September 2021 PMBHA Newsletter

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Dear PMBHA members,

Hope everyone managed to have some good boating and made the most of the fine weather we have had. We have only sent out short bulletins over the past couple of months as news was sparse but there are now quite a lot of news items and updates. Apologies for the long newsletter! 

The PMBHA 'Interim Committee' over the summer have had some 'Zoom' and 'Teams' meetings with the Marina Management and the Maritime Officer on behalf of  the Berth holders, discussing parking, security, dredging, winter storage, bicycle storage, freezer etc.We have also brought up the issue of faulty trolleys, small children on pontoons without buoyancy aids, dogs of leads, maintenance and cleaning of the shower block; all of which have been addressed by the marina.

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• Channel dredging

Dredging of the channel and marina by Royal Smals will start in October. The mobilisation of plant and machinery will commence on the 4th October 2021 with work starting first at Doc Victoria and thereafter Pwllheli. In addition, Pwllheli harbour entrance will be dredged by Easter 2022. When work starts in Pwllheli it is likely to take about 3 weeks. A new hydrographic survey has been commissioned to identify high spots. At the moment the high spots look to be near Partingtons and at the marina entrance. The survey is shown on the PMBHA Website  https://www.pmbha.co.uk/ (2021 Depth Survey).

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• UK consultation on strengthening enforcement of the dangerous use of recreational and personal watercraft

The UK government is currently running a public consultation on legislation that would strengthen the powers of Harbour Authorities and Local Authorities with coastal responsibility, and enable them to deal with pleasure craft that navigate in an irresponsible and dangerous way. In essence, the consultation seeks views on proposed legislation from the Department for Transport to bring recreational and personal watercraft (PWCs) within scope of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act (MSA) 1995. This is following a prosecution with a successful appeal where a jet ski involved in an accident successfully argued that the MSA did not apply to recreational craft.  If the MSA is amended it will apply the same obligations which exist for the operators of ships, to PWCs and other recreational watercraft to ensure that they are operated safely. In cases of misuse, there would also be an additional power of prosecution for enforcement authorities. The definition of a pleasure boat would include all pleasure craft (powered or unpowered) between 2.5 and 24 metres in overall length. It would include jet skis, RIBs etc. Anyone can comment, including members of the public. The details, consultation document and email for comments can be found at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-enforcement-of-the-dangerous-use-of-recreational-and-personal-watercraft

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• Pwllheli Marina Berth Holder 3 Minute Customer Survey 2021

Each year PMBHA runs a short survey on behalf of Hafan Pwllheli. Its purpose is to provide feedback to the Marina Management about customer satisfaction, demographics and future plans. Plus, it’s helpful information for us at PMBHA too. We will send the survey out this month as a separate message. We know that our emails go out to a large distribution list comprising many folk who have an interest in the goings on at the marina, but as the survey is only applicable to customers of Hafan Pwllheli, please only take part in the survey if you are an annual berth holder (i.e. have a Gwynedd Council Contract). 

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• Security upgrade

In the June newsletter we mentioned that the current card system will be replaced with fobs. This was delayed during the busy August period and work will now commence on September 27th . It is likely to take about a month. The logistics of how to manage the changeover to the new system is yet to be decided.

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• Car parking

This has been a problem on busy days during August although most of the rest of the time car parking space has been adequate. However, with marina occupancy so high it is still an issue. The marina is currently looking to increase the number of parking spaces by laying out the car park more efficiently and taking out flower beds etc. 

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• Freezer

In the past, a small freezer has been available to members for freezing ice packs etc. It was located within the “staff only” area of the marina office. The freezer has been taken out of service because people traffic into the “staff only” area is not desirable for COVID and general security reasons. Ice cubes are available to buy from the office. We have put the ice packs that were in the old freezer in a box to the right of the door on the ground floor of the marina office. If any of them are yours then please collect them.

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• Defibrillator

This has been ordered and should be here soon.

• Bicycle storage

There are an increasing number of bikes around the marina and we have asked whether a covered bicycle storage area could be provided. This has been agreed in principle but a suitable place needs to be identified.

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• Underwater camera

PMBHA has bought an underwater camera that can be used on the marina to check the bottom of boats, anodes etc. It is a large, fragile bit of kit and we are currently having a box made for it. It is also quite complicated to use. We are proposing to have several volunteers who will be trained to operate it and then offer its use (with a volunteer operator) to our members. We are also proposing to charge £10 per use, to cover costs (e.g. insurance and upkeep) with any excess being donated to the RNLI. If you would like to be a volunteer operator and to be trained to use it, please let us know at pmbha1234@gmail.com .