poole harbour dues - excessive?

PaulR

PaulR

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visited poole last week and spent night in the dolphin quay marina- charged £31 for one nights berth for 34' yacht - most expensive of our weeks south coast cruising and that price did not include power hook up for which they wanted another £3.

of the charge £0.76 per meter related to harbour dues - accept need for dues but striking to look at Poole Commissioners brochure and see that dues for one day 76p metre yet for a year only £9.11 a metre - so for a single day visit the visitor is charged 8.3% of the yearly rate - grossing that up means a day visitor is charged an annual equivalent of £277.4 per metre in harbour dues, more than 30 times more than for an annual harbour dues - to me that seemed excessive.

by contrast chichester daily dues are £3.50 for the boat - not per metre and for an annual dues are £150.80 - representing 2.3% of yearly rate which in comparison seems considerably more reasonable ,

also striking to note on PHC web site that the dues increase from 07 to 08 was 22% on daily dues rate - ouch!
 
The answer is - simply stay away.
I have not been to Poole since the charges went up after the Marina opened and staying alongside the quay was stopped/discouraged.

Poole was nice but other places on the South Coast as equal or better and cheaper.
Same goes for French ports these days, rarely go to Cherburg /St Vaast unless weather dictates, better in Carentan, Dilette etc

B
 
is it excessive - of course it is. but its not like M&S overcharging for a sweater when they can lose out because you go elsewhere, nor is it like overcharging on the rates when (in theory) you can vote them out of office. With a harbour board there is effectively no pressure to hold rates down rather than simply finance any idea / luxury / PC idiocy they fancy or they can convince themselves is a good idea

and the rot is spreading from the south coast. there's a marina near us (Watchet) which is very ordinary to say the least yet which would charge £25 per night for the same 34 footer. And thats without any harbour dues as far as I am aware (there isnt a harbour any longer) . And lets be realistic - even the coming recession wont stop the rot since we have to park the grp somewhere so demand is almost inelastic in the downward direction.

incidentally, have you noticed how the triumphant "we have a marina berth in France for the price of a pint of bitter back home" posts have died out? wonder why. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I agree that Poole risks pricing itself out of business. 2 weeks ago 1 night cost me £35 inc electric hook-up for a 35 ft yacht. During our 18 hour stop swmbo and I spent £40 in a local restaurant then in the morning the swmbo went shopping and must have spent another £50.

I won’t be going back this year, traders ashore in Yarmouth or Weymouth will benefit instead.

One problem is that Poole Harbour Commissioners is a grossly overstaffed organization. There seemed to be 3 staff hanging around the Dolphin marina office which cannot be justified for such a small marina. Worse still was the fuel barge at the bridge, mid week in May there were 4 staff in the barge office. An old gent did all the work, there was another admin girl and two other idle loafers in PHC labelled clothing.

In some respects I am looking forward to the financial tempest that is going to blight the national economy for the next few years because the Greater Bournemouth area needs a reality check.
 
endorse your comment re staffing - there were 3 staff "working" at dolphin quay when we were there - all very pleasant and in fairness facilities first class - but then they should be - to me the rip off is the dues not the base marina charge - if your boat is a paid up resident of poole the overnight marina fee is competitive but with the dues on top !!

of course who owns and runs the marina ? am I correct in thinking it is the same PHC who take the dues ?

agree re weymouth - for us (same week given france issues ) £24 a night inc power - ok rafted up but to save £10 a night happy to raft + had we stayed 4 nights at weymouth the 4th night is free,

by comparison - paid £16 at Yarmouth (rafted and no power or showers included- and dinghy needed to get to shore) and £c24 at bembridge- rafted - no power but walk ashore ,

presume that either no harbour dues as such or they are included in those harbours rates - either way represents better value than poole ,

incidentally noticed in the poole harbour guide that town quay still available but not clear if charges different to dolphin quay - anyone know?
 
I would also agree rampant charges are obscene and the fact that boaters do not visit but spend elsewhere.Does anyone send these complaints to the powers that be! I doubt it very much, they then carry on upping the charges. email them direct and let them know why you are not visiting their marinas.
 
Salcombe got a lot of stick for excessive charging and giving nothing for it. People seemed to stay away in droves.

It's still expensive we hear but the Harbour Authority has, allegedly, been heard to ask where everybody has gone and the staff seem to be trying harder.

Perhaps there is hope if we vote with our wakes?
 
hi, in response to the wall in poole, yes people are free to use it if they choose. and it is cheaper than going inside, (also much friendlier than inside). i spent last season on a swing in hamworthy, just round from poole, and stopped a few times on the quay, spent some time getting to know the staff in the office. and once they got to know you they were very helpful in asked for anything. i was even "upgraded" to the inside for free, twice without asking. when it was a bit bumpy on the wall.
 
Only one tactic for Poole; in the entance, turn left, get the anchor out. Never paid any harbour dues in eight years of fairly regular visits. I'd rather watch wading birds and seals in the backwaters than the lower forms of life which seem to inhabit Poole Quay on a summer weekend.
 
I agree its expensive but once again its supply & demand at work.

For all the expense Dolphin Marina is packed out every summer weekend.

Being the home of sunseeker doesn't help!!
 
hi, yes i have seen the placards as well. but i only have a 21 footer i can normaly squeeze inbetween the signs. the quay is there for use, if you go past the first 100 foot or so there is space between the trip boats and the work boats. and i have rafted against some big sail boats. after 07 RTI i had a real squeeze, but we all got in ok and had a really good night.
dont be put off by the placards just jump on the VHF and the guy's and girl's inside will be happy to help. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
Yep, PHC harbour dues never fail to amaze me, but overall and sadly £31.00 seems to be about the going rate. Last week dues for a 10m boat in East Cowes were: £29.?? and Lymington YH: £30.30, both including electricity.

The faciities at East Cowes are now first class, except for the recent dog crap on a pontoon, which the operator cannot be held responsible for. Either someone had let there mutt run free, or they couldn't be arsed to pick up or kick the said pile into the marina.

The Lymington berth was in a block of 27'ers, with allowance for a proportionate beam, so it was a bit tight!
 
Personally I wouldn't go to Poole to stay a night in a marina, you can do that anywhere and it will cost lots. The real beauty of Poole is not at Town Quay or the Dolphin marina but in the harbour anchorages which are all FREE! Most places charge harbour dues just for anchoring, like Salcombe, Dartmouth and I think Chichester but to anchor anywhere inside Poole Harbour is free and so you could have anchored off the edge of the channel within dinghy distance of Poole Town and paid nothing which is a real bargain!

I should add that we live in Poole and like it says on the town slogan 'Poole is a wonderful place'.

The YC marinas (Poole and my own club Parkstone) offer visitor berths that are cheaper (inc harbour dues) than Dolphin but are not right in town, however we are obliged to collect the same nightly harbour dues as at the quay, we just charge less for the berth than PHC.
 
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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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You can afford Berthon!! They quoted us £43 per night last year even in November and we usually stay in Lymington 2 nights - ouch! Needless to say we stayed on the buoys as usual and as indeed we did last Friday and Saturday.
 
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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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Remind us, where does Berthon fall on the overcharging meter? Off the scale, perchance?

Rick
 
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Remind us, where does Berthon fall on the overcharging meter? Off the scale, perchance?

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So really, berthing at Berthons should be - turn up, crew come aboard and berth your vessel for you whilst their chef knocks you up a meal for the time of day that you have arrived. Once berthed said crew then give your boat a wash down and polish whilst the chef serves your meal....... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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