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The latest news, keeping residents and harbour users up to date.


harbour dues. Examples in 2017 include support for local regattas, coordinating a multi site beach clean and the preparation and hosting of cruise ships. Many of these activities relate to our vision which includes the requirement to ensure that the river remains a thriving community asset. Even with a reduced number of


Capt. Mark Cooper A


s the summer is over and the days draw shorter, the number of visiting yachts and motor


boats has dropped to a very low level. Boat owners are preparing for the winter with some having to move from their summer moorings to less exposed winter moorings and others arranging for their vessels to be lifted out for the winter. The focus of the work of the Dart


Harbour & Navigation Authority shifts away from the routine management of a busy and often crowded river toward preparation for the winter months and next season. As always, our highest priority is safety but closely followed by the need to safeguard the environment for the benefit of the community through implementation of our strategic plan. Our role can be described as “stewardship” of the river. The Authority is not a profit making


organisation which means that any excess income is used to benefit the wide variety of stakeholders – from our leisure and commercial users to those who simply enjoy the river but do not routinely go out on the water. In addition to using our income for the benefit of leisure and commercial users, the Authority also supports community activities using income generated from mooring fees and


visitors in the autumn, river staff have to conduct our routine patrols but their focus shifts to mooring maintenance. The Authority carries out a 100% annual inspection of all of our 950 moorings. This involves coming to a buoy or the vessel moored on a buoy, in one of our mooring barges (Hercules or Tardis) before lifting the buoy chain and anchor block. The tackle is lifted using the crane on the barge and the anchor block and chain are cleaned and inspected and any necessary repairs/replacements are made. These inspections reduce the risk of mooring failure and drive our winter schedule. If we have a good week weather-wise, we may manage to inspect around 70 moorings, but this could reduce to as little as 20 if the weather is poor. The responsibility for safety and


the prevention of pollution requires the Authority to ensure that the deep water channel is accurately mapped and well marked. Sections of the river are normally surveyed in the autumn and then the navigation marks can be adjusted as required. This year we have replaced the sectored lights at the entrance and will be replacing two navigation marks with buoys at Duncannon and positioning a new buoy in Bow Creek. These have been named after staff members as shown in the photograph attached. The focus of the office staff shifts


at this time of year, from allocating winter moorings and ensuring documentation is in place to support operations on the river, to producing the Harbour Guide and getting ready for annual allocations in 2018.


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