West coast anchorages that require dues similar to Chichester Harbour?

[jlink]

We're planning a cruise along the south coast and up the west coast UK & Ireland and I'm working out costs etc.

I'm wondering how many natural harbours and anchorages along the way will require dues similar to Chichester harbour?

(Just focusing on places to drop the hook and excluding costs for marinas, harbour berths, mooring balls etc for now)

 

[Minerva]

Paying to anchor - really? !

Never had anyone ( even attempt to) ask for payment for anchoring in Scotland - they'd be told succinctly where to go if they tried!

 

[Ningaloo]

Beaulieu river, Poole, Falmouth...

 

[John_Silver]

Thinking about likely stopping points, with a Chichester start:
Newtown Creek - free to anchor (although finding space may be a challenge!)
Studland Bay, Poole Harbour - free to anchor
Portland - no charge to anchor
Dart - you'll pay for either anchoring or mooring
Plymouth - free to anchor either in Cawsand or up river
Falmouth - payment to anchor in the harbour or upriver. Free off St Just or St Mawes
Helford - free to anchor
Scilly - free to anchor
CastleTownshend - free to anchor
Barloge - free (and idyllic - see avatar picture)
Baltimore - free to anchor
Crookhaven - free to anchor
Glengarriff - free to anchor
Sneem - free to anchor
Portmagee - free to anchor
Ventry - free to anchor
I'm tempted to say its free to anchor throughout Ireland, but I've only cruised from Kinsale to Dingle, so far....

 

[awol]

Luckily for you, I am in the position to let you have a 2022 season ticket for anchoring in Scottish waters at the discounted price of £200. Please PM me for bank details.

 

[NormanS]

Gosh! I've never heard of being charged for using your own anchor. What a sheltered life I've had.

 

[Kelpie]

I'm tempted to say its free to anchor throughout Ireland, but I've only cruised from Kinsale to Dingle, so far....

In 2012 we spent a couple of weeks cruising from Tory to Inishkea and never paid a eurocent anywhere-. This was for anchoring, moorings, and rafting up with fishing boats.

 

[[3889]]

Yealm, Salcombe and Dart have also had their undeveloped natural resources comandeered by locals for profit, each levying a fee for anchoring.
Maybe 'levelling up' will allow less affluent areas such as Milford Haven to levy a tax on out-of-towners for the provision of hydrocarbons, the infrastructure for which blights their locale. Or maybe not.

 

[BobnLesley]

...Falmouth - payment to anchor in the harbour or upriver. Free off St Just or St Mawes

That's a pleasant change: We were in the Fal River around twenty years ago and a summer squall came downriver, driving rain & the wind must've been blowing 30 knots and may even have topped 40 knots; we and several other boats dove into the bight off St Mawes seeking shelter until it blew through. There must've been a dozen or more boats all trying to get themselves anchored at once without hitting each other and with 20+ knots blowing even in there, but the single biggest difficulty was the harbourmaster's dory getting in everyone's way demanding his £5 or whatever it was anchoring fee; I presume they - like we did - realised it would be short-lived, so wanted to get their money in before the boats all left again? I'd motored us into a suitable spot, eased the revs and called to Lesley on the bow to deploy the anchor, but we got blown off; Lesley reporting that she couldn't drop it as harbourmaster's dory was sat right under our bow with the guy in their bow holding on to our pushpit and demanding that Lesley leave the anchor where it was until she'd gone back to the cabin and got his fee. Unsurprisingly the bow got blown off which called for urgent action to motor clear of the other yachts, throughout which we still had the dory man holding onto our bow! I was so peed off that I spun us out completely, unrolled a scrap of headsail and sailed back out into open water, we were out of St Mawes before he finally let go! A couple of days later when we visited St Mawes Castle, I took a mooring in Falmouth and took the ferry across from there, as I point blank refused to take the boat in and pay a St Mawes harbour fee!

 

[Boathook]

I visited a marina on the South coast and found the office closed but staff checking the marina, etc. Offered to pay but money machine in office. We were rushing to shops before they closed and the marina office closed at the same time. Agreement was we would pay if still there in morning when they arrived. We were leaving at around 5 am and told them so they wished us a good voyage. We did leave to catch the tide west.
Overall, I have found harbour / berthing masters very good and nice people to deal with.

 

[John_Silver]

That's a pleasant change: We were in the Fal River around twenty years ago and…… the single biggest difficulty was the harbourmaster's dory getting in everyone's way demanding his £5 or whatever it was anchoring fee;

Not sure what the official position is, but de facto I’ve never been asked to pay to anchor off St Mawes or St Just. Whereas, above Turnaware, it’s not long before the Truro dues boat noses into view!
The thing to watch at St Mawes is where you land the dinghy. If within the harbour, there’s definitely a rapid request for dues! Though that seems more forgivable, to me, than for anchoring.

 

[dgadee]

Doesn't the Duchy of Cornwall collect anchoring fees? I seem to remember paying years ago. I was happy to pay. He needs it.

 

[doug748]

I have an idea that most of the cases mentioned you are being required to contribute harbour dues. That is, you are paying to use the facilities of the harbour as it exists in statute, the lights the breakwaters the buoyage and administration of such.

In some cases this is fair enough, in the Falmouth town anchorage it's a steep charge but at least you have the use of good showers and you can actually see there are significant costs in running the harbour. As John Silver has suggested, it's difficult to imagine what expenses burden the Truro Harbourmaster, they collect anchoring fees for reasons lost in antiquity.

Both the Yealm and St Mawes have the right to ask for payment to the (extensive) outer harbour limits, both pretty exposed, as far as I know neither has tried to do so. If asked I would decline.
.

 

[Tranona]

It is straight forward economics. The places that charge for anchoring (as demonstrated by the examples above) are those that are highly popular and often space in short supply. At the same time the demand for harbour space and services require management which has to be paid for. Harbour authorities are set up to ,manage harbours and raise revenue from users through some form of levy on use of facilities. Many choose to apply a levy to those anchoring in the authority's are of control to ensure that all users make some contribution. The further you move away from those densely populated and managed harbours the less likely you are required to pay harbour dues or anchor charges.

Despite what some might think there is no "profit" motive in harbour dues - harbour authorities by law are non profit making.

 

[georgebertie]

A few years ago, I dropped anchor in a creek somewhere up the Fal. A pleasant young lad arrived to collect the dues,and asked if I was “local”. Apparently,the fees were reduced if one was. How does that work?Some element of discrimination surely? I wonder if he really did work for the harbour authority .........

 

[BobnLesley]

... a creek somewhere up the Fal. A pleasant young lad arrived to collect the dues,and asked if I was “local”. Apparently,the fees were reduced if one was. How does that work?Some element of discrimination surely? ...

We live in a heavily touristed area and there's a long simmering argument around their not being any reduction for locals and/or increase for visitors on charges to use the local facilities; the argument being that a substantial proportion of those facilities costs are already being paid for through their Council Tax/Business rates. Conversely, a large proportion of the local's generate their income which allows them to pay those Council Tax & Business Rate bills from Tourism.

 

[doug748]

A few years ago, I dropped anchor in a creek somewhere up the Fal. A pleasant young lad arrived to collect the dues,and asked if I was “local”. Apparently,the fees were reduced if one was. How does that work?Some element of discrimination surely? I wonder if he really did work for the harbour authority .........

The theory I have heard is that local boatowners, in a marina or on a swinging mooring, have already paid their harbour dues through the annual charge, which seems to make sense. As would a reciprocal agreement between Truro and Falmouth.

 

[jlink]

Thanks for all the responses, sounds like it's a uniquely south coast phenomenon! Good news is seems like only a handful of places charge.

 

[ibbo]

Doug is correct, If you pay your harbour dues in Falmouth, you don't have to pay more for Truro. They are all Cornwall Council.

They have accounts viewable on line, and make a healthy profit on it all. There are amenities available in the Truro area. £5.60/ night doesn't seem too steep compared to other areas, A lot more than free of course.

From their documentation.

Document Centre - Cornwall Harbours

Visitors harbour dues Applies to all vessels not kept permanently within the Fal estuary, and anchored in Channels Creek and above Turnaware Bar. Per day of part thereof (VAT inclusive) Concessionary ticket 10 visits £7.00 £56.00

 

[rotrax]

We spent a fair bit of time up the Fal, enjoyed it.

On the hook, £7.00 per night, water available on the pontoon below the King Harry Ferry, gash collected by the Harbour launch every day.

Regarding St Mawes, we anchor right down by the sailing club in the Percuil River. We only draw a metre so fine at Neaps. That is free.