Something has picked up my mooring!

[William_H]

Welll around here we pay a hefty fee for the licence to have a mooring. Now for my fee I expect exclusive use of the mooring itself which is mine and the area of water so prescribed. Now here it is a government initiative (the tax) so there are fine penalties prescribed for non contravention of the rules. Even short term tie up is prohibited. There is a significant fee to get another vessel registered to your mooring. They do have emergency moorings for boats that come adrift and picnic moorings provided.
Now the latest one that hit me this last week is mandatory inspection and certification by one of their nominated approved contractors. bring another 200 squid every 2 years. Any way enough of my bitch.
I can see that club moorings are a much more lax arrangement. The mooring officer may be a volunteer. However surely the club has an exclusive right to use the area for moorings and so the legal right to get rid of any illegal use of the club moorings.
As said I would tie it onto the post nearby. If I needed the mooring myself. After all councils don't seem to hesitate to tow away your car if it is illegally parked. good luck olewill

 

[Seven Spades]

The more I read about Australia the less I like it. It seems to be the most authoritarian anglo-saxon nation on the planet. There are way to many regulations about boating licences and this horror story about mooring use. I understand that if you use your on-board bike they require you to wear a crash helmet. Australia is the antidote to a libertarian society.

 

[gerryraby1]

Have you tried contacting the marine police and mentioning Project Kraken? Worth a try, I've always found them very approachable and helpful.

I had not heard of Project Kraken so I looked it up. "The aim of Project Kraken is to provide a hostile environment to terrorists and criminals looking to disrupt the everyday lives and safety of those who live, work or travel through the Solent." I dont think that this students experiment could be described as a terrorist threat
I did give QHM a call and they said they would "send a police launch up to take a look" which they did. They motored up to the mooring, took a look and motored away
Thanks anyway

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com

 

[gerryraby1]

Dan. What an utter load of bollcks. If you had any idea about the club in question, one of the very friendliest and helpful I have ever visited or been a member of, you'd know that for a start the mooring I question is nearly a mile away from the club, and hidden from view behind warships. What do you want the mooring officer to do, give up his full time job and patrol on a daily basis just in case?

It's the mooring officers job to allocate spaces liaising between the club and QHM, not to know exactly what is an isn't moored legally or illegally at any one point in time on one of over a hundred moorings in about 6 areas all over the harbour, interspersed with boatyard, marina and RNSA moorings in the same areas. Should he have jumped into one of the Royal Hardway Yacht Club motor launches to sort it in his lunch break? (oh wait, there aren't any motor launches)

If you'd like to visit the club one day you'll work out what type of set up it is...and why it's members love it. Happy to buy you a beer and show you round...after you've bought one for the moorings officer.

"I would expect my clubs staff to see to it that I am never prevented from using my mooring...." Oh really. Perhaps you have been in London a bit too long, that's not the way things tend to work in the rest of the real world.

Here, here!

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com

 

[gerryraby1]

Guilty. I suppose London is so cramped, we're very aware of where our own space ends, and acutely alive to the unacceptability of intruding on anyone else's.

I just feel angry on Gerry's behalf. Is there in fact nobody to turn to, when one's mooring has been casually and anonymously adopted by another boat?

I confess, I naively thought yacht club officials did keep a close eye on their members' moorings. I certainly felt they did at Chichester, twenty-five years ago.

I'll withdraw criticism of this Portsmouth mooring-master chap in particular, because I believe from what you say, such scrutiny is not his role - but wouldn't the club benefit by operating a rota of members who, between them, do know which boats ought to be where, and when one most definitely should not?

I genuinely do prefer an informal set-up in any club, and in my neighbourhood - very much preferable, provided everyone knows how to behave. But it's not so great, if there's no plan in store for when somebody blithely disregards gentlemanly agreements, as appears to be this case.

Your beer invitation is very kind, I'd like to accept when I come to Portsmouth. I'm not nearly as disagreeable as my volcanic discontent sometimes suggests.

and when you are down here I will be the next person to buy you a pint.....but at Hardway prices that isnt a problem
Thanks for your post.

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com

 

[gerryraby1]

Hey, just a thought, (probably too late) but if anyone is down there this weekend would you let me know if it is still there?
It is just before you get to Bomb Ketch Lake (going up the harbour).

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com

 

[prv]

The more I read about Australia the less I like it. It seems to be the most authoritarian anglo-saxon nation on the planet. There are way to many regulations about boating licences and this horror story about mooring use. I understand that if you use your on-board bike they require you to wear a crash helmet. Australia is the antidote to a libertarian society.

+1. Been hearing stuff like this for years, and not just boat-related.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

If I came back to my mooring - wot I have paid for and gone to the hard work of laying the sinker and chain - and found some berk trying to use it for free, I'd move their boat*, get her clear and drop her anchor on a decent scope, it's not the boats' fault she has an idiot owner, and tell the harbourmaster.

* harbour byelaws may have a view on this, but my mooring is not to be stolen !

However if I'm going to be away from the mooring for more than a week I let my club ' moorings offficer ' ( a hard working unpaid volunteer ) know, so any visiting boat is free to use it until I return.

 

[macd]

The more I read about Australia the less I like it. It seems to be the most authoritarian anglo-saxon nation on the planet. There are way to many regulations about boating licences and this horror story about mooring use. I understand that if you use your on-board bike they require you to wear a crash helmet. Australia is the antidote to a libertarian society.

There's a very good reason for this. If, as a lawmaker, it was your belief that everyone was as bent and corrupt as you, then you'd have every reason to pass the kind of laws you mention. That says more about the politicos than the people they govern.

 

[KristiferColumbus]

I'd have just moved it to the next vacant mooring along.

I wonder if it was put there by the people that allegedly stole someone's battery a few years ago to drive this forum nuts

 

[gerryraby1]

I'd have just moved it to the next vacant mooring along.

Wow.....I am glad I am not your neighbour!
It dosent exactly "resolve the problem"

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

I've had a mooring in Portsmouth ( Spider Lake ), it's a big harbour and no-one can keep a watch all the time, I was a bit concerned about security but didn't have any problems.

That idiotic ' danger keep clear ' cat looks like a student project to me, I'd quietly move and secure it elsewhere ( NOT to someone elses's mooring or a nav' mark, just anchor or beach it ) then mention to Portsmouth Uni' - and QHM - probably anonymously for fear of getting embroiled in some legal saga !

In Portsmouth I suppose another option would be to tie it alongside one of the reserve warships ( nowadays approaching an active warship is not adviseable ) and see how long it lasts before the SBS use it for fun !

 

[skipper681]

I've been reading this from the start and haven't commented but I will now. I asked myself what I'd do, I would tether it to my boat with a chain and lock (providing I'm not using the boat for a week or two) and leave a note of my contact number and await the results.

If you are using the boat then a small fibreglass punt would suffice, if they break the tether then thats criminal damage and the shoes on the other foot.

Granted you need to know who they are first...

Have you asked the local Universities if they are doing anything around your local area?

Good luck.

 

[Georgio]

I went past it today, I presume it's still on the OP's mooring.

One of the floats looked very low in the water, I hope the the OP's sake it doesn't sink, perhaps it would be a good idea to move it the the fisherman's (public) pontoon at Hardwary before it becomes a bigger problem, or let QHM know that there it now appears to be sinking and may become a hazard.

I'm with others than think this is probaby a student/uni project, and they (without thinking) put it on a "spare" mooring.

 

[yachtorion]

I wonder how stable that thing would be with a strong wind on the bow.

 

[Searush]

There's a very good reason for this. If, as a lawmaker, it was your belief that everyone was as bent and corrupt as you, then you'd have every reason to pass the kind of laws you mention. That says more about the politicos than the people they govern.

It's what comes of filling the place with criminals 200 years ago.

 

[William_H]

quote "it's what comes of filling the place with criminals 200 years ago. "

Ole will sits back very smug. I have never had any doubts about the best place in the world to live.
Yes it has become very authoritarian when it comes to boating. I think the huge popularity of boating has made it so. olewill

 

[lustyd]

Appologies if this has been mentioned before, I did read the thread and didn't see anyone say it. Could the person who put it there have paid for a mooring but lack the skill to actually find the correct one? All of the people assuming they are guilty of something seem to forget that to normal people all moorings look the same, and quite a lot of mooring locations look the same. Someone with insufficient navigational skills could even mistake "Portsmouth" moorings for "Langstone" moorings since both are in the water next to Portsmouth. If this is the case then the owner is innocent and any action against the vessel would in fact just be malicious regardless of what you deem your rights to be. Yes, they are on the mooring, and yes that is inconvenient. It is, however, not the case that the OPs boat is adrift as a consequence. It's probably not even the case that it's costing him money or placing the boat in danger in the mean time. Give it a week and I'd imagine the owner will surface and appologise.

 

[VicS]

Also wondering if notice has been placed on the craft pointing out that it is on the OP's mooring and asking for the owners to remove it and/or contact the club mooring officer

 

[rgarside]

Gerry,

Hope your problem is shortly resolved. I'm looking forward to hearing the outcome! Please let us know.