Club Moorings
There is one 12 metre space vacant. Another berth holder, who has paid, has now decided not to come and that leaves a further space of 19.8 metres. There are also four trot moorings vacant. For further information please contact the Club's Honorary Moorings Officer, Peter Tracey on moorings@royalthames.com
Moorings
The Club operates moorings in two locations, Cowes and Hamble. At Cowes, moorings are mostly temporary and exclusively for the use of visiting members. On the Hamble, the moorings are permanent with some space available for visiting members when permanent berth holders are away. The rules governing the use of the moorings are set by the Sailing Committee and approved by the General Committee. The day-to-day operation of the Club moorings at Cowes is the responsibility of the Chief Sailing Officer. On the Hamble, Peter Tracey (Shambhala) acts as the Club's Honorary Moorings Officer. Peter can be contacted via email at mistert@supanet.com or on 01264 738285.
HAMBLE
At Hamble the Club owns 115 metres of pontoon and 5 trot moorings, held under licence from the Crown Estates and supervised by Hamble Harbour Master. These moorings and berths are leased to members on an annual basis as permanent berths for their yachts. The Club has no casual or visitor moorings on the Hamble, although one or more of the permanently-held berths may be temporarily free if the member is away for any length of time. It is a condition of holding a Club Hamble mooring or berth that the Honorary Moorings Officer (Peter Tracey, Shambhala) - be informed of an absence of more than 14 days, expressly to permit the temporary use of the berth by other members.
Unlike other Clubs on the Hamble, the RTYC moorings and berths are not allocated by annual ballot, with the risk of a successful member being bounced from his berth after just one year. Rather, a berth once allocated is held on an annually renewable agreement that will be renewed automatically provided the original conditions of allocation remain unaltered. In other words, provided you remain a member, pay the fees on time, you keep your berth for as long as you want it. If you change your yacht, we will do our best to accommodate you but cannot guarantee it. The letting year runs from April 1st to March 31st the following year.
How do I obtain a Club mooring or berth?
Contact Peter Tracey and, if no berth or mooring is immediately available, go on the waiting list.
Towards the end of October, every existing berth holder will be contacted to ask if a the berth will be required the following year.
Application forms will then be sent out which should be received back in the Club by the end of November, accompanied by a deposit of around 10% of the annual berthing.
If no application is received by the end of December, the Club assumes the berth will not be required, and contacts the next member on the waiting list looking for a berth of that length. If no member on the waiting list requires the berth, the berth will be more widely advertised within the Club, on the Notice Boards and on the web site.
The reason the booking process begins so early is because most commercial marinas require berth holders to make bookings in January - members hoping to get a Club mooring therefore need to know by January whether or not they have been successful.
By the end of January, the berth application process should be complete and it will be possible to finalise the charge for the coming year. Berth allocation follows, and a letter will be sent confirming charges for the following year together with the Mooring or Berthing Agreement and an invoice for the outstanding balance of the annual charge.
The agreement must be returned, along with the balance of the fee within 28 days, otherwise the Club will assume the berth is no longer required and efforts will be made to let it elsewhere.
If a berth or mooring holder changes to a different size of yachts, every effort is made to accommodate the new yacht – but it is not guaranteed..
The charge for a Club pontoon berth on the Hamble in 2007 is £150 per metre on the more exposed fairway side and £160 on the inside; for a fore-and-aft mooring on the trots, the charge is £1,260.
Location
The Club's moorings and berths are all in the southern, Warsash, reaches of the River Hamble, between Warsash and Hamble Point.
We have five 30-footer fore-and-aft moorings (HB20A –E on the chartlet) situated on the Warsash side, south of Warsash SC jetty.
The pontoon run is between piles B11 and B16 on the Hamble Point side of the main fairway, upstream of the long run of Visitors' pontoon. The RTYC section of this pontoon run is the southern end: in the middle of the run are the berths of the Household Division YC, at the northern end the berths of most of the local fishing boats. In addition the Club holds four berths at the North end of the HM's visitors pontoons, between piled B9 and B10.
Mooring holders also have free use of the club’s private parking and dinghy storing facility at Warsash.
Conditions under which the berths are held.
The rules covering occupation of the Club's mooring and berths are contained in the Yachting Byelaws, in particular Byelaw Y15.
Y15.MOORINGS
Y15.1The Club has available for letting to members a number of moorings on the River Hamble at Warsash and at Cowes. There are both buoyed and pontoon moorings for yachts of varying dimensions and displacements. Whilst the Club shall make every endeavour to keep its moorings in a serviceable condition, it cannot accept responsibility for damage caused to, or by yachts breaking adrift from Club moorings through any cause whatsoever. Members should consequently satisfy themselves that their allocated moorings are adequate for their requirement, and that they have adequate insurance cover.
Y15.2 Applications for a mooring, giving details of the member's yacht, should be made to the Sailing Secretary.
Y15.3 All applications for moorings will be dealt with in strict rotation, but will be dependent on availability consistent with the size of the yacht in question. A list of mooring holders and a waiting list will be maintained by the Sailing Secretary.
Y15.4 The operation and maintenance of the moorings shall be the responsibility of the Sailing Committee, which shall nominate a Moorings Sub-Committee to which it may delegate some of these duties. The Moorings Sub-Committee shall be appointed by the Committee and shall consist on no fewer than six full members two of whom shall be moorings holders and one of whom, other than the Chairman, shall be an appointed member of the Sailing Committee. The Honorary Moorings Officer and the Chief Sailing Officer shall be ex-officio members of the Moorings Sub-Committee. Four members shall constitute a quorum. Ex-officio members shall not vote nor count towards determining a quorum. The Chairman of the Moorings Sub-Committee shall be appointed by the Flag Officer and shall normally be the Rear Commodore (Finance) or the Rear Commodore (Sailing).
Y15.5 The annual fee for the Club moorings shall be set by the Sailing Committee upon recommendation by the Moorings Sub-Committee, and shall normally be determined before March 1st. Mooring fees shall be paid annually, in advance. The annual mooring fee shall cover the period from April 1st until the following March 31st.
Y15.6 Moorings shall be deemed to be vacant and available for re-allocation if the mooring fee remains unpaid 28 days after the date of invoice.
Y15.7 The conditions under which moorings are allocated to members are:
(a) The owner or in the case of joint ownership all owners must be Full Members of the Club. Where joint owners are husband and wife, one may be a Lady Member or an Associate Member but the other must be a Full Member.
(b) The mooring must be the member's prime mooring.
(c) The mooring must not be rented out, and may be loaned only after notification to the Sailing Secretary, and then only to a member of the Club.
(d) A member will be entitled to keep their mooring so long as they comply with the Mooring Bye-Laws and continue to be a yacht owner. One year's grace shall be allowed for a change of yacht.
(e) In order to maximise the use of the Club moorings a member purchasing a new yacht may be allocated another mooring.
(f) If a member plans to vacate their mooring for more than two months they must notify the Harbour Master and the Sailing Secretary, who may offer the vacant mooring to another member on the waiting list. A member vacating a mooring for more than three months without informing the Sailing Secretary will be deemed to have vacated the mooring permanently, and the mooring may be re-allocated to another member.
(g) Members allocated a Club mooring must arrange to have the name of their yacht painted on to their mooring buoy. Members allocated a pontoon berth must arrange through the Honorary Moorings Officer for a white board with the name of the yacht in black capital letters thereon to be fixed to the pontoon decking in approximately the centre of the berth.
(h) A yacht occupying a Club mooring, whether temporarily or permanently, must display the Club initials on the transom in such a manner that they can be seen both from the pontoon and from the seaward side.
COWES
The Club's Cowes moorings are located upstream of the chain ferry and the refuelling barge, on the western (starboard hand going upstream) side of the river opposite the GBR compound. We have a 45 metre continuous pontoon run between three piles within a longer pontoon run adjacent to the main fairway. The northern (downstream) end of the full run comprises private and Harbour Master-operated visitor berthing, then comes the run of RYS pontoons, then RTYC, then the Royal London pontoons. Our own section of pontoons is clearly marked, both with signs on the piles themselves and with signs on the pontoons.
The rules regarding the use of the Cowes pontoon are straightforward and contained in the Yachting Byelaws. In summary:
The pontoons are strictly private and for the use of Royal Thames Member's yachts only; the pontoons are not available to members of other clubs, including reciprocal clubs.
Any member's yacht may secure to and remain on the pontoon for up to 14 days in any period of 30 days without charge. As the pontoons are not supervised on a daily basis, there is no booking system - it's first-come, first-served. Yachts may raft two deep on the inside of the pontoon (rafting more blocks the channel) and three deep on the main fairway side.
RIBs on the pontoon.
To assist arriving yachts get alongside the pontoon, RIBs may be left unattended only on the inside of the pontoon, not on the outboard, fairway side of the pontoon.
Display of Burgee and Club Badge.
All craft using the Cowes pontoon must fly the club burgee from the masthead if they have a mast, from the highest part of the craft if without a mast. The burgee should be on a staff, as befits the burgee of the oldest yacht club in the UK, and not left hanging like an item of laundry.
In addition, yachts using the Cowes pontoon must display the club badge and initials on the transom, in such a position that they may be seen both from the water and from the pontoon.
The reason for these two rules is to ensure not only that only bona fide RTYC yachts use the pontoon, but also to let other users of the pontoon and the Cowes Harbour Master see that the yacht in question has every right to be on the pontoon. These rules thus apply as equally to RIBs and smaller craft as they do to larger yachts.
Given that both the burgee and badge must be worn when on the pontoon, it follows that the privilege of using the Club's pontoon is not available to non-members to whom a member's yacht might have been loaned or chartered.
The Secretary of the Royal London YC now holds a small stock of RTYC burgees for those in dire need, more normally burgees, ensigns, ensign permits et al may be obtained from the Knightsbridge Secretariat. Transom graphics and transfers are obtainable through Tribune Graphics at
Tribune Graphics Ltd.
Unit 11, Phase 2
New Road Industrial Estate
Sheerness, Kent
ME12 1D
Telephone : +44 (0)1795 580457
FAX : +44 (0)1795 663318
Alternatively you may e-mail them at sales@tribunegraphics.com
This excellent company can produce for you, very quickly, a simple transom transfer as specified in the Club byelaws in any colour, size or style that you require. Transom graphics are no longer held by the Secretariat.
Extended stays (more than 14 days in any 30 days).
Should a member wish to leave a yacht on the Cowes pontoon for more than the permitted 14 days, this is possible provided that the Chief Sailing Officer or the Sailing Secretary is informed, provided the temporary mooring fee is paid (see below) and provided that there is room.
EXTRACT FROM THE YACHTING BYELAWS.
The rules governing charges for extended use of the Cowes pontoon are set by the Sailing Committee in accordance with Byelaw Y15.9 and are as follows:
14 days in any period of 30 free of charge; extended berthing on inside only limited to 30 days in any period of 45 days during the months of June, July, August;
at other times, extended berthing limited to 90 days in any period of 105 days;
no unattended berthing during Cumberland Regatta weekend and Cowes Week;
extended berthing rates: £20 per metre per 30 days during June, July, August, minimum charge 30 days, charge payable as soon as 14 days is exceeded;
other times £15 per metre per 30 days, minimum charge 30 days, charge payable as soon as 14 days exceeded.
RIBs to be left unattended only on the inside of the pontoon
Special Arrangements for Cowes Week. Given the pressures on berthing spaces during Cowes Week, the Cowes pontoon during this time is by common consent reserved for members doing The Week. Yachts not being used during Cowes Week are expected to move off the pontoon (even if the temporary mooring fee has been paid) during the Week to make room for members who are. Given these pressures and the fact that some yachts are lived aboard during the Week and others come and go for racing, it is particularly inconsiderate to leave yachts unattended for any period if berthed outboard of others. At the least, a mobile phone number for the key holder should be left where it may be seen and used by other members who might be inconvenienced, or for some other reason need to contact the yacht's key holder. Yachts berthed outboard of others are to be attended between 0830 and 1100 each morning, unless specific arrangements have been made with all craft inboard.
The full byelaw in relation to the Cowes pontoon:
Y15.8 At Cowes the Club has two adjacent pontoons located upstream of the chain ferry. A yacht using these pontoons, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, must display the Club initials on the transom in such a manner that they can be seen from both the pontoon and from the seaward side and, in addition, fly the Club Burgee.
Y15.9 The inshore side of these pontoons may be let out to members on a monthly basis at a rent determined from time to time by the Sailing Committee, save that for the first three days of Cowes Week the inshore side of the northern (downstream) pontoon shall be reserved for the use of Flag Officers. Members may berth a yacht on the Cowes pontoon free of charge for up to fourteen days in any period of thirty days. If the yacht remains on the pontoon for more than fourteen days in any period of thirty days, the monthly charge shall become due. The Cowes pontoon may not be used as a yacht's prime mooring.