Ramsgate

I think you guys are making the mistake of telling them the actual length of the boat.

36ft = 9.9m in Xyachtdave berthing rates!

You have to hunt around for a berth on your own anyway - our method only causes problems if you are given a space based on your 'estimation' of length over the VHF!
 
One really shouldn't grumble, but you would think they'd read the bloodyemail before they reply.



I appreciate this is probably the wrong email address to write to but the feedback form doesn't work!
Just had a look at visitors fees for the Marina and saw that they now charge £2.90/m! That's more than Gosport in the Solent!
Given the fairly modest facilities at Ramsgate isn't that rather steep? I'm a fan of Ramsgate and will return, I just think its rather pricey.


And the response;


Thank you for your recent email concerning the visitor charges at Ramsgate.

We are very pleased to see that you enjoy visiting Ramsgate and that you have noticed the improvements made to the marina and leisure facilities.

We thank you for providing us with this information, which will be used when assessing the market for our 2013/2014 charges.






We do appreciate feedback from all our customers and should you note anything in the future we would welcome hearing from you.

Response sent on behalf of the Harbour Master / Maritime Operations Manager, Robert Brown

Regards, Heather
 
I suppose they have a captive market; I can't think of an overnight anchorage nearby.

That doesn't mean it's not a right ripoff, though. I'm not surprised yachting is seen as a rich mans hobby at those rates. No doubt there will be even bigger eye-openers as we travel down the south coast (getting through Lake Solent as quickly as possible!)
 
I like Ramsgate.......however there has been a 10% hike in rates this year which I am guessing has something to do with lack of money due to the Ferry service no longer operating, most of the staff that worked on the ferry side of the port are now working in the marina. They are hoping someone will come along and restart the Ferry. One point worth remembering is that they 'round up' when calculating mooring fees, i.e. 10.5 mts becomes 11mts but 10.4mts becomes 10mts.
 
According to Private Eye, Thanet Council let TransEuropa Ferries off various charges and liabilities to the tune of £3.4 million when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The decision to underwrite the ferry company was taken by a small group of officers and members And never discussed in public. Despite this, the company went bust. As a result of the debt, Thanet Council is having to make huge cuts to its budget. The two ferries meanwhile, lie rusting in Ostende. So not much chance of the council treating facilities for visiting yachtsmen as anything other than a cash-cow for the foreseeable future.

The obsession with developing Ramsgate as a ferry port was always misconceived and the huge amounts of public money ploughed into this project, in direct subsidies and massive infrastructure developments would have been much better spent developing Ramsgate as a resort, building on its wonderful architectural heritage and relative proximity to London. As it is, we have a bankrupt ferry company, indebted local authority and the philistine destruction of a lovely Georgian esplanade amongst other egregious planning disasters.
 
The obsession with developing Ramsgate as a ferry port was always misconceived and the huge amounts of public money ploughed into this project, in direct subsidies and massive infrastructure developments would have been much better spent developing Ramsgate as a resort, building on its wonderful architectural heritage and relative proximity to London. As it is, we have a bankrupt ferry company, indebted local authority and the philistine destruction of a lovely Georgian esplanade amongst other egregious planning disasters.


Ostend's twin.
Lost of money spent re-developing the harbour in order to accomodate Ferryways and its new Ipswichmax ships.
The company went bust and the ships now sail to/from Rotterdam IIRC.
 
One point worth remembering is that they 'round up' when calculating mooring fees, i.e. 10.5 mts becomes 11mts but 10.4mts becomes 10mts.


This is why it's vital you follow my advice in a previous post to knock at least 4 feet off your boat length.

If you're feeling lucky (punk!) try 8 feet off!
 
This is why it's vital you follow my advice in a previous post to knock at least 4 feet off your boat length.

If you're feeling lucky (punk!) try 8 feet off!

I'm pretty sure it's very uncool to quote yourself on a forum, however.......


.....whilst paying today at Ramsgate some confusion over the length of the boat occurred, feet and inches vs the metric system would be my guess.

Harbour man - 'How long is the boat?'

Xyachtdave - '32ft,'

Xyachtdave's daughter - 'no it's not it's 36 foot!'

Xyachtdave - 'er no, it's an X322,'

Xyachtdave's daughter - 'why has the sail cover got X 362 on it?'

Harbour guy offers to come and measure it.

My previous advice only works if you prime the crew first.....
 
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I'm pretty sure it's very uncool to quote yourself on a forum, however.......


.....whilst paying today at Ramsgate some confusion over the length of the boat occurred, feet and inches vs the metric system would be my guess.

Harbour man - 'How long is the boat?'

Xyachtdave - '32ft,'

Xyachtdave's daughter - 'no it's not it's 36 foot!'

Xyachtdave - 'er no, it's an X322,'

Xyachtdave's daughter - 'why has the sail cover got X 362 on it?'

Harbour guy offers to come and measure it.

My previous advice only works if you prime the crew first.....

deduct deficit from her pocket money
 
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