charlieannear Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Dropped in to West Bay a couple of weekends ago, to break a car journey back from Cornwall and let Sam have a bit of a run around ahving been cooped up all Easter. Their public slipway is bloody lovely! One of the features that impressed me most was their pontoon setup which allowed the hardy people to launch the boat and all the passengers to get on, and load on kit in comfort, keeping their feet dry. It is one thing that is even more disappointing than the actual slope angle of the slip at Baiter, is that it's useless for the picking up and setting down of passengers if they don't want to or can't, get their feet wet. When was the last time any money was spent by Poole Council on their only real public slipway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady jane Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 be carefull, in the wrong conditions you could end up with the boat in the back of your car! if it turns out bad and the tide is on your side you can use the slip on the inner harbour to recover. all slips seem to have there own little problems. cheers andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjb Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 I have a static holiday caravan at burton bradstock so i had a season ticket last year for my 520 from westbay and lime slipways i have read this year they want to see boat ins papers before you can launch but don't know if it's true graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnasher Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 (edited) Having never launched from Poole, i can't really comment, but the ones my way, eg Lymington/Keyhaven are pretty good. Although Lymington is better, i have just paid for a years pass at Keyhaven as its only 10 mins or so from the needles. You can launch/retrieve for most of the tide, and up until an hour or so before low water there is a poontoon to pick up from which is pretty much flush to the slip. Cheap as chips to...... Edited April 7, 2008 by Gnasher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 (Snip) It is one thing that is even more disappointing than the actual slope angle of the slip at Baiter, is that it's useless for the picking up and setting down of passengers if they don't want to or can't, get their feet wet. When was the last time any money was spent by Poole Council on their only real public slipway? Hi Charlie As one of jobs for the Club was to see if any pressure could be put on the "Authorities" to improve boat launch/access in Poole. Martin advised me this was going to be hard! He was not wrong!! Mad Mike and I wrote to a number people and businesses to see what could be done. In a word nothing! The biggest problem at Baiter is that it needs a ramp to be built high enough to go out far enough to get deep water for launch/recovering. The alternative is to dredge around the slip but this would soon fill back in! What is needed is a decent slip into deep(er) water and have car & trailer parking close by. As most deeper water is surrounded by prime business ground there is little chance of this happening. It was suggested that whoever (whenever) the new "Sails" bridge is ever started the construction company could build a new slipway but this was rejected as parking was an issue an new flats/houses etc were needed to improve the "experience" of Poole harbour. Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted July 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Don't know if any of you guys used Baiter yesterday. First decent weather we've had in ages, of course it was going to be busy... It was a bloody free-for-all. Jet-skis all over the place, people queue-jumping, people parking all over the place I know it's the public slip and cheap, but the Council must have made a few thousand pounds yesterday alone- when was the last time they spent any money on it? Of course jet-skis have as much right to launch as anyone else, but they launch so easily that many of them don't need to hog the slip area that the boats do need. We all know how a steeper slip is unlikely, but surely the existing one could be made much wider? A couple more wash down points would be good so that people waiting for them don't block up the whole car park. And people who are taking off/putting on trailer boards etc should park in a space, not on the road! And the bloke in the porta-cabin should get out and get a grip of what is going on! Sorry, Victor Meldrew moment over... Had a luvverly day on the water though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Charlie, Been there , done that After a lovely relaxing day on the water what better way to make this happy feeling last than to arrive at the slipway about 5.00pm on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Never mind only the August bank holiday to cope with and then it`s all down hill till winter I know it sounds crazey but i'd sooner fish from the shore on days like this rather than get totally stressed trying to get the boat out Best of luck to you Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Such a shame something better can not be provided As you say there is plenty of demand, but unfortunatly building slips is not only expensive but also very difficult to get araound the do gooders to get permission. Digging up mudlands to put in slips for fuel burning and polution causing boats is hard to get past English nature and other tree huggers. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Charlie A have you tried the Chain Ferry, plenty of deep water there.... Its a real shame that nothing is planned with all the investment on the lifting bridge You would have thought anything that reduces the traffic passing under the bridge from Cobbs would be in the interest of PH Commissioners and the Town Council. Just have to plan your return either side of 4:30- 6:30 ? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted July 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Such a shame something better can not be provided As you say there is plenty of demand, but unfortunatly building slips is not only expensive but also very difficult to get araound the do gooders to get permission. Digging up mudlands to put in slips for fuel burning and polution causing boats is hard to get past English nature and other tree huggers. Charlie I think we're all pretty clear that a nice new deep water public slip is very unlikely to get built by this council. If only Baiter had a few of the thousands of pounds that it makes in parking and launching tickets, (let alone god knows how much local revenue from people bringing their boats to Poole) reinvested on it (more wash-down points, widen the slip on both sides to accomodate Jet-skis and other shallow launch vessels, leaving the main slip for boats) and was run properly (a couple of uniformed individuals stopping queue jumping and ignorant parking) then it would be much improved. I would have thought the environmental impact of widening the existing slip would be minimal, and reasonably low-cost too. Perhaps the beach launching facilites that have been proposed for Sandbanks will be forthcoming- I would imagine that would reduce Baiter's popularity... Yep Paul, deep water launching would make life easier and I think the chain ferry slip was less busy than Baiter! When we recovered there were actually spaces in Baiter car park, but some selfish *people* were parking on the 'road' blocking several spaces rather than getting in a space. Others were double parking on the wash downs and blocking access to the slip and the 'road'. The slip was a total scrum with some people being too special to wait their turn. A couple of Attendents should be able to stop that kind of behaviour from happening. Or am I being daft?! I realise that if I don't like mixing with the Great Unwashed then I just need to spend a few more quid and launch at one of the more exclusive facilities locally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Charlie We often park up arround pottery pier on familly days, and you can get about 30-40 boats all starting up their motors at once, at arround 4:30 to make it back to the mooring/ slipway and then an hour later they're all on the A338 heading north out of Bournemouth ! We end up staying alot later . Its probably the same at any south coast slipway, with the ignorant and unwashed... best to avoid it. Other than that, a pontoon would be a good idea at the quay, for picking up/setting down only. As you say, why cant a floating pontoon be installed on posts at baiter? I wonder if Parkstone Bay can be used for picking up - park at whitecliffe and walk through the yard? Serriously though, I think you should raise it at the next meet, as lots of people are unhappy with the facilities here, and the usage of the slipway is only going to get busier. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 (edited) Yeah, agreed, there is always going to be a kind of rush-hour, expecially in such a beautiful area, no matter how good (or bad) the actual slipway facilities are. We would normally avoid peak times as well... It's why we cycle when we go to the beach! Busy I can cope with, what really gets me riled is the kind of unmoderated chaos that prevails at Baiter when it's even slightly busy, mainly caused by the "I'm smaller than you so I don't need to queue" brigade or the "I'm too special to get out of the way into a space while I prepare to launch/tow-home/wash-down" crowd. There's no way you can even queue for the fresh water point with a boat when there are four or 5 jetskis there (unless you're very selfish and don't mind blocking the road or the slipway). As one leaves, another slips in. They have a right to use the fresh water point yes, but so do the boats. Have another point, one for boats, one for jetskis. They are quite prepared to open up the field when it's busy, to make more money, so how about spending some of it on the facility. The whole site needs active attendants. Whilst not wanting to offend anyone's friends, I'm sure the bloke in the portacabin gets paid to run the facility, not just hide in the portacabin on order to avoid confrontation. If that means they need 2 attendents at weekends I'm sure the extra revenue raised by opening up the field for parking would meet, and by far exceed, this. From a regulatory point of view, I'm very surprised they haven't fallen foul of the DDA by failing to provide an embarkation/disembarkation pontoon for less agile passengers. It's a pain having to launch at Baiter and then motor back around to the quay to pick up/set down. I believe (from advice on this forum!) that this is the nearest place where passengers can easily get in and out. I know Coddy & Mike went down this route on behalf of the club once before, and they were just banging their heads against a brick wall. Even though we are a big club, I guess we aren't big enough. Does the liaison officer attend any groups which would lobby for improvements at Baiter, not neccesarily in increasing slip depth, but width, washdown and improvements to it's policing? Edited July 29, 2008 by charlieannear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 When you consider that Poole is the second largest natural harbour in the world, it's got to be worst as far as slipways and other facilities. Poole council would obviously rather provide holiday homes for London Yuppies, than launch facilities for locals. I'll get back in my box now!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Poole Harbour Commisioners are the people who collect all the Harbour dues and employ the lad in the Hut So are really the people to take your gripe up with, but I am sure the Club could try and add some weight to it. Good luck Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diverdave Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Can I have a rant too ? I stopped using Baiter on summer weekends years ago for all the above reasons and some. It's not so many years ago that the car park was a dirt track with puddles bigger than Poole harbour ! So it has been improved, but to the detriment of everybody, the better a facility the more people will use it. I live in Bournemouth with 7 miles of golden sands, Whoopee ! and not one access point for boats ! So what do the council do ? spend 2.68 MILLION on a poxy surf reef with a life expectancy of 25 years ! How will that pay for itself ? Surfer dudes doss in camper vans and sleep on the beach ! Bring on the global warming and rise in sea level and then we can all launch from Richmond Hill into what was the Square and Lower Gardens. I feel better now ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 While I agree with the points made that Baiter lacks facilities, its worth remembering that it is cheap at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conger king Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 i agree with dave no point of access of a 7 mile shore line what a crime and if there was at what cost????????????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 While I agree with the points made that Baiter lacks facilities, its worth remembering that it is cheap at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diverdave Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I wonder how long before a mini-riot erupts on the slipway! PBSBAC V Birmingham Navy ! Can't Wait LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Just a quickie. I used Baiter on Friday. There were 3 chaps repairing the Change Machine. Some thief had drilled the front panel to try and get at the dosh. The guys reckon it'll be us who has to pay in the end. If you see anyone you suspect of such acts, phone the police. On a brighter note, It was my first single handed launch & retrieve of Small Fry and it all went smoothly with no problems. The gentle slope on the slipway is O.K. for Warriors with only 10 inches of draft. The taps for washing were'nt working though ! Cobb's is just at the back of our house but at their prices, they can stick it where the sun won't shine. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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