or 12quid for a 10m marina berth (Cherbourg & St Vaast) including electrics. Don't mind paying for the showers at that price!

Jim
 
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