Should rafting be a thing of the past in Lymington?

[mainsail1]

Now that Lymington Harbour has fancy new pontoons and fancy prices to go with it (but poor facilities and no free parking) I wonder whether it is reasonable to expect booked visitors to raft?
I say this after spending two unfortunate days rafted on a boat whose occupants obviously had a problem with people going over their precious decks to get ashore.

 

[fredrussell]

They should allow rafting but you should all not be allowed to leave your boats when rafted. Just sit and enjoy the raft, an important aspect of sailing, the raft. Oh how I love the east coast!

 

[Rustyknight]

Rafting etiquette

 

[SimonFa]

That reminds me ...

We were bareboat chartering in the Ionian with friends, a total of 3 boats. In one harbour one of our friends ended up in a raft about 8 deep, most of the from a flotilla. The guy on the inside got really fed up, probably because most boats had teenagers on them, including my mate. Anyway, his wife flipped and he ended up having a punchup with one of the other flotilla crews. My mate pulled them apart and had to write a report for the company. It was rather a frosty flotilla dinner that night

At dawn the guy on the inside decides he’s had enough and just casts the raft adrift and buggers off. The problem was that most of the teenagers were still ashore and it was complete chaos. We and our other boat gathered up all our teenagers and sorted it out it our lunch anchorage, we never did find out what happened to the guy who set them adrift.

 

[LadyInBed]

I'm not bothered about rafting in Lymington town quay as it has been struck from my list of stop offs since the price hike.
I don't know if there is anywhere else in Lymington that still charge more affordable prices.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I say this after spending two unfortunate days rafted on a boat whose occupants obviously had a problem with people going over their precious decks to get ashore.

Did they insist that you take your shoes off to cross?

 

[Seajet]

I haven't been sailing this year, boat and self in refit - roughly how much is Lymington now then - and surely they won't fit as many boats in ?

 

[capnsensible]

I was coaching on a sailing school yacht, rafted on Lymington town quay on the night of the 31st August 1997. The next mornings breaking news kinda put a damper on the course.

 

[davidej]

[QUOTE="mainsail1, post: 7319942, member:
I say this after spending two unfortunate days rafted on a boat whose occupants obviously had a problem with people going over their precious decks to get ashore.
[/QUOTE]
Could this be the forumite who wants you to take your shoes off?

 

[Fossil]

Those who twitch about rafting three deep in Lymington should never try sailing in the Netherlands. The harbour in Enkhuizen is frequently rafted ten deep and one year we were in a raft of fifteen boats, carefully organised by the harbour-master so that you were directed to the raft appropriate to your length. Arriving mid-afternoon, we ended up about five in from the outside and had a bit of noise, movement and footfall from those outside us making their way to the shore, but in general, people were well aware of the need for courtesy and consideration in moving over others. Going barefoot is appreciated, as is moving around the forward part, never over the cockpit.

And the ever-cheerful and competent Dutch sailors proved highly ingenious in coping with people who wanted to leave at inconvenient times. The cat's cradle of mooring lines was rigged, re-rigged and parted at the appropriate points and many hands fended off the leaving boats as they made their way towards the narrow strip of harbour which was all that was left.

 

[Rustyknight]

Rafting used to be the norm at Poole quay before the marina was built. Even on quiet weekends it was nothing unusual to have a raft of three or four boats, and Bank holidays the rafts just kept on growing until they appeared to reach mid channel.

Trying to get out of the middle of the raft usually meant the co-operation between the crews of many boats, usually at silly O'clock in the morning. Often, boats would say they were leaving early, only to still be there long after breakfast..... sometimes because it took so long to get everyone organised, sometimes because they'd tried to put people off rafting alongside.

More than a few times a raft was just let go by a disgruntled inside boat, which caused lots of shouting and swearing, often in French.

It was usually made more interesting when the tide was running...... add a few trip boats and those coming through the bridge from Holes Bay, and it could easily attract crowds of gawpers eating their chips on the quayside.

 

[Bobc]

Welcome to the Solent on a bank holiday weekend

 

[mainsail1]

My point is........ should Lymington Harbour raft boats when charging marina level fees?

 

[deep denial]

I was coaching on a sailing school yacht, rafted on Lymington town quay on the night of the 31st August 1997. The next mornings breaking news kinda put a damper on the course.

Er....remind us

 

[Stemar]

should Lymington Harbour raft boats when charging marina level fees?

It's called charging what the market will bear. If people are still needing to raft up, accountants will argue that the price is about tight, or maybe too low.

I, on the other hand, will say, bugger that for a game of soldiers, and go somewhere else.

 

[Stemar]

Er....remind us

The scion of the House al Fayad died

 

[AIDY]

I was coaching on a sailing school yacht, rafted on Lymington town quay on the night of the 31st August 1997. The next mornings breaking news kinda put a damper on the course.

I was in guernsey...

 

[Never Grumble]

What happened on the 1st September?

 

[Sandy]

Note to self: avoid Lymington. That will upset the accountants.

 

[Sharky34]

I was coaching on a sailing school yacht, rafted on Lymington town quay on the night of the 31st August 1997. The next mornings breaking news kinda put a damper on the course.

Remind us what happened.