Oban pontoons

[Daveanmucker]

I was up in Oban last week and picked up a bit of gossip about a plan to install pontoons by the esplanade. When on Kerrerra I noticed that they have started work at extending the pontoons as part of the ongoing investment.

Does anyone know what is happening with the Oban town pontoons, is it a real possibility this time.?

[Nick]

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It will be a typical underfunded Argyll and Bute fiasco if you ask me. The plan is for a floating breakwater, which will probably be an unsightly mess full of fishing boats and scrap blocking Oban's best view and may well end up on the main street come a decent Winter storm.

Far better to get some sensible funding and build a proper yacht harbour in the NE corner of Oban Bay, but there is more chance of an international ski resort on Ben Lora.

More info: http://www.oban.ws/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=155

[stevepick]

Dave

I am slightly more optimistic than Nick. The community company website is here . They are trying to model it on the Tobermory setup, which ( whatever sailors think) has been very succesful for the town of Tobermory in getting people to visit by sea. Its not just yachts, the small liners that sail the west coast are also part of the business plan. They have on the board a member of the Tobermory development team, and there is cash out there from the Crown Estates to support schemes like this. As Nick says the breakwater is a big issue, but lets see what they propose to do for this .
As an aside - there are loads of interesting articles on the "invasion" of the NW by southern yachts on the oban marine website,you are in the vanguard Dave!

Steve

[Nick]

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To me the fact that corporate membership of the organisation can be had for £1 shows how high they are aiming . . .

Suppose Webcraft had better sign up - Pole Position have

[Telo]

Suppose Webcraft had better sign up - Pole Position have

[claymore]

Jings - that was a sicht tae turn a man's coffee cold - a twaheededwebmeister

[Telo]

Ackshully, I'm coming over to stevepick's point of view. My concerns, expressed in the earlier thread, were partly about the chop coming in in poor weather, and about the cooncil's record in aiding and abetting the destruction of Oban's rather fine Victorian railway station in the 1980s.

The first concern is easily rectified - if it's unpleasant then the skipper can always move and re-moor or anchor somewhere else. Oban is not unique in that respect.

Secondly, while I do not have a high regard for the previous dismal approach to the town's heritage, is that a good reason to assume that this development will necessarily be negative? Having read more about it, I rather like the proposals, and feel more confident that a community not-for-profit company is best placed to look after the town's interests.

While I grumble about the costs of stopping overnight in Tobermory, I also have to recognise that the expansion of the moorings and the pontoon development have been beneficial for bringing increased income and employment to that town.

Oban deserves an opportunity to benefit from the marine leisure industry, so yes, I've changed my mind. I wish the project well, and hope that it is sensitively managed in a manner that enhances the amenities of Oban.

[claymore]

Oh God - are you back on the medication again? I hate this aquiescence in you.

I used the pontoon in Oban in the Early 1980's and remember that it was a bit of a sod if the wind was coming up Kerrera Sound. I love Oban and we did once look at buying a flat there which I'm glad we didn't now. If it helps to bring prosperity in the way that Tobermory has benefited then I too am all for it. I have a slight concern regarding the fairness of it in the light of the private investment that has been put into Kerrera and Dunstaffnage - then again, there's no sentiment in business.

[Telo]

Jings - that was a sicht tae turn a man's coffee cold - a twaheededwebmeister

I could never quite put my finger on it, but I always felt there was something just that liitle bit different about Webcraft;