So Cowes is now closed !

[BlueJasper]

Yeah as long as in by 12 noon. Been caught out otherwise as cant book on the fly and had to go elsewhere end of day

Not from my regular observations, they are allocating slots all through the afternoon and these are not pre-booked. Its a small harbour and they keep going until they are full. I've never seen more helpful staff.

 

[henryf]

Yarmouth are easily the best staff in the Solent. One or two small boats directing traffic and talking amongst themselves as to where boats can go in their game of Tetris. The office is also part of the loop as well. Overnights tend to clear by 11.00 to noon. They say to arrive by 2.00pm to be in with a “guaranteed” overnight as much as you can guarantee these things.

They have slotted Emily Jo and now Mango into some very creative spaces over the years as well as allowing us to unload passengers on the South Quay.

 

[ashtead]

Once you understand that the Yarmouth staff in their boat will guide you to a berth it works very well. It’s slight unusual unless in France not to be allocated a berth number and mooring side in advance but once you realise the Yarmouth way it works fine . Berths are payable in advance as we know but the actual facilities onshore have improved ,pontoons are stable and long enough and certainly over the far side by the bridge quietier than the rafting area. For a night or 2 certainly enough to do ashore and the food stores ashore well stocked . We prefer the views of Lym yacht haven O pontoon and convenience of walks there plus more eateries you can get into though. Taxis in Lym can be rather erratic as to availability after 9pm but maybe the drivers go to bed early .

 

[benjenbav]

Yarmouth are easily the best staff in the Solent. One or two small boats directing traffic and talking amongst themselves as to where boats can go in their game of Tetris. The office is also part of the loop as well. Overnights tend to clear by 11.00 to noon. They say to arrive by 2.00pm to be in with a “guaranteed” overnight as much as you can guarantee these things.

They have slotted Emily Jo and now Mango into some very creative spaces over the years as well as allowing us to unload passengers on the South Quay.

I remember 10 years or so ago - after extensive works at Yarmouth - calling the water taxi only to get the slightly puzzled response that - of course - they could pick me up, but did I know that I was on a walk-ashore pontoon?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I know I am, I see it all the time. Then they try to sneak out without paying, particularly if they’re on a small rib or similar.

You reap what you sow in this life…..

I suspect that all the harbour operators know this game. You can only do that once per port, I expect.

 

[superheat6k]

We use Cowes Yacht Haven quite a lot for charters and I feel compelled to jump to their defence. Here’s the issue:

Short stay berths are a bit of a pain in the backside. The people staying begrudge paying more than a few pence - just look through the number of complaining posts on here including The Folly moorings which many people think should be free for short stays!. So in many respects you’ve all shot yourselves in the foot.

The main revenue is from overnight berths and even then people moan about the prices. So the marina doesn’t want people paying a couple of quid for a short stay getting in the way of selling more valuable overnight spaces. Imagine turning up at 2.00pm to be told we’re full of short stay berths, come back later, maybe 5.00pm or 6.00pm ?

People lie. “We’re only going to be a couple of hours” then 5 hours later they’re still there.

When we have guests ashore for lunch we are happy to remain on the boat at all times to move it straight away if required. This ensures we are able to get short stay berthing more often. We are also happy to pay the going rate and be friendly. We understand the problems and work with marinas, they in turn trust us to do as we’ve promised. As has been said already boats may be out racing and expect to be able to return to their paid for berths.

I do agree that in the summer especially on weekends Cowes can fill up. We’ve had to go elsewhere in the past and we are very flexible in terms of moorings. Mid river, piles, whatever. Ultimately a solution needs to be found because local businesses suffer. Our 12 guest lunchtime booking could potentially be worth 4 figures to a restaurant and even when we stay privately it’s not unusual to spend getting on for that once we’ve eaten, bought some clothes and so on. I once bought a grandfather clock in Lymington back in the days when we could berth in the town. Sadly we are no longer able to with the new moorings so only use it for work bookings at LYH. Lymington’s loss is Yarmouth’s gain.

I have no problem with the fees - they are what they are, I arrived at 1PM, and informed the radio operator I was on a limited 1.5 hour stay due to a tide gate back on the Hamble at the M27 bridge. When I returned from the Folly, which was delightful BTW, and a very helpful HM / ferryman, most of the empty berths and both Shepherds and CYH remained vacant.

So the £150 I ended up spending at the Folly was their gain and CYH / The Anchor's loss. Plus possibly another £150 my guests did not spend in the Town shops.

I did just make my tide gate at Bursledon A27 bridge with ~300 mm clearance.

 

[henryf]

I have no problem with the fees - they are what they are, I arrived at 1PM, and informed the radio operator I was on a limited 1.5 hour stay due to a tide gate back on the Hamble at the M27 bridge. When I returned from the Folly, which was delightful BTW, and a very helpful HM / ferryman, most of the empty berths and both Shepherds and CYH remained vacant.

So the £150 I ended up spending at the Folly was their gain and CYH / The Anchor's loss. Plus possibly another £150 my guests did not spend in the Town shops.

I did just make my tide gate at Bursledon A27 bridge with ~300 mm clearance.

Totally understand. The problem is too many people before you have promised a 1.5 hour stay backed up with a plausible story only to still be there 5 hours later.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that’s you but it happens a lot.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Totally understand. The problem is too many people before you have promised a 1.5 hour stay backed up with a plausible story only to still be there 5 hours later.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that’s you but it happens a lot.

That is unlikely to have been a factor on this attempted visit though. Cowes is full of racing boats, they have berths booked and paid for. The berths cannot just be casually re let during the day, racing might be cancelled, the occupant might break something and reappear at any time, and considering that they’ve paid for the berth, for those reasons, they have total priority. The Folly is clear of the regatta madness, and are very happy to step up to the plate for day and overnight visitors who can’t find a berth in Cowes itself. It’s all over by mid August, try again then and cruising boats will once again be welcome. Cowes would be a very different place without the yacht racing, which is only inconvenient for a 6 week period a year.

 

[Wavey]

Happy to hear other points of view but the Solent does seem much busier post Covid yet the capacity of the favoured places to go hasn’t changed materially. If I have guests on board I have no option but a short stay for lunch as I can’t accommodate them overnight. Such trips this year have been curtailed considerably due to lack of availability.

 

[andrewbarker]

Totally understand. The problem is too many people before you have promised a 1.5 hour stay backed up with a plausible story only to still be there 5 hours later.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that’s you but it happens a lot.

 

[andrewbarker]

I get that there's a problem where people abuse the short stay system. What I don't get is the current solution, which seems to consist of deterring everyone including the honest punters such as Superheat, me, and many others.
In my businesses, I've had to deal with cheats. But not by putting off the good customers.

Surely, it's far better (and within the realms of the possible) to work a system which deters the scrotes and not the rest?
At a simple level, what's wrong with charging for set periods (maybe half a day) payable in advance? That would be relatively simple to check and enforce.

The charges would be higher than the existing fee for a couple of hours but, to be honest, I couldn't care less if it costs a few quid more and means that there's more availability. It might even put off the dishonest b*gg*rs who try to take advantage.

 

[oldgit]

St Kat's on the Thames have really upped their game recently.
Now they really appear to want to squeeze you in and take your money if they possibly can.
Main complaints about cost seem to come from those who would never go there anyway.

 

[Boat2016]

St Kat's on the Thames have really upped their game recently.
Now they really appear to want to squeeze you in and take your money if they possibly can.
Main complaints about cost seem to come from those who would never go there anyway.

A friend had a week there recently….£900 for a 44ft boat, i guess they would make the effort to accommodate you for that amount.

 

[oldgit]

A friend had a week there recently….£900 for a 44ft boat, i guess they would make the effort to accommodate you for that amount.

He must have used an awfull lot of electric Weekly rate for 14M is £740.00.
A discounted room in the adjacent Tower Hotel for a week is £1200.00.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A friend had a week there recently….£900 for a 44ft boat, i guess they would make the effort to accommodate you for that amount.

He must have used an awfull lot of electric Weekly rate for 14M is £740.00.
A discounted room in the adjacent Tower Hotel for a week is £1200.00.

Makes me realise how fortunate we are to have a daughter with a flat and spare room in walking distance of St Kats