Yarmouth Harbour Changes

[Oceanstroller]

Just for the record, Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners are NOT elected by the townspeople. They are self chosen , with a quarter made up from co-opted members (ie, a representative from Yarmouth town council, Wightlink etc) and as such, are a law unto themselves. They have consultation, but ge
nerall y take little or no account of what other people say.

 

[Oceanstroller]

All of the facts can be found here http://www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk/news.php

As for not thinking of the town - YHC ARE the town. Local people ELECTED to represent local interests, many of whom run local businesses - so why would the town not figure in the calcualtions?

Just for the record, Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners are NOT elected by the towns people of Yarmouth.They are self elected with about 1/4 co-opted from other parties(ie,Yarmouth town council, Wight Link etc) and despite them having discussions and presentations, traditionally have never taken any notice of other peoples views. They are a law unto themselves and need to be stopped.

 

[Oceanstroller]

All of the facts can be found here http://www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk/news.php

As for not thinking of the town - YHC ARE the town. Local people ELECTED to represent local interests, many of whom run local businesses - so why would the town not figure in the calcualtions?

Just for the record, Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners are NOT elected by the townspeople. they are self elected and only one quarter are co-opted ( ie Yarmouth town Council, Wight Link etc) and as a result have become a law unto themselves. Only one of them is resident inYarmouth ( then only part time) the vast majority not living within the catchement area to even qualify for a mooring. The driving force behind this latest scheme, The Harbourmaster/ Chief Executive,doesnt even live on the island. There is no provision in this new scheme to make available within the main harbour ,any non walk ashore berths for local or visiting boats, all will (if they come)have no option but to pay much higher prices. A CLEAR FISCAL CLEANSING POLICY.

 

[chris225]

Putting the Record Straight

Dear All

I reluctantly enter the fray to put the record staright and put right some misconceptions, and hopefully let you know that we value your custom, whatever your views.

I am Chris Lisher, the one with the long job title, Chief Executive/Harbourmaster, and I'm a Commissioner, so on the Board.

I am not aware that I, any Commissioner or any employee has made any entry on this thread of discussion.

We are currently consulting on the Inner Harbour Reconfiguration Project, if you have constructive views we would welcome them, please complete a feedback form that you can find at our website www.yarmouth-harbour.co.uk or collect one from the Harbour Office, please return by 15 January 2010.

The other eight Commissioners are volunteers, anyone can apply, there is a selection process. Currently three live in Yarmouth, three in the west Wight and two elsewhere on the Island, a good spread I think.

We are trying to improve the infrastructure of the harbour and its facilities, and the financial security of the harbour for the future, and bring more business to the town. Let's also not forget that we are trying to respond to the majority of our customers. Our Berthging Masters say that 90% of the vessels that arrive at the harbour entrance request a walk ashore pontoon. Our survey (yes we did interview people on all types of berth i yarmouth, and some in Cowes and Lymington) showed that 75% of visitors had a preference for a walk ashore pontoon berth. Our resident survey showed that 43% preferred a walk ashore pontoon.

The character of Yarmouth is surely much more than pontoons and piles and the layout of the harbour, surely its also about the town, its restaurants and pubs, shops etc, its proximity and the local countryside walks and bike rides; and the harbour employees such as Charlotte and the Berthing Masters, Pete and Julie and their team in Reception and those in the Office who answer your calls.

Even if this development goes ahead as laid out in the current plans most of our resident berths will be non walk ashore, either on pontoons and piles in the river or the Sandhard pontoons. There will still be some non walk ashore berths for visitors, on Town Quay, on the 35 buoys outside the breakwater, and some areas for rafting in the harbour.

To repat we'd welcome your constructive feedback, but its important that its on a feedback form, that's why we are consulting.

We hope to see you all in Yarmouth in 2010 and forthcoming years

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I think a number of people are assuming that tony345 is a representative of the harbour authority, I don't know that he is. I get the impression that he is a local harbour user. I am sure he will correct me if I am wrong.

The rest of this post isn't directed specifically at you Robin.

Although tony345's could perhaps be called blunt, I have also been guilty of a similar attitude to visitors to Cowes - there does sometimes seem to be an attitude from people visiting from the mainland which grates on the people who live here - having crossed the Solent Ocean some people almost seem to be saying "we're bringing our money to your little island - you should be grateful...". It isn't like that anymore, the island is a county, has it's own economy and most of the money goes to national/international businesses.

No one would dream of going into a Portsmouth Harbour Marina and saying "The people of Gosport/Portsmouth should be grateful for us spending our money in their shops" or "Haslar Marina shouldn't have put in those pontoons, they should put the piles and buoys back in Haslar Lake". I don't understand why they do it here.

By all means come over and enjoy the place but the island is moving on the same as everywhere else and at the end of the day is only responding to demand. I am sure people objected when pontoons, the non walk ashores, were put in the harbour but they still filled up before the pile berths.

There are always going to be some people who don't like the change and move on but there are probably twice as many who will be attracted by the change and then newcomers who don't even know what it used to be like. I don't think Yarmouth will ever have to take out the walkashores because people stop coming.

Just seen this and I can't pass it by without comment. Any business should be extremely grateful for it's customers whether they 'grate' or not. Perhaps in this one thread we have part of the reason why British owned and run businesses are declining and so many of our world class businesses are owned or run by foreigners who better understand the meaning of customer focus. Yes, if I visit Cowes or Yarmouth, I do expect the recipients of the money I spend in these places to be grateful. Nobody expects grovelling servitude but to be shown respect and an acknowledgement that the customer is king. Thats how any successful business runs and people like me are very happy to take our money elsewhere if we feel that the company or organisation that we are doing business with are not exhibiting these characteristics

 

[nicho]

We hope to see you all in Yarmouth in 2010 and forthcoming years

Well Chris, you can count on us to remain regular visitors. We much prefer the walkashore (along with the majority it sems), in particular for the water/electrics (even though we have a genny on board). The lack of rafting is also important to us, having too often suffered from inebriated people staggering across our decks in the early hours.

Yarmouth is such a great place to visit, fabulous walks, good pubs/restaurants, and a good bus service to the rest of the Island, I do not see you losing any custom from the vast majority of boaters in the Solent.

Our best wishes to you and the "lads" and "lass" in the dorys for Christmas and New Year, and look forward to seeing you all soon.

 

[l'escargot]

Just seen this and I can't pass it by without comment. Any business should be extremely grateful for it's customers whether they 'grate' or not. Perhaps in this one thread we have part of the reason why British owned and run businesses are declining and so many of our world class businesses are owned or run by foreigners who better understand the meaning of customer focus. Yes, if I visit Cowes or Yarmouth, I do expect the recipients of the money I spend in these places to be grateful. Nobody expects grovelling servitude but to be shown respect and an acknowledgement that the customer is king. Thats how any successful business runs and people like me are very happy to take our money elsewhere if we feel that the company or organisation that we are doing business with are not exhibiting these characteristics

If by recipients you mean the marina operators etc. fair comment but I did say "which grates on the people who live here". I do not personally benefit from the visitors to the island and as such can object to their snotty attitudes in pubs/restaurants/marinas and be totally unimpressed by their dramatic tales of derring do by crossing the Solent Ocean as they sit in pubs in their lifejackets fully prepared for an extraordinary high tide.

 

[Fire99]

If by recipients you mean the marina operators etc. fair comment but I did say "which grates on the people who live here". I do not personally benefit from the visitors to the island and as such can object to their snotty attitudes in pubs/restaurants/marinas and be totally unimpressed by their dramatic tales of derring do by crossing the Solent Ocean as they sit in pubs in their lifejackets fully prepared for an extraordinary high tide.

My question to this is, do you think attitudes will change from the 'visitors' once the Harbour changes are made? Or, as it appears prices overall will be dearer, will it simply price-out the more humble visitor on a budget and still be left with the very eliment you would rather avoid?

 

[l'escargot]

My question to this is, do you think attitudes will change from the 'visitors' once the Harbour changes are made? Or, as it appears prices overall will be dearer, will it simply price-out the more humble visitor on a budget and still be left with the very eliment you would rather avoid?

No I don't think it will. I think there are lots of quaint memories of the romantic Yarmouth Harbour (and many other places in the Solent) which are just that - fond memories of yesteryear. The hard up family sailor in the sub 25 foot boat that wants to tie up on piles and raft has all but gone. Certainly I have seen less and less of them around this area in recent years. The 30'+ AWB (sail & motor) seems to be the standard now and they expect facilities to match.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

I've been visiting Yarmouth for 5 years now, usually making between 3 and 5 visits each year.
Sometimes it's been in the very early hours, a stop off to catch the tide first thing, othertimes as somewhere to lay up for a long weekend while we go for walks, bus rides or eat in the town.
Until this last year we have always been warmly welcomed upon arrival, and as a small 28' yacht, we have always been squeezed in, even when it is really busy- which we have been most grateful for.
However, in the last two visits we have come accross a couple of new faces in the 'berthing' team who have been very offhand and grumpy and it's amazing how this can change your perception of a place.
Long live the romance of this little port and it's a pity it's often full of overgrown plastic.