Pwllhelli Marina problems again

[TSB240]

It might be the back end of nowhere geographically & economically, but remember that there are large conurbations a few hours away (Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham) where the nearby decent places to sail are few & far between. If you lived in Liverpool for example, it might be drive 15 minutes to Liverpool marina, but then 2 hours motoring to the open sea, the distinctly unscenic Liverpool bay. Alternatively, drive 2 hours to Pwllheli, & then 15 minutes motoring to some of the best coastal scenert in Wales. I know which I'd prefer to do.

Typical journey times to and from from Pwllheli of 2 hours and you would be lucky to be out of Wales on either the A55 or the A5 towards any of these major conurbations!

Not being helped by the dithering over the new Caernarfon bypass that was supposed to start this year and the rigid enforcement of speed limits especially near the "Evo Triangle area" on the A5.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/biker-clocked-138mph-a5-14412191.

They are now enforcing a very strict 60 limit with zero tolerance at all. Be Warned...

 

[[3889]]

I think the clue is in the word Council.

Caernarfon's Victoria Dock is also run by the Council and has a 10 year waiting list.

Some of AMcD's prices are dated (perhaps derived from Reed's woefully archaic data?) : I stayed at Peel 3 yrs ago and it was £36 for 10.5m.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Some of AMcD's prices are dated (perhaps derived from Reed's woefully archaic data?) : I stayed at Peel 3 yrs ago and it was £36 for 10.5m.

How long were you there for? It's £2.23 + VAT per metre this year, so should cost you £28.10 per night.

 

[RupertW]

I expect they will get some refugees from Holyhead.

I suspect the problem is more about many
-younger people being unable to afford boats
- younger people not wanting smaller less palatial boats
- younger people being addicted to video games rather than getting involved in outdoor pursuits of all kinds
- its a long way to Pwhelli from significant population centres

I'd put it another way

Med is cheaper and almost quicker to get to from Manchester and Liverpool than west Wales
Young people are totally happy to share cramped spaces as long as they are having a good time
A charter of 8 or 10 people on a boat that middle aged people would have for 2 or 4 is fine with young people
Marina dwellers in the UK whinge if you enjoy your music and laughter in the cockpit until dawn
You pay for your experience and have nothing to worrry about or pay for until next time
The sun is hot and the sea is blue and warm

So that's I think why we see so many people in their early twenties and onwards partying, sailing and basically treating the charter boats as big racing dinghys and party flats. They are not at home sailing with Mum and Dad and never want to smell the sort of musty UK boat smell that owners are completely unaware of (or in denial about) in their bone dry but cold boats.

 

[[163233]]

Caernarfon's Victoria Dock is also run by the Council and has a 10 year waiting list.

Being about 140 quid / metre cheaper may have had an impact there.
http://www.caernarfonharbour.org.uk/victoria-dock-charges/

 

[JumbleDuck]

So that's I think why we see so many people in their early twenties and onwards partying, sailing and basically treating the charter boats as big racing dinghys and party flats. They are not at home sailing with Mum and Dad and never want to smell the sort of musty UK boat smell that owners are completely unaware of (or in denial about) in their bone dry but cold boats.

I agree completely.

 

[[3889]]

How long were you there for? It's £2.23 + VAT per metre this year, so should cost you £28.10 per night.

One night. The HM smirked when I expressed suprise at the fee, and told me Reeds was hopelessly outdated and visitors were constantly taken aback. Maybe Peel has subsequently adjusted its fees to reflect its appeel (see what I did there). Nice place, all the same. My first visit was in pre-gate days and I was driven by the then HM to a miniature oil refinery for 25l of fuel. The Manx are a very hospitable bunch, IME.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Caernarfon's Victoria Dock is also run by the Council and has a 10 year waiting list.

Some of AMcD's prices are dated (perhaps derived from Reed's woefully archaic data?) : I stayed at Peel 3 yrs ago and it was £36 for 10.5m.

All prices from respective websites yesterday.

 

[Laysula]

Just to add on about Puffelli, last time we were there I really struggled to find a pub in the town that sold a decent pint of real ale. There was plenty of fizzy keg stuff but very little in the way of proper beer. I thought that the yacht club was decent though and yes the did serve a decent pint.

 

[TSB240]

Caernarfon's Victoria Dock is also run by the Council and has a 10 year waiting list.
.

I think most on the 10 year waiting list will have either died or found a better place to be before they turn down the offer of a place! The real problem is that the place has silted up so badly that any person asking for a berth has to be put on the waiting list as no vacant ones are useable.

Some berths have less than 6 inches of water in them once the tide has gone out and the cill is raised! Do you have a 30 foot punt as there would be no waiting list for one of them!
Visitor numbers are way down as you can no longer reliably leave Caernarfon early enough to get the tidal push going north through the Swellies! We have recently visited and were standing upright on our wing keel alongside the visitors berth and we only draw 3 feet!

 

[savageseadog]

Just to add on about Puffelli, last time we were there I really struggled to find a pub in the town that sold a decent pint of real ale. There was plenty of fizzy keg stuff but very little in the way of proper beer. I thought that the yacht club was decent though and yes the did serve a decent pint.

Wetherspoons sell a good selection of beers and it's cheap.

I'd put it another way

Med is cheaper and almost quicker to get to from Manchester and Liverpool than west Wales
.

It doesn't take much longer to get to the Solent on a good run. I've thought about it but the cost is too high.

 

[Laysula]

I'm a big fan of Spoons, but there wasn't one there last time I went,
which was seven or eight years ago. Glad to see things have improved for the town..

Wetherspoons sell a good selection of beers and it's cheap.



It doesn't take much longer to get to the Solent on a good run. I've thought about it but the cost is too high.

 

[Heckler]

I'm a big fan of Spoons, but there wasn't one there last time I went,
which was seven or eight years ago. Glad to see things have improved for the town..

It opened in 2014ish, just before we left, superb place, allegedly the biggest grossing WP in the uk just after it opened, we used to walk up from the marina, steak and chips for me, chicken and chips for mam, free pint for me and a bottle of quaff able wine, £25 ish, a deal.

 

[JumbleDuck]

One night. The HM smirked when I expressed suprise at the fee, and told me Reeds was hopelessly outdated and visitors were constantly taken aback. Maybe Peel has subsequently adjusted its fees to reflect its appeel (see what I did there��). Nice place, all the same. My first visit was in pre-gate days and I was driven by the then HM to a miniature oil refinery for 25l of fuel. The Manx are a very hospitable bunch, IME.

I spent ten days there a couple of years ago (it's a pleasant place to get stuck) and the bill for 8m was a little painful, but bearable. I went three times in my fin keeled Jouster, pre-gate, and always enjoyed it, though I never got a lift to a fuelling point, and walking two miles each way with four five litre petrol containers was awkward when they were empty and very awkward when they were full.

Some berths have less than 6 inches of water in them once the tide has gone out and the cill is raised!

Peel was like that when I was last there, but I believe they have dredged it now, a bit. The pontoons nearest the gate were very nearly drying with the cill up. I was half way along the main spine and dried by 3" (I only draw 4') with each "low" tide at first, but had soon made agroove to lie afloat in.

It doesn't take much longer to get to the Solent on a good run. I've thought about it but the cost is too high.

According to Google maps ...

Manchester to Pwllheli: 2h 34m
Manchester to Whitehaven Marina: 2h 42m
Manchester to Hamble Village: 4h 12m
Manchester to Kip Marina: 4h 15m

Just out of interest, no real point except that if I lived in Manchester and wanted a marina I'd probably go to Whitehaven, buy something with bilge keels and play in the Solway.

 

[savageseadog]

According to Google maps ...

Manchester to Pwllheli: 2h 34m
Manchester to Whitehaven Marina: 2h 42m
Manchester to Hamble Village: 4h 12m
Manchester to Kip Marina: 4h 15m

Just out of interest, no real point except that if I lived in Manchester and wanted a marina I'd probably go to Whitehaven, buy something with bilge keels and play in the Solway.

I live in South Cheshire. Google shows 3Hrs 34min to Hamble. The journey to Pwllhelli 2Hrs 42min, it's regularly longer in summer.

When will they stop digging up the A55? When will they teach the doddering Welsh OAP drivers that their car will do more than 10mph? Travel through Caernarfon can be eye wateringly slow.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I live in South Cheshire. Google shows 3Hrs 34min to Hamble. The journey to Pwllhelli 2Hrs 42min, it's regularly longer in summer.

When will they stop digging up the A55? When will they teach the doddering Welsh OAP drivers that their car will do more than 10mph? Travel through Caernarfon can be eye wateringly slow.

I regularly drive from Scotland to Machynlleth, and I share your pain. Chester to Mach takes twice as long on a summer day as it does on a winter evening. Why do all doddery old people drive Citroën C3 Picassos? Before that it was Citroën Xsara Picassos, so presumably they'll all move on en masse to the next Picasso model Citroën brings out?

But I digress. I also used to drive regularly from Scotland to Oxford (M6, M5, M42, M40, A34) and I can't say that doing that for sailing would make my heart sing. I'll stick with the midges for now.

 

[[163233]]

According to Google maps ...

Manchester to Pwllheli: 2h 34m
Manchester to Whitehaven Marina: 2h 42m
Manchester to Hamble Village: 4h 12m
Manchester to Kip Marina: 4h 15m

Just out of interest, no real point except that if I lived in Manchester and wanted a marina I'd probably go to Whitehaven, buy something with bilge keels and play in the Solway.

Fleetwood is 1hr 30m from south Manchester except on bad traffic days, and cheaper than all those options. Whitehaven might be nicer though, and I think access is better, more like +/- 3 hours for 1.5m draught?

 

[vyv_cox]

Pwllhelli is hard to access by water or by Road. It really has little to attract a visitor or an Irish Sea passage maker. It is a considerable detour and is no replacement for Holyhead. It does not provide 24 hour refuge. The huge investment in the sailing academy has done little to benefit and attract new Marina users but has helped the dinghy sailors who turn up in their hundreds for training and championships. It made me quite angry as an ex outer harbour berth owner as we were not permitted to use the new facilities. Cheaper trot moorings were removed and the uncontrolled rib and power boat movements shattered their tranquility. Not everybody wants to be in an expensive floating caravan park. The out of town location and lack of integration with the local community make it a beacon of resentment for locals. The Cardiff sponsored gravy train is well and truly derailed. I just hope some experienced marine operation is allowed a free hand to make a success of running the place. I might even be tempted to revisit should they introduce a reciprocal discount arrangement between local marinas.

My little motorsailer is at Pwllheli and I agree that the pricing is extortionate. However, my logic in going there was:
I needed pontoon berths that I could walk on and off. Deganwy is even more expensive. Conwy is full and expensive. In each case the river is very tidal and it takes a long time to go anywhere. Port Dinorwic is full and barely satisfies my basic requirement. I have been on the waiting list at Victoria Dock for years, and despite only drawing about 18 inches and quite happy to dry out, no sign that a berth will come up. Porth Madog is not worth considering, we don't like Aberystwyth and it is a worse drive than Pwllheli. We were in Milford Haven for a few years but moved because it took us many hours to drive there. Which leaves Pwllheli.

It is well run, friendly and for us not too bad a drive. When the weather is good there are plenty of places to go.

 

[Laysula]

If the mountain won't come to Mohammed then Mohammed must go to the mountain. We now live in Brixham. We now have to make do with a twenty minute walk to the boat, 5 mins to the local pub and 10 mins to Spoons.

 

[jacaldo]

Hope you don't mind me hijacking this thread, but I must say that is one pretty looking boat.