Studland - MMO Management protocols for the MCZ in place from 17th December

They quite possibly do but they will be catering for the average boat that generally visits. We have seen some boats anchor outside the buoyed area im guessing they were too heavy for the elastic but they were not that far away from the rest of us.
We have visited and struggled a bit as we draw 1.65m not lots but some boats just pick up the first empty buoy they see which is not helpful for those of us who need a bit more depth.
 
Chris CJ said:
This would suggest there needs to be a discussion between boaters and those positioning and laying the mooring buoys to provide a more suitable arrangement to satisfy length and weight of boats and also dedicated space for anchoring . Clearly the one size fits all isn’t the solution to satisfying boaters needs.
Are there collective thoughts or a boaters body that can provide meaningful input to The Studland Partnership / NT for a more workable solution . Work with them rather than fight against them …. Just a thought
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Boatfolk who are aprt funding the project are supposed to providing this contact I believe. Considered and mature discussion has been sighnificantly absent from this whole process, ever since the seahorse huggers started yelling at us in 2008. It never needed to be like this. Reasonable discussion between the two sides from the beginning would have saved a vast amount of time effort and money, and produced a workable result 10-15 years ago.

This was exactly what Swansea Uni Oceranic department did in Milford Haven to protect the Dale seagrass meadows. Working with local Sailing Clubs and businesses they very rapidly worked out a conservation plan which works well for everyone. Natural England and the Seahorse Huggers set out on a Crusade to ban boats altogether from Studland without any devate or discussiom. Police had to be called to one or two of the very early meetings, and the first formal Consultation with MMO, which I attended to represent us boaters at MMO's request, started off on a deeply antagonistic note from Conservation interests. There never was any chance fro reasonable discussion from day one and the rift widened every time we met.

The difficulty nowadays is that RYA have sold out to green conservation interests, putting conservation first, and there simply isnt any other cohesive body to represent leisure boating interests. BORG attempted to fill that gap, and I would say it was largely our work along with local Residents that caused MMO to shy away from creating a total no go area and keep the whole thing on a volubtary basis.

MMO cant afford to police it anyway.
 
oldharry said:
Boatfolk who are aprt funding the project are supposed to providing this contact I believe. Considered and mature discussion has been sighnificantly absent from this whole process, ever since the seahorse huggers started yelling at us in 2008. It never needed to be like this. Reasonable discussion between the two sides from the beginning would have saved a vast amount of time effort and money, and produced a workable result 10-15 years ago.

This was exactly what Swansea Uni Oceranic department did in Milford Haven to protect the Dale seagrass meadows. Working with local Sailing Clubs and businesses they very rapidly worked out a conservation plan which works well for everyone. Natural England and the Seahorse Huggers set out on a Crusade to ban boats altogether from Studland without any devate or discussiom. Police had to be called to one or two of the very early meetings, and the first formal Consultation with MMO, which I attended to represent us boaters at MMO's request, started off on a deeply antagonistic note from Conservation interests. There never was any chance fro reasonable discussion from day one and the rift widened every time we met.

The difficulty nowadays is that RYA have sold out to green conservation interests, putting conservation first, and there simply isnt any other cohesive body to represent leisure boating interests. BORG attempted to fill that gap, and I would say it was largely our work along with local Residents that caused MMO to shy away from creating a total no go area and keep the whole thing on a volubtary basis.

MMO cant afford to police it anyway.
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It wasnt just boats they wanted to ban, paddle boards, kayaks, sailing dinghies and blow up lilo's where in their sights as well as they were too noisy.

You couldnt make this stuff up
 
dunedin said:
Yes, bigger boats generally carry big anchor windlasses and bigger tenders, so should be able to anchor further out rather than needing special moorings
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The depth north of the VNAZ only runs from about 2 to 5 metres so big windlasses not required. That area of the bay, though, is less sheltered and further from Studland village and the Bankes Arms.
 
According to BBC Dorset ,the eco moorings installed by the Sea Hourse Trust , Boatfolk and the Studland Bay Marine Partnership cost about £100,000 a year to maintain.

Boat users pay £7.50 to moor there for four hours or £15.00 for 24 hours , or £150.00 for a seasonal pass.

There was a noticeable number of boats at anchor outside of the VNAZ opposite Knoll Beach and the NT cafe & toilets this week. Even more boats at anchor and using Swanage Sailing Club buoys in Swanage Bay than usual.
 
Chris CJ said:
According to BBC Dorset ,the eco moorings installed by the Sea Hourse Trust , Boatfolk and the Studland Bay Marine Partnership cost about £100,000 a year to maintain.

Boat users pay £7.50 to moor there for four hours or £15.00 for 24 hours , or £150.00 for a seasonal pass.

There was a noticeable number of boats at anchor outside of the VNAZ opposite Knoll Beach and the NT cafe & toilets this week. Even more boats at anchor and using Swanage Sailing Club buoys in Swanage Bay than usual.
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There is nothing visible on my current mooring indicating what the charge is and to whom it might be payable to.

I think they need to do something about the number powered craft travelling at high speeds, often towing ‘toys’, within the eight knot limit. With the number of SUPs etc being padded along the coast this seems a tragedy waiting to happen.
 
Lucky Duck said:
There is nothing visible on my current mooring indicating what the charge is and to whom it might be payable to.

I think they need to do something about the number powered craft travelling at high speeds, often towing ‘toys’, within the eight knot limit. With the number of SUPs etc being padded along the coast this seems a tragedy waiting to happen.
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By coincidence this was exactly what I was going to say if one of their enforcement persuasion boats approached us during our visit. During late afternoon there were a few Ebay motor vessels towing Aldi pool toys with screaming kids riding with no flotation devices :oops:

I did notice a few anchored outside the ULEZ but they were generally larger vessels. Here's the voluntary mooring zone at sunset this week. (Or is it voluntary no anchoring :D)

studland.jpg
 
Lucky Duck said:
There is nothing visible on my current mooring indicating what the charge is and to whom it might be payable to.

I think they need to do something about the number powered craft travelling at high speeds, often towing ‘toys’, within the eight knot limit. With the number of SUPs etc being padded along the coast this seems a tragedy waiting to happen.
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I'm only aware of a 5 knot limit and a lot of the mooring buoys are outside that area. When I was last there the majority of boats did seem to 'obey' the 5 knot limit but that is no good for the boats moored outside as motor boats come off the plane.
 
Boathook said:
I'm only aware of a 5 knot limit and a lot of the mooring buoys are outside that area. When I was last there the majority of boats did seem to 'obey' the 5 knot limit but that is no good for the boats moored outside as motor boats come off the plane.
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There was a group of five or six PWC running at something in the region of thirty knots along the South shore between the beach and Old Harry. When they did finally leave they headed East towards the Solent rather than back into Poole.

Yes 5 knots rather than 8.
 
wonkywinch said:
IMG_1990.jpegBy coincidence this was exactly what I was going to say if one of their enforcement persuasion boats approached us during our visit. During late afternoon there were a few Ebay motor vessels towing Aldi pool toys with screaming kids riding with no flotation devices :oops:

I did notice a few anchored outside the ULEZ but they were generally larger vessels. Here's the voluntary mooring zone at sunset this week. (Or is it voluntary no anchoring :D)

View attachment 196007
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Current just to the right of your photo, the boat with the red sail cover and hull stripes was here last night but left before I ventured outside this morning.

Hopefully boats were anchored outside the Ultra Low Emissions Zone :)

Edit - photo addedIMG_1990.jpeg
 
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Lucky Duck said:
There is nothing visible on my current mooring indicating what the charge is and to whom it might be payable to.

I think they need to do something about the number powered craft travelling at high speeds, often towing ‘toys’, within the eight knot limit. With the number of SUPs etc being padded along the coast this seems a tragedy waiting to happen.
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I have raised this on a couple of surveys I filled out, as it needs enforcing. It is an accident waiting to happen

We had one pass at high speed close to us on an eco mooring, whilst the mrs prepped dinner I sat in the cockpit with a beer and my dslr with a 300mm lens and photographed them as they left, once they realised someone had a big lens on them the majority seemed to remember the speed limit 😂
 
In as much as the rodes on eco-moorings are designed to float rather than scour the seedbed, would it not be preferable to position to them over the areas of seagrass? There would be limited impact where the helical screws are driven into the seabed but so positioned, the buoys would serve as barriers to both anchoring and speeding watercraft and crucially, allow mooring in positions that are properly sheltered from the prevailing wind and currents.
 
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