poole harbour dues - excessive?

A couple of points to note:

1. Dolphin Harbour doesn't seem to have too much problem filling it's berths, so whilst you might feel that it is an epxensive option, clearly others don't. We squeezed in a couple of weekends ago and the place was packed. They could only do one night, we then had to move to Cobbs. Personally, I'd rather pay a premium for Dolphin than ever go to Cobbs again. I say that with some degree of sorrow having started my boating career at Davis boatyard adjacent. The facilities were ok but don't particularly want to go to Butlins again /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

2. The quay has now more room for visiting craft than it has for past few years, there is now room for at least three rafts.
 
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Dunno whether 3 people in a marina office is excessive. There were 5 in Berthons yesterday morning.

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One student aged girl was capable of running a Tréguier marina shift solo mid August last year. Her job included jumping into a launch to nudge new arrivals across the tidal current.
 
If you can afford to stay in the exorbitantly priced marina, you can afford to pay the exorbitantly priced harbour dues.

Thank you for helping to keep my costs down /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Sorry /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
"town quay still available but not clear if charges different to dolphin quay - "

I haven't paid on the quay for several years (2 Hrs free) but last time I enquired, the over night charge was the same as the marina.

It may have changed, I hope it has, but I won't hold my breath!
 
Where\'s Johnny Foreigner?

Just as an aside, it's noticeable how there are many fewer foreign-flagged yachts on the south coast than there were 15 years or so ago. Then, you'd always expect to see a few French, Dutch, Belgian and German ensigns about, even the occasional Scandiwegian. Not so nowadays - has the cost of berthing in the UK put off these visitors?
 
Re: Where\'s Johnny Foreigner?

The number of Dutch and Belgian boats visiting Bucklers Hard seemed to be well down last year, once upon a time one could be forgiven for thinking that they out numbered the Brits on the piles. Weather was crap though, and it scuppered our plans for the cruise continentale, so it might have made a few of the less ruffty tuffty ones think again about coming the other way. Or it may just be that the new pontoon has made life too easy for them and they've booggered off elsewhere for a challenge.
 
I have been ferreting around the PHC official web site http://www.phc.co.uk/accounts2.htm

The latest set of accounts viewable is 04/05. Here are some interesting titbits

"Turnover for the year reduced by 2% to £10.3 million. The Operating Profit for the financial year increased by 283% to £700,000".

Hmm their corporate articles of association mean they are not meant to make a profit!

"The average number of staff employed during the year was 157"

Which makes their salary bill around 35% of turnover.

"Safety in the harbour and within the port remains the Commissioners' highest priority, and a new Assistant Health & Safety Officer was appointed in January 2005."

Same old H&S British disease at play. He or she accounts for £10 of a typical £31 overnight mooring charge.
 
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O come on, PHC is a commercial port of which some, smallish I'd guess, part of its activities is recreational boating. To equate the whole staff costs to H&S is bizarre in the extreme.

You might not like what is charged but please use a sensible argument

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To equate the whole staff costs to H&S is bizarre in the extreme.

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I am not, just making a factual observation that £10 could be knocked off the overnight Dolphin marina charge if the cost of the new H&S manager was removed.
 
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And then the next time a car ferry rammed the ramp and a line handler got thrown in the water and mangled by the bow thruster the PHC would be done for unsafe practices and not have a leg to stand on, possibly like the line handler.

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This assumes the presence or absence of a H&S manager would have any material affect in this scenario.

In my experience the appointment of a H&S Manager to a newly created position is the surest way to demotivate staff and kill productivity 10%.

Perhaps the line handler plans to throw himself into the bow thruster to escape the torrent of new H&S procedures.
 
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