New moorings and pontoon in Ardminish Bay, Gigha

[Nick]

.
Over the coming Winter Gigha Heritage Trust is to install six new moorings including four for 'heavy boats' and renew all the existing moorings.

The existing jetty will be replaced by a pontoon with 2m minimum depth.

There will, they say, still be space for anchoring.

[Storyline]

Could be useful for taking on water. Same sort of story as Canna, good for islanders but i cannot help feeling it will change the atmosphere a bit. Saw the plans in the new cafe and it looked like they were keeping existing jetty and just extending it. Hopefully will be a sympathetic development.

Probably encourage more visitors from NI

[wully]

Will they also be getting rid of drunken, obnoxious, ungrateful farts who can't stay in their dinghy and " I don't need your help" ar5es?

[marisca]

Will they also be getting rid of drunken, obnoxious, ungrateful farts who can't stay in their dinghy and " I don't need your help" ar5es?

Sounds like there's a story there - do tell?

[Nick]

Sounds like there's a story there - do tell?

BRIEF PRECIS HERE

- it will give you a rough idea of what transpired.

[marisca]

Sounds like there's a story there - do tell?

BRIEF PRECIS HERE

- it will give you a rough idea of what transpired.

Ah, it is the amnesia of old age. I even contributed to the counter-thread on TOP.

I once pulled a guy out of the water when there was snow on the pontoons. Nae thanks, but apparently I hurt his shoulder.

[Tex]

Does any one know if these plans are going ahead and more importantly do they include upgrading the onshore facilities?

[wully]

Does any one know if these plans are going ahead and more importantly do they include upgrading the onshore facilities?

Dunno, give me a few weeks and I'll report back.

[Tex]

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Having visited this week I can report that nothing has changed. Big disappointment and again Welcome Achorages has incorrect information. When we will they stop publishing ideas rather than facts?

[mm5aho]

We have an incident recorded in the ships log from the 1970s from Ardminish. Co-owners daughter recorded in beautiful primary school handwriting how they rowed ashore to the jetty in the inflatable, tied it up and went for a walk to the gardens. On returning the dinghy had blown under the jetty and the tide had flooded (fortunately small rise in tides at Gigha), trapping the dinghy underneath. This quite long but articulate entry of 2 pages details how a "nice" French man cam and assisted in deflating the dinghy to get it out from underneath. But then the dilemma of how to get back to the boat where the pump is to re-inflate. Some other "nice man" came to help with that problem, rowing them out with a partly inflated dinghy in tow.

But I wonder about the more recent plans for 2m depth at a pontoon. Is there enough water for that or is dredging contemplated? Or a very long pontoon.

The general concept of having moorings owned by the community seems a missed opportunity by many islands. Yachts mooring overnight bring in money. If there's a shop, a tearooms, or more importantly a pub, then people will spend money. The mooring fees need to be reasonable, but that income will help service the moorings if not pay for it.
Tiree is an island that could learn this lesson - not such a great anchorage, bit exposed, but more people would go there for moorings. Its good to see other islands picking up the idea, and the income it generates.

[Storyline]

Also visited last week and there is certainly demand for more moorings. It was a Tuesday evening and having decided to anchor before we arrived there was no stress as to whether there would be any moorings free. Just as well as at 17:00 all the moorings were taken with a further half dozen boats at anchor. At nightfall there were more than a dozen at anchor.

Something must have happened with the funding. As regards the development I am ambivalent, it has got too busy now to be the Gigha we fell in love with many years ago but the addition of water on the extended jetty would be useful (if there is enough depth for us).

[cpedw]

I am responding from a half-remembered conversation so there is some vagueness and probably inaccuracy ...

The funding I believe is sound. There was a hiccup of some sort in getting all permissions by spring so, having finally gained all necessary permission, funds and contractor about May, it was decided to postpone the whole renewal operation so that there would be a full set of moorings through the busiest time, rather than reducing the number of moorings in July/August while carrying out the improvements. The work is going to happen later, barring accidents in plenty of time for next season.

Derek

[cpedw]

Wrong as ever. Recent developments are described here. WHAM news

[Storyline]

Wrong as ever. Recent developments are described here. WHAM news

o/t - good to hear they are hopefully going to move that mooring in Ardalanish as it really spoils the desolate beauty of the place. Does not interfere with one boat anchoring but it is nearly in the centre of the pool and would make it difficult for a second boat (there is a powerful rib on it so you could bump into it when swinging without damage but the ground tackle could cause concern).

Edit: just had a look on google earth and on reflection maybe there is still room for 2-3 boats

[DaveS]

Wrong as ever. Recent developments are described here. WHAM news

o/t - good to hear they are hopefully going to move that mooring in Ardalanish as it really spoils the desolate beauty of the place. Does not interfere with one boat anchoring but it is nearly in the centre of the pool and would make it difficult for a second boat (there is a powerful rib on it so you could bump into it when swinging without damage but the ground tackle could cause concern).

Edit: just had a look on google earth and on reflection maybe there is still room for 2-3 boats

Last year I decided (wrongly I expect) that the mooring made it a bit tight to anchor there so I went into the next bay north, which was OK but more subject to swell. Be good if the mooring goes!