bookable thames visitor moorings ?

[magnetman]

Spotted this on another forum

http://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/about/

 

Not keen on it myself as I could see it making a trip up the River much less relaxing if everything has to be booked in advance.

 

Also completely unenforceable I would have thought.

Edited September 28, 2016 by magnetman

[peterboat]

Would suit the gin palace owners when I was on the Thames [2008] we hardly ever paid for moorings seemed like setting off early and mooring early meant that I missed the cash collectors [they seemed to come around in the morning]

The gin palaces seemed to set off late and moor late which meant that sometimes they struggled to find moorings

[Thames Visitor Moorings]

Thank you for raising this.

 

We confirm that there is no booking in advance involved.

 

We would love to chat further as clearly our website needs tweaked to make this clearer and would welcome your input.

If you would like to, we can be contacted via http://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/contact/

 

We hope that good, friendly management will make enforcement unnecessary, and we will be working hard with this in mind.

 

This is for us boaters and that is at all times uppermost in our minds.

[magnetman]

OK that's for clarifying that. I think the eventual outcome (logical) would be pre-booking but I may be wrong.

 

Since you mention enforcement - how would this be done? Its a massive job or were you thinking of a self managing system where boat users keep an eye on the others?

[Tony Brooks]

If private land owners want to contract this lot to manage their moorings then so be it but I do not like the idea of a private setup trying to take over and manage the few EA short term moorings available for visiting boaters. I just hope the town councils refuse to deal with the as well.

[Ex Brummie]

In Windsor, this year, we encountered a very efficient/aggressive warden who was asking for the fee before we even had a rope tied. The ticket was relatively anonymous, although it did bear reference to the Town Council, bore the name Windsor Castle Moorings. I assumed that the Council has 'leased' the moorings to an outside Company who are intent on realising their asset.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Ex Brummie

[Tony Brooks]

A lot do that. Copas farms around Hambledon come to mind.

[cereal tiller]

In Windsor, this year, we encountered a very efficient/aggressive warden who was asking for the fee before we even had a rope tied. The ticket was relatively anonymous, although it did bear reference to the Town Council, bore the name Windsor Castle Moorings. I assumed that the Council has 'leased' the moorings to an outside Company who are intent on realising their asset.

You assume correctly,the Windsor leisure centre used to deploy their staff to collect mooring fees but the Leisure centre is now run by a private company

 

The council put the moorings out to tender and the individual you encountered is employed by the aforementioned 'Windsor castle moorings'

 

This new system is in it's second year of operation,time will tell if this company sustains

 

You are not the only boater that has found the fee collecting situation to be less than amicable

 

CT

[RichLech]

Don't really understand the value add of the Thames Visitor Moorings concern. How is it financed and is it just taking money that would otherwise go to EA?

 

I've travelled on the Thames between Weybridge and Oxford two or three times a year for the last four years and have found that the EA visitor moorings work well. We only want to stay in each place for one night and although we do see a few instances of boats staying more than one night this system of registration seems to be a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

 

Occasionally I see a lockie checking the moorings and perhaps collecting £5.00 for a subsequent night. How does this fit with the TVM organisation?

 

From my current understanding it just seems to be unnecessary bureaucracy to me. If I just stay one night each time and do not bother to register, what's the harm?

 

 

Reference the Windsor moorings, we stayed on Baths Island last week. The fee was collected by a very pleasant attendant and I was happy to pay for the privilege of mooring in such a lovely location.