Osborne Bay - Permanent Buoys

kristifercolumnbus said:
When did that happen & on what grounds? I have been anchoring along that shore for at least fifteen years & that is one of the least used & least in need of protection sites that I can imagine.This IS all about jobsworths setting up their own little fiefdoms & justifying their own existences,nothing more!
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MCZs are not just about identifying areas that are being damaged, they are intended to provide a chain of 'coherent' protected sites that will provide support for marine life in surrounding areas. They are to positioned not only to protect special features but to provide provide 'support' for marine life along the entire coast.

Reference areas are intended to provide areas as free of human influence as is possible, for two reasons. One is to protect a specific rarity. Their main function though is to provide a reference control to gauge the health of the surrounding area. So the whole area of Osborne Bay almost down to Ryde is designated for MCZ status. within that is the Kings Quay area which provides a reference point to gauge the health of the remainder.

The fact this is all happening next door to Cowes in a key Solent anchorage is, like Studland as the UKs premier sea anchorage, irrelevant.
 
kristifercolumnbus said:
Do you work for the Isle of Wight Council or one of those other worthy organisations l'escargot?
The last couple of times I have anchored there I have had to put up with neither.
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No, I am retired and have no connections past or present with any of those organisations. You can't have been there recently as the buoys have been there for months, as many others on this forum can confirm, and I go through Osborne bay sometimes several times a week - certainly on weekends there are dozens of boats anchored up and often on weekdays too if the weather is good. On really nice weekends, which have been lacking this year, the number of boats will often go into 3 figures. Are you sure it's Osborne Bay you've been too? Anyway the linking of these buoys to the bigger MCZ argument is a red herring - they don't denote an MCZ - it's just tilting at windmills.
 
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oldharry said:
Thats right, the only 'link' was that EH tried to pre-empt the MCZ process and create their own independent conservation zone.
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Yes, independent, in accordance with the planning conditions imposed on them which also stipulated conservation zones on the land side as well. The swimming area was the only outcome affecting water users.

The vast marine conservation zone from East Cowes to Wootton which could affect anchoring in the whole area has nothing to do with these buoys or English Heritage.
 
It does not come naturally to take a stance at odds with conservation as one of the attractions of sailing is to enjoy the natural environment, also having a degree in a biology related subject I am well aware of ecosystems and food chains however we seem to ride roughshod over conservation when it suits policy and bow to it otherwise.

No one ever sees the eel grass or it`s inhabitants outside an aquarium unless you are a diver or marine biologist.

The area of the coast of the IOW where yachts customarily anchor is small in percentage terms and there are large areas where so few yachts anchor as to materially affect the environment.

We are having to cut public services from defence to the NHS to the MCA so why are new organisations like the MMO flourishing?

There are many examples of conservation being over ruled: The high speed rail link through the Chilterns, building new houses on the greenfield site at Bartons farm near Winchester, the new industrial buildings on the edge of the Medina opposite Island harbour to rehouse the wind turbine business who had an existing brown field factory at Newport, the plans to build an asphalt factory on the banks of the Medina, the visual impact of wind farms within sight of the Dorset coastline, need I go one? Yet we risk loosing an ancient right of navigation including anchoring because the powers that be choose to only hear from one side of the equation and don`t hear from the usually silent and aquiescent boating fraternity.

I use those words carefully to include all types of boats lest yachts be considered elitist and fraternity because water users have more in common together than the rivalry between sail, power, MAB or AWB, RIB or jetski or kayack.

OK the Osborne Bay bouys are permanent and are to advise about the possible presence of swimmers but when I anchored there at the start of this whole saga, the message from the man with the megaphone was about conservation NOT swimmers, I wish I had the prescence of mind to try to record it, but just be aware of the MCZ agenda and make sure we are not a silent and forgotten group and don`t regret not making our voice heard when we find our activity beset with new regulations...now off to read some light hearted posts about Fray bentos pies and mouldy sailing shoes......
 
chubby said:
...but just be aware of the MCZ agenda and make sure we are not a silent and forgotten group and don`t regret not making our voice heard when we find our activity beset with new regulations...
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Exactly - and small pieces of water being established for other water users are more likely to hinder the establishment of a MCZ than assist it. Sharing a small corner of Osborne Bay is a far better option than losing an area a 100 times larger - it's not English Heritage that want the whole lot but if they have a bit of it I am sure they will want to keep it too - it isn't them you need to fight to stop MCZs. The more people using the water, the harder it is for any one organisation to take it all...
 
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Chubby reflects very eloquently the discomfort all of us feel on the BORG team challenging the science behind certain MCZ proposals. We all feel strongly about the marine environment and the devastation we see taking place at sea, and hate being regarded in any way as a 'protest group'.

But the fact remains : there will be NO SAFE ANCHORAGES on the North Wight Coast if this goes through. Why? Because the government advisers believe that anchoring causes serious and irreparable damage to Eelgrass beds.

There is ONE paper which supports this view to a limtied extent. There are many scientific papers which say that Eelgrass recovers quickly and fully. There are many experts who say the little damage we do is marginal, and heals quickly. They say an anchor ban will make little or no difference.

RYA fully supports this view, and has been deeply involved and active in maintaining it..

But the conservation lobby is a powerful and well funded one. Natural England I am told (and I havent seen the figures myself) had a wages bill alone last year of £86 million. All government funded. And that is AFTER cutbacks!
 
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oldharry said:
But the conservation lobby is a powerful and well funded one. Natural England I am told (and I havent seen the figures myself) had a wages bill alone last year of £86 million. All government funded. And that is AFTER cutbacks!
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Just wait until the IMF guys get onto that one. The Men In Black will cut out that sh**te in no time flat.

Plomong
 
Fantasie 19 said:
"The 4 yellow marker buoys have been laid in Osborne Bay on behalf of English Heritage (Osborne House) to indicate the possible presence of swimmers in the vicinity. Under the conditions of the MMO Licence, the buoys will be fitted with "SWIM AREA" and "PRIVATE - NO LANDING" signs."
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Got a shot yesterday.

2u62qnd.jpg
 
Cardo said:
Is it a trick of the angle or is that buoy much closer to the shore than the previous, temporary buoys?
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Impossible to determine that from the shot and I couldn't judge for myself on the spot - estimating distance is not a talent I'm blessed with.
 
Cardo said:
Is it a trick of the angle or is that buoy much closer to the shore than the previous, temporary buoys?
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Looks like a Telephoto shot - telephoto settings cause significant foreshortening of perspective. The bouy seems in good focus but the shore & hut beyond are slighty "soft" which could be the result of a reduced depth of field caused by telephoto.

But I am only guessing & the likes of Lakey & P-Dog might be able to comment better.
 
oldharry said:
MCZs are not just about identifying areas that are being damaged, they are intended to provide a chain of 'coherent' protected sites that will provide support for marine life in surrounding areas. They are to positioned not only to protect special features but to provide provide 'support' for marine life along the entire coast.

Reference areas are intended to provide areas as free of human influence as is possible, for two reasons. One is to protect a specific rarity. Their main function though is to provide a reference control to gauge the health of the surrounding area. So the whole area of Osborne Bay almost down to Ryde is designated for MCZ status. within that is the Kings Quay area which provides a reference point to gauge the health of the remainder.

The fact this is all happening next door to Cowes in a key Solent anchorage is, like Studland as the UKs premier sea anchorage, irrelevant.
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Sounds like an entirely spurious argument to me.Unless you are going to cut back on the human population it is entirely pointless.
 
l'escargot said:
No, I am retired and have no connections past or present with any of those organisations. You can't have been there recently as the buoys have been there for months, as many others on this forum can confirm, and I go through Osborne bay sometimes several times a week - certainly on weekends there are dozens of boats anchored up and often on weekdays too if the weather is good. On really nice weekends, which have been lacking this year, the number of boats will often go into 3 figures. Are you sure it's Osborne Bay you've been too? Anyway the linking of these buoys to the bigger MCZ argument is a red herring - they don't denote an MCZ - it's just tilting at windmills.
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I've been anchoring on & off in Osbourne Bay for over 40 years.The last time was about three years ago.
I now longer have any interest in sitting in a car park so just go there in the evenings & overnight sometimes when the masses have left......
 
kristifercolumnbus said:
Don't recall seeing that bungalow or the rope cordoning off the beach & there always used to be signs all along the beach warning people off.Just looks less attractive now!
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As Searush mentioned, telephoto lenses have a 'compression effect' where things in the background look much closer than in reality.

Anyway nothing wrong with that shack a bazooka couldn't fix, with any luck it might take in the bloke forlorlnly polishing his now unused megaphone with one round :)
 
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