Assorted mooring thoughts from Herbie and me

Mooring postcode lottery? Should we move? -  NB Herbie

In a blog post this week, Neil this week muses interestingly on the options about where to base his boat.

A clear worry is about cost (and Neil mentions price a lot; it's clearly on his mind).  But he also talks about variety, options and the facilities available at moorings.

His recent time on the Anglian rivers makes him wonder if the £1,700pa he pays for a London-area mooring is worth it, and he tosses up the option of a possible £300 on a yacht-club river mooring compared with the chance of the river being in flood for two months a year.

[Gosh, that takes me back!  A quick detour down Memory Lane:

I remember the autumn of 2002, when I was stranded on the Nene for a fortnight by flooding at Oundle Cruising Club.  The club was VERY hospitable, but being stuck there for two weeks did feel like a gilded cage.  (I joined the club for two years, and still have the burgee.) 

And I remember just two months later at Redhill Marina on the River Soar and Trent, where I was marooned by flooding all over Christmas and the New Year.  Again, nice people with nice manners who honoured me with safety at low cost, but I wished to be back with the comfort blanket of my canals.

However, canals aren't always secure either.  The following summer I reached the outskirts of Liverpool and was dismayed to find myself trapped for four weeks at Mersey Motor Boat Club by a canal breach.

But that particular time did provide one of my more bizarre experiences.  BW offered the trapped boats a get-out-of-Liverpool-free card, and I took up their offer. 

I followed my boat on Lancashire lanes between Burscough and White Bear Marina, and my abiding memory is of Granny Buttons overtaking a tractor pulling straw.  I was following at about 40mph - irresponsibly taking a photo while driving - and the boat was still accelerating away!]

Neil mentions two other options:

There ought to be a mooring swap system, that would be good. 

Or we could do what Granny Buttons does and that is move every week or two - a bit of a commitment that and a bit risky but Andrew seems to manage it OK.

I don't know about a mooring swap system, but it probably exists, even if only informally.

And my continuous cruising isn't a cheap option either, Neil.  For most of the last ten years I've been moving slowly but surely around England (and a bit of Wales), only staying longer than a fortnight when I'm having work done on my boat. 

I'd guess that my continuous cruising is costing me at least £3,500 a year in additional travel costs to and from the boat, perhaps 45 times a year,  on top of owning the boat and the cost of the regular car shuffle. 

Continuous cruising is not the cheap option.

Comments

[Andrew Denny]

To be fair, I did say 'London area'. Perhaps I should have said 'London-ish'.

But consider: at Iver you are closer to central London than many parts of the BCN are to central Birmingham.

And you are within walking distance of Langley station, and a 15-minute train journey to Paddington. Lucky Herbie!

[Neil Corbett]

Well not really London - linear private moorings down the Slough Arm. Well kept and secure too. We know its the cheapest good mooring hereabouts, but it still makes you think when people in clubs on the Nen pay £300 or less!

Neil

[Brenda]

£1,700 pa for a London Mooring. I'll take it. Its £3,000 up here in the centre of Birmingham!