BLUEMOMENT

‘This is particularly true for powerboat owners and this may well be a strong reason why Scotland is not yet seen as a strong powerboat market,’ suggested industry committee member Simon Limb of Clyde Marina based at Ardrossan.

‘In the rest of the UK, powerboat sales exceed sailboats by four to one. In Scotland this ratio is reversed and so there is clearly a great deal of room to expand the powerboat sector and grow the boating parc on the Clyde,’ said Simon.

The above is a quote from theis months' Yachting Life. It is one argument from the 'industry' for having better landing facilities installed in the like of Lochranza, Kames and Colintraive, amongst other places.

This raises a number of queries:

1 I don't like the Clyde being referred to a 'boating parc'
2 Can't wait to see where they intend siting pontoon facilities off Kames.
3 The only reason they need pontoons is because potential powerboat owners can't row, or are unwilling to get their brand new Sebago shoes wet?
4 At Colintraive, the owner says she cannot cope with the number of customers coming off boats from the six moorings she has laid. Where will the other 'boaters' go?

The full article is http://www.yachtinglife.co.uk/news.php?storynumber=389.

I was going to post on another website, but decided against as the topic would not be comprehensible to those who sail on the Solent.

Donald

tend to agree with your sentiments. there are already some 17 places where power boats can moor on pontoons in the " clyde " from ayr north and probably other places where they could tie alongside for varying periods.

old and creaky as i am a few more strategically placed dinghy pontoons would not come amiss however

Thanks for the link (a quick tour round their site reminded why I was never terribly keen on Yachting Life). It seems that a business development group called "Sail Clyde" want pontoons "in key locations between a half and a day's sail from the main facilities".

According to Mike Balmforth,

Three objectives have been identified by Sail Clyde. One is doubling the marina capacity in the Clyde by creating another 3,000 berths.

The second is to establish pontoon facilities in key locations between a half and a day's sail from the main facilities: ‘a safe haven to sail to’. Finally, the publication of a users' guide to facilities, similar to the popular but now unavailable ‘Welcome Ashore’ booklet.

Oh dear....

....and of course just to impart that extra degree of impartiality, one of the members of 'Sail Clyde' is none other than the Editor-in-Chief of...................................





......yup 'Yachting Life'

This is one big con.

Donald

Donald ,

I saw this too, not quite as cynical as you ( possibly cos I am based in dunstaffnage, and not the clyde!), but several points came to mind:
1. They surely can't intend to do a "tobermory" and plant 10 berth fingers in half a dozen sites around the clyde? That would cost too much , my reading of the article suggested more "landing" facilities, lets face it, how many mobo folk have a pair of wellies for getting ashore?
2. "Boat parc" - its horrible, but thats modern marketing speak!
3. 3000 marina berths in 10 years time? Are all the current marinas full? I know kip put in more berths this year, portavadie this year and possibly toward in the next few years - but where will all the boats come from? Maybe there will be a lot more Mobo folk ( but what about the hike in fuel next year?).
4. I can understand the thinking, boat based tourism is pretty underdeveloped in scotland, and it would help some of the remoter businesses - I noted one hotel (it migth have been the Kames hotel??) is advertising it's only a short taxi ride from Portavadie now!

Steve

I don't like the term "Boat Parc" either. One of the good bits about the Clyde is that it's not over used, though I could have been fooled at weekends. And it's still sheltered for small boat sailing like as what I do.

It's a part of being there that you need a dingy and some wellies if you are going ashore.

If they are going to start putting more dingy jetties in, are they going to drop more moorings too especially places like Millport where the existing moorings fill quickly? Who is "they"?

Having sailed quite a bit on Windermere, it's much better now that it's mainly Yachts. Some of the trip boats still have ridiculous wash, but there are no jet ski's or skiers buzzing you. The speed merchants come out after 17:00 when the Warden has gone home but they are relativly harmless and I can't begrudge them a bit of fun.

I was made aware of a "consultation" to site a pontoon in a heretofore untouched part of the Kyles. More by way of alerting folk I have raised this as a topic of conversation with a few friends with an interest in the area.
So far none have expressed any welcome and most have simply wondered what use such a development could have. Such negativity does not seem to be outright nimby-ism because the general concensus was that any move to provide service to the yotty (power or sail) community would be welcome.
Development for its own sake, however, gets the brow over a jaundiced eye somewhat raised.
When I think of the pleasures of boating they are more often than not directly related to the lack of "amenities". It will be a sad day when the characteristic of an area needs to be altered to meet the expectations of the otherwise uninterested.
So there!

Hello chaps. I'm more worried that all this activity would kill off too many good anchorages. We don't need/want to be tied on to a mains socket like many mobos seem to, and can't afford it either. I bet there's lots like me who may have to swallow the anchor if we can't park for free.

stevepick wrote:Donald ,

(Cut)
4. I can understand the thinking, boat based tourism is pretty underdeveloped in scotland, and it would help some of the remoter businesses - I noted one hotel (it migth have been the Kames hotel??) is advertising it's only a short taxi ride from Portavadie now!

Steve

blimey me, TAXI???? Kames hotel has a perfectly good anchorage right outside! Or it did when I was there 15 years ago.

Whole West coast is boat orientated, it was the main form of transport until the era of cheap cars in the 1950's. Loads of little harbours/ jetties & anchorages, mostly very sheltered too. Almost all are only a few hours apart. Could do with trimming off a bit of the kelp tho'.

Arghiro wrote:

stevepick wrote:Donald ,


blimey me, TAXI???? Kames hotel has a perfectly good anchorage right outside! Or it did when I was there 15 years ago.

Couldn't agree more. The beach at Kames is perfectly good enough for me for the last harumph number of years...

Donald