Visiting West Mersea

I think I better explain: West Mersea has no harbour authority and it will never have an authority. It's because of the history. Locally there are two principal sailing clubs who have no authority to organise anything other than running their Club facilities and services (water or land side based). There are several (very good I think) marine business which run boatyards, moorings, repairs, hiring etc, etc. They also have no authority to organise anything other than the running of their facilities. There are several oyster companies who run and organised their licenced layings. They have no authority beyond their businesses. There are professional fishermen who work the Estuary and elsewhere and land catches at the hammerhead. They have no authority beyond their balliwicks. Unlike Brightlingsea which has a 'harbour' which is run and intended to earn money, West Mersea has no such thing. But surprise, surprise, as a community it works by cooperation, consensus and conciliation. There are quite of number of individuals who are quite daft of course. They respond to the call to drop their work and employment to dash out in some sort of orange boat and get wet, dragging some bedragged peeps ashore when they should be earning money and losing the wet edge of that paint job they were doing or removing that lower molar. When mooring fees are collected not one business, not one club, not one individual benefits. Any money collected is spent solely on AtN - provision, maintenance etc. Even one daft plod who was offered the chance to get some 'survey' kit free out of the mooring charges spurned it. The launch (or 2 from time to time) is run by the Yacht Club. It is a very expensive facility against the assets of a modest sized Club (just think on the costs involved). It has two full time employees and is supplemented by paying for other professional manpower to permit the employees days off. The Club benefits not one penny from the mooring fee charges. It does, however, charges or rather in proper times, charged for a run ashore and back. I hope that everybody will realise that running visitors ashore does incur some additional costs and charging. Members want a launch service to get to and from their boats. That is the sum total of the objectives. For some bizarre reason members are happy (usually) to encourage visitors - the launchmen will be advised by every member (and indeed others) when their mooring will be free. Members in the usual times will be happy to wait for their turn to a place in the launch while it is full of visitors. Unfortunately the launch is not a public service and at the moment is strictly limited in the number of members who can be accommodated on each trip. It is not a taxi. It is not a ferry.

I am rather perplexed about the comment that our attitude is going out of date. Our Club is a club in our town. It is a 365 a day club and people who live here support and enjoy the club, and encourages membership beyond the town, beyond the island. We don't stop water-based visitors, we encourage it but we have no authority to run any public part of those waters and indeed has one or two rules we have to follow running a licence ashore.
 
Cavalierbond said:
Mersea seems to think is something else .. the YC attitude is a going out of date .. commodore etc .. it’s all a bit dads army
Cater and move with the times or your precious club house will be flats in no time .
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Which Sailing/Yacht club do you know that does not have a commodore? ... and what way is the YC "going out of datte"

The Yacht club is there for the benefit of its ever increasing number of members, not visitors, although they are always made welcome
 
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Yet the Harwich ch ferry is still carrying up to 12 passengers..
THe Felixatoe Ferry is also carrying passengers.... wearing face masks in the open air

... and reduced capacity is not the same as no capacity.
 
There is one way that WMYC is out of date; the price of a pint in its delightful clubhouse is vastly behind the times, or at least it was when I visited a couple of years ago.
 
Correction:
Yes they have started charging for visitors moorings. It's on-line apparently. Please don't ask me how.
No, we still don't have a commercial ferry at West Mersea.

I meant to add. If YC1 doesn't answer, if between 1pm or 2pm on a single launch day, it is because he (Phil, Ollie or Yac) is at lunch. At other times it will should only be a temporary silence. We do get every now and again a bizarre interference on 37, sounds like an open mike but isn't.
 
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Cavalierbond said:
Brightlinsea is very welcoming ,Mersea seems to think is something else .. the YC attitude is a going out of date .. commodore etc .. it’s all a bit dads army
Cater and move with the times or your precious club house will be flats in no time .
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to hear your idea of a structure for a members YC that doesn't have a Commodore and a few Flag Officers who give their time for free for the greater good?
 
Tomahawk said:
Yet the Harwich ch ferry is still carrying up to 12 passengers..
THe Felixatoe Ferry is also carrying passengers.... wearing face masks in the open air
Click to expand...
You are saying "Harwich ferry is still carrying UP TO 12 passengers", so many passengers is the ferry actually carrying?

I thought the Harwich ferry went to Felixstowe and Shotley, it is one ferry, not two
 
Tomahawk said:
Yet the Harwich ch ferry is still carrying up to 12 passengers..
THe Felixatoe Ferry is also carrying passengers.... wearing face masks in the open air

... and reduced capacity is not the same as no capacity.
Click to expand...

Given the confusion caused by the rather opaque rules on masks, social distancing etc, how the Felixstowe/Harwich/Shotley ferry organises itself (and interprets the law) is up to them. If they wish to increase risks to themselves and passengers err........
 
tillergirl said:
I think I better explain:
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<snip>

Interesting explanation Roger, thanks for that, i didn't know most of that. We called in at West Mersea Sunday afternoon, didn't stop, just had a look around. Everyone onboard liked the look at the place and vowed to return when we had an inflated dinghy, rather than a deflated one on deck :(
 
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Charlie Boy said:
Given the confusion caused by the rather opaque rules on masks, social distancing etc, how the Felixstowe/Harwich/Shotley ferry organises itself (and interprets the law) is up to them. If they wish to increase risks to themselves and passengers err........
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What is the confusion? 2 Metre social distancing, and masks to be worn inside closed buildings ... that seems quite clear to me. I suspect that anybody not understanding that, does not want to understand it
 
DavidofMersea said:
What is the confusion? 2 Metre social distancing, and masks to be worn inside closed buildings ... that seems quite clear to me. I suspect that anybody not understanding that, does not want to understand it
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Bit of a shot in the foot there David. It's only 2m if you can, if not 1m

Bit daft if you ask me, should be one or the other.
 
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