26 July 2011
Essential work to improve the South Pier mud moorings in the old French Harbour is now complete.
It's thanks to the combined efforts of St Helier boat owners and Jersey Marinas.
The mud moorings chains were last replaced more than 20 years ago. The work was carried out because the chains had become exposed and that was seen as a threat to vessels moored there.
The work involved replacing the mooring chains and buoys and skimming the top layer of mud off the ground surface. As well as the maintenance work, several new moorings have been created along with a new pontoon for boats moored alongside the harbour wall. It means those boat owners now won't have to use dinghies to access their vessels at high water.
A tight schedule meant 88 boats had to be moved from the dry mud area in just 2 weeks to allow the work to be carried out. Failure to do this would have meant the work would have been delayed until October next year.
The overall budget allocated to the project was £180,000 which was paid for by Jersey Marinas Trading Fund.
"We arranged to meet with various boat owners’ representatives, including St Helier Yacht Club and St Helier Boat Owner’s Association to explain the urgency of clearing the boats from the mud moorings and they were happy to oblige", said Commercial Director for Port of Jersey, Myra Shacklady. "We are extremely grateful to them for their rapid co-operation and assistance, which ensured that all the boats were safely out of the way in order for us to start work in the area."
"The exposed mooring chains did cause boat owners some concern", said the Chairman of St Helier Boat Owners Association, Mike Stevens. "We appreciated the strict timeframes involved and it is quite an achievement to remove all 88 to temporary moorings within such a short period of time. There will be a number of long-term benefits for those with mud moorings in this harbour and we are grateful to Jersey Marinas for making these improvements."
Mr Stevens went on to remind boat owners, "Although there will be a need for minor adjustments to moorings once all the boats are returned to their allocated berths, I would ask boat owners to follow the guidelines regarding lengths of chain and repose as recommended by Jersey Marinas."
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