Guernsey Boat Owners Association

01/10/2024

For any person, whether a boat owner or a member of the public, reading the recent announcement by Guernsey Ports of their proposed mooring charges increases for 2025, one might think that the Government has taken note of Guernsey boat owners’ concerns regarding recent inflationary price rises and lowered their sights to ease the pressure on local mooring holders.

The real truth is that they haven’t actually! Their course of action remains unaltered.

For any person, whether a boat owner or a member of the public, reading the recent announcement by Guernsey Ports of their proposed mooring charges increases for 2025, one might think that the Government has taken note of Guernsey boat owners’ concerns regarding recent inflationary price rises and...

29/08/2024

Thank you to Practical Boat Owner for their recent feature of our mooring fees petition.
Read it here:

Recreational boat owners are campaigning against any future increases above inflation by the Guernsey Ports.

29/08/2024

The annual Havelet Bay Regatta will be taking place on Sunday 1 September 2024, 1100-1900.
The regatta includes numerous swimming, rowing and sailing events.
Mariners not directly involved in the regatta should keep clear of Havelet Bay during this time.

20/08/2024

St Sampson – Northside – Step Repairs
A scaffold will be rigged on St Sampson Northside Steps from 2 September 2024 for approximately 3 weeks to repair the steps.
The scaffold will be around the steps inside the pierhead, protrude 1.5m from the wall and be securely anchored into the granite.
Mariners are to avoid this area.

16/08/2024

If you haven't already done so, please make sure to sign this petition 👇

July 2024 Reasons for objecting to the increases recently imposed and proposed future increases. The charges are inequitable and will be to the long-term detriment of the local leisure marine user groups and those who work within the local marine industry. The facilities provided by Guernsey Harbour...

13/08/2024

Following up from yesterday's post, we would also like to let our members know that the RYA First aid course can be booked through www.stjohntraining.gg

12/08/2024

Many of our GBA members have done first aid training with St. Johns over the years and purchased first- aid kits but these run out of date and the first- aid techniques change too.
So, please check that your kits are in date and if not, here are the contact details with the current price list.
If you wish to join their training courses, please note that the Training Centre had now moved to les Cotils where you can purchase any new kits and find out when the different courses are being run.
All proceeds go to this popular charity organisation.

Price list:

18/07/2024

LEISURE BOAT USERS ANNOUNCE THEIR PLANS TO OPPOSE ANY FUTURE INCREASES ABOVE INFLATION.
Following the debate at the March States Meeting when the requette on leisure boat mooring charges for 2024 was narrowly defeated, the local mooring holders are seeking support from boat owners and their supporters to oppose any future increases above inflation being planned by Guernsey Ports and the States Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) for 2025 and 2026.
The boat owners have drafted a petition for all to sign expressing their reasons for objecting to the 20-30% increases recently imposed and any future increases.
The current charges are inequitable and will be to the long-term detriment of the local leisure marine user groups and those who work within the local marine industry.
The facilities provided by Guernsey Harbours to local leisure berth holders fall well short of facilities available in other ports and we continue to believe that comparisons to other ports are misleading and an attempt to charge for facilities that are both sub-standard and in some instances not even provided.
There is good reason to suggest that the evidence commissioned by and provided to the STSB and subsequently to the States members was highly selective and skewed, and did not reflect fairly the whole market or the qualitive difference of the offerings of the more comprehensive analysis undertaken by the Guernsey Marine Traders Association (GMTA) and the Guernsey Boat Owners Association (GBA).
The proposed increases help fund the admitted continuous cross-subsidy paid for by all harbour users to support the losses incurred at Guernsey Airport. Harbour users are paying more than the relevant costs of running the harbours to support the airport.
Nick Guillemette, President of the GBA, stated, “ At the recent States meeting in March several States Deputies forcefully expressed their concerns that as they had only received 14+ letters of objection to the 2024 mooring charges out of 1600 local mooring holders, that the rest of the leisure boat owners must be happy with the proposed hefty increases!”
“Totally untrue and very misleading”, Mr. Guillemette said. “ As a result, we have combined with the local marine trade and all of the boating Associations to produce this petition and we need as many folk as possible to support this petition and our objections. Whether you are a boat owner or just a supporter, please ensure you don’t delay and sign this petition.”
Thank you for your support.

Copies of this petition are available for signature at the following venues:
Marine & General, Boatworks, Herm Seaway, AB Marine, Sunsport Marine, Fastcraft, Guernsey Yacht Club, Royal Channel Island Yacht Club, Interseals, CJ’s Northside Café, and Sun Yachts Ltd.

15/07/2024

LEISURE BOAT USERS MOORING CHARGES PETITION

Reasons for objecting to the increases recently imposed and proposed future increases.
The charges are inequitable and will be to the long-term detriment of the local leisure marine user groups and those who work within the local marine industry.
The facilities provided by Guernsey Harbours to local leisure berth holders fall well short of facilities available in other ports and we continue to believe that comparisons to other ports are misleading and an attempt to charge for facilities that are both sub-standard and in some instances not even provided.
There is good reason to suggest that the evidence commissioned by and provided to the States Trading Supervisory Board and subsequently to the States members was highly selective and skewed, and did not reflect fairly the whole market or the qualitive difference of the offerings of the more comprehensive analysis undertaken by the Guernsey Marine Traders Association and the Guernsey Boat Owners Association.
The proposed increases help fund the admitted continuous cross-subsidy paid for by all harbours users to support the losses incurred at Guernsey Airport. Harbour users are paying more than the relevant costs of running the harbours to support the airport.

Copies are available for signing at M&G, Boatworks, AB Marine, Sunsport Marine, Fastcraft, Sun Yachts, Herm Seaway, the GYC and the RCIYC.
This petition has been drafted by the GBA, Marine Traders, and both Yacht Clubs

You can also download your own copy from our website:

July 2024 Reasons for objecting to the increases recently imposed and proposed future increases. The charges are inequitable and will be to the long-term detriment of the local leisure marine user groups and those who work within the local marine industry. The facilities provided by Guernsey Harbour...

01/07/2024

Sark VHF Arieal - Unserviceable
The Very High Frequency (VHF) aerial that covers the East side of Sark has suffered a serious technical fault and is unserviceable.
Mariners wishing to pass transit reports, whilst operating on the East side of Sark, should do so by contacting Jersey Coastguard on VHF # 82. All emergency broadcasts should continue to be made on Digital Selective Calling DSC #70 and VHF #16.

26/06/2024

🇫🇷 We have been sent some more clarification on the French Entry and Exit requirements.

Please take a look at the two documentson our website:

We have been sent some more clarification on the French Entry and Exit requirements. Please take a look at the two documents below: Annexe 2 – Liste ports de plaisance éligibles rev Annexe 3 – Carte PPF Maritime

19/06/2024

⚠️ Salerie car park closed for repainting on Sunday 23rd June ⚠️

All areas except from those indicated in red in the below image will be suspended for parking for the duration of the day.

The existing small car parking spaces (which were repainted last year), will be suspended in order to allow parallel parking with no restriction on vehicle size for the duration of the repainting works. No permits will be allocated for this parking; it will be operated on a first come first served basis.

05/06/2024

The Guernsey Air Display is happening on Thursday 13th June.
Please find all information from Guernsey Ports here.

31/05/2024

👏👇

31/05/2024

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise Duties (DGDDI -La direction générale des douanes et droits indirects), the National Federation of border police (DNPAF - La direction nationale de la police aux frontières, the French Federation of Marinas (FFPP - La fédération française des ports de plaisance), have all signed a national protocol of co-operation facilitating the arrival of sailors arriving from abroad.

The “Schengen border control” states that frontiers can be passed through at specific passage points (PPF - points de passage frontaliers) at fixed opening times only. Regarding therefore the length of the French coast, the inappropriateness of certain PPF infrastructures for welcoming sailors, as well as the post-Brexit difficulties, the FFPP, the DGDDI and the DNPAF, have established a more robust platform in order to ease communication and information flow (including follow up), granting 53 marinas – non-PPF ports – permission to welcome boats coming from abroad.

For this to happen:
- the persons present on board the boat must (1) inform the Harbour authority before arrival and (2) be authorized to arrive at said port ;
- the persons must hand in the specific form, giving details of the persons on board as well as the technical characteristics of the boat. This information must be given to the Harbour authority 24 hours before arrival when the trip is less than 24 hours long, and at the latest when the boat departs from a port which is outside of Schengen countries. The port authority will immediately transmit such information to the designated PPF port.

Within the framework of this protocol, the marinas concerned will undertake to send all such information concerning the persons aboard wishing to enter French territory to the border authorities. Carrying out such checks on people at borders - itself a fundamental mission - falls within the exclusive domain of the specifically designated border guard, namely the services of DNPAF and DGDDI. This protocol does not concern French overseas territories who are not concerned by the Schengen agreement.

FFPP President Michaël Quernez’s reaction :
“This protocol is the fruit of much hard work undertaken by the FFPP and its administrators. I wish to thank the very constructive approach carried out by the DGDDI and the DNPAF who within a complex geopolitical situation listened with care and attention to the concerns expressed by the harbour authorities. Effectively, many sailors, notably the English, in a post-Brexit world, were no longer coming to France, nor indeed were French sailors visiting the UK. This situation meant there was a huge drop in visitors to our ports and our shoreline. This present protocol has in a robust and pragmatic manner eased the entry and departure of sailors within the Schengen countries. It shows a strong commitment by the harbour authorities and the FFPP who have worked to ensure this protocol will last.

For a full list of ports, please click here:https://guernseyboatowners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20231215_Liste-ports-de-plaisance-FFPP-rev-FFPP.pdf

30/05/2024

Local Notices to Mariners:

The QEII Marina gates are currently unreliable on neap tides and may not fully lower.
Mariners are advised not to trust the marina gate lights on neap tides, and in any case continue to navigate with caution on entry and exit.

17/05/2024

⚓️ Sign up today!
⚓️ https://bit.ly/3y0kdzq
⚓️ We're looking forward to welcoming you on board

28/04/2024

08/04/2024

The official States Planning survey is available here:
https://www.guernseyharbouractionareas.com/

The closing date is 12 April.

Check out this post on the Guernsey Harbour Action Areas website

08/04/2024

Virtual Workshop

From Nick Guillemette:

I recently attended one of the drop-in sessions that these consultants held and completed one of their forms.
Peter and Gary also came with me to meet Peter Watson from the Gsy. Development Agency to discuss their plans.
I have since been in contact with Peter who has confirmed that these consultants are working in tandem with his GDA group, albeit they don’t seem to agree on some of the consultants ideas.
The GYC are holding a similar session with the planners tonight at the GYC so if any of you are interested, please go along.
Many of the GBA members are also members of the GYC so will have seen their email re this session.
I am not available next Thursday 11th.April for this proposed virtual workshop (see below) but it would probably be a good idea if one of you or some might join them just we are represented.

----------------Workshop Details

Dear All

As you may know Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design and a consultant team have been appointed by the Development & Planning Authority to prepare a Local Planning Brief for the St Sampson and St Peter Port Harbour Action Areas. This strategic policy document will identify opportunities for change and enhancement of these two important areas along Guernsey’s east coast, and will guide and shape development over the next 10-20 years.

We recently launched a series of events associated with the first stage of public consultation around the Local Planning Brief (LPB) running some drop-in sessions in St Peter Port and St Sampson and some workshops at the Beau Sejour Centre.

Following our in-person workshops we will be running a virtual workshop next Thursday 11th April between 12:15pm and 1:45pm.

This virtual workshop is intended for those who were unable to attend our in-person workshops and will cover topics we discussed at the Beau Sejour Centre on the 22nd of March.

We are inviting interested parties, local stakeholders and groups with interest in the future change on the harbours to be part of a workshop discussion on this topic. At the workshop, we will provide a briefing on the initial work we have prepared, and the plan is to structure the session as follows:

• Introductions, background, and the role and purpose of the LPB
• A summary of the analysis undertaken to date, alongside the draft vision and enablers for the LPB
• An introduction to the five draft development scenarios we are testing
• Breakout discussions in groups around the workshop topics of infrastructure, environment and resilience within the Harbour Action Areas. This is a chance to share your priorities for the LPB.
• Feedback, summary and close

Spaces for this virtual workshop are limited and will be issued on a first come first served basis. We understand that some of you may want to bring more of your team but we would appreciate it if you can identify one attendee in the first instance only and let us know if you would ideally like further spaces should they be available once we have heard back from other participant organisations. We want to make sure we have a good spread of interested groups and organisations at the workshop.

Please let me know if you would like to attend by Tuesday 9th April.

08/04/2024

The GBA & the GMTA (Guernsey Marine Traders Assoc.) organised 2 drop-in sessions at the GYC prior to the recent States debate on the Requete for Mooring Fees.

To find out what was discussed and view related documents, please click here: https://guernseyboatowners.com/index.php/info/225-gba-and-gmta-drop-in-sessions-at-the-gyc

08/04/2024

Fly the new Burgee!

The RNLI SAILPAST on 27th july will be the perfect opportunity to fly the new GBA Burgee!

This replaces the existing one and commemorates our celebration of our Centenary last year. Available from local ship chandleries at the price of £35, or contact our secretary, Jeremy Witham.

08/04/2024

Save the Date - 27 July!!

09/02/2024

The fog signal at St Martin’s Point Light is unreliable – Until further notice.

16/11/2023

Please read our latest statement abotu the Leisure boat mooring fee increases for 2024:

Guernsey Ports has confirmed to us that they will be definitely proceeding with their 2024 mooring charges proposals and seeking approval from the States meetings either this month on 22nd. Nov or next month on 13th.Dec.
They have also stated at our recent AGM that they have yet to complete collecting their cost data and do not know the total running costs of the Ports so any future rises in fees for 2025 and 2026 have not been formalised. However, due to the decision by the States Trading & Supervisory Board ((STSB) at the end of October that the increases over and above RPI (7.3%) of 12%-20% will be coming into force from the 1st.April, 2024.
The new charges are included in their overall budget forecasts for 2024 to cover all their trading depts., including Guernsey Ports.
This is despite our all our protests and responses to the 2 surveys and so-called consultation letter two months ago.
STSB say they will review any effects of these increases during 2024 but sadly for any boat owner who has been forced to give up their mooring during this period due to these increases, this will come too late and their main pastime will have been destroyed and possibly their sense of well-being too.
Those who are struggling with meeting these extreme price rises will undoubtedly cut back on their maintenance of their vessels and potentially be an increased risk to the emergency services whilst at sea.
The knock-on effect on the Marine Trade and the subsequent loss of income for the dozens of marine traders involved will also be devastating. This includes the fuel suppliers and other ancilliary marine suppliers.
A perfectly healthy local industry which is currently booming will contract instead of expanding.
And this action by STSB will result in lost revenue to fund any repairs at the harbours and to fund the Airport losses.
So, as a last resort to halt their proposals after receiving informed legal advice, it is our intention to submit an appeal to the Guernsey Competition & Regulatory Authority ( GCRA) seeking their investigation into our submission that Guernsey Ports would be conducting an abuse of its dominant market position if it were to increase its mooring charges in accordance with its proposals. Such an excessively large increase should be a breach of Guernsey Competition Law and be prohibited.
At our Annual General Meeting of the Guernsey Boat Owners Association last night, it was unanimously agreed by all of the GBA members present that we should proceed with our appeal to the GCRA immediately.
Nick Guillemette. ( President of the Guernsey Boat Owners Association).