The summer weather may have been indifferent but, astonishingly, the Harbour revenues so far this year are less than 15% down. That’s pretty good in all the circumstances. The number of visiting yachts is down yet again but visitors are staying a little longer, which is good. Unfortunately (who would want to run a harbour?) a longer stay means that it’s worthwhile visitors inflating their tenders so yacht taxi revenues have fallen.
It looks as if a solution has been worked out for the Kingsbridge basin moorings. This will involve leaving the top 100 metres of so of the basin clear of moorings and having a single long pontoon alongside the Promenade. It’s good that a solution has been found that satisfies everybody as all the Harbour Board’s previous options – including maintaining the status quo – were roundly rejected by both the Town Council and the Kingsbridge Estuary Boat Club. This solution should give improved security and tidal access, and level access to all moored boats – so no need for dangerous vertical ladders.
A continuing concern, which was discussed at the last Harbour Board, is collisions in the Harbour, particularly by boats which are racing. It so happens that there was one day this year when there was a strong westerly and yawls and others were rigging in Batson and screaming downwind past Whitestrand, only just (possibly sometimes not?) in control. A boat which is racing has no exemption from the requirement to navigate safely and, in any case, boats proceeding to the start line aren’t racing: so there’s absolutely no excuse for blasting past Whitestrand. On the same day there were again reports of moored yachts being damaged – all of which has revived the suggestion that racing should not be allowed through parts of the Harbour where there are moorings.
There is a serious issue of plastic bags in the Harbour. Underwater they look like jellyfish and up in the trees much like egrets. Either way they threaten wildlife. I suspect that most of these plastic bags have been blown rather than thrown there, in which case the normal public campaigns against them might make no difference. Perhaps instead we should run a campaign for people to pick up any litter which they see floating in the Harbour. We do this and it’s not difficult, but then we travel at rowing speeds; but stopping plastic bags floating about and sinking may be the best way of tackling this issue.
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