Haslar Marina Lightship Bar/Cafe

NSS · 02 June 2013, 22:49

Have stopped here for a coffee or a bite to eat on several previous occasions and never been charged to moor on the pontoon. Stopped by late morning today and was alongside for 45 mins (tops). Just about to leave when along come a couple of young ladies in a golf cart and promptly demand £8. No wonder there were so few others using the lightship. I for one won't bother again.

Hightower · 02 June 2013, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by NSS

Have stopped here for a coffee or a bite to eat on several previous occasions and never been charged to moor on the pontoon. Stopped by late morning today and was alongside for 45 mins (tops). Just about to leave when along come a couple of young ladies in a golf cart and promptly demand £8. No wonder there were so few others using the lightship. I for one won't bother again.

They've been doing that the last couple of years. The Lightship isn't run by the Marina, so if I were them I'd be pretty cheesed off.

NSS · 02 June 2013, 23:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

They've been doing that the last couple of years. The Lightship isn't run by the Marina, so if I were them I'd be pretty cheesed off.

Yep, and I made a point of going back aboard and telling them why I wouldn't be back anytime soon, but the woman who charged us the £8 said it was to fund the upkeep of the lightship. I suggested that should surely come out of profits from the food/drink but she delighted in telling me the people who ran the bar and catering simply lease the boat. I was about to tell her that the lease should cover the upkeep then but figured I'd be wasting my breath.

Dry Run · 03 June 2013, 08:47

Whilst I agree that £8 is crazy, I think the last 4 times I've been, I've only been charged once. So for me that's £2 a time - which is worth it for the great vantage point you have sitting on the deck.

willk · 03 June 2013, 10:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by NSS

.....but she delighted in telling me the people who ran the bar and catering simply lease the boat. I was about to tell her that the lease should cover the upkeep then but figured I'd be wasting my breath.

You were probably right. She was patently failing to take the concerns of Outraged from Southampton sufficiently seriously. Tell me, are short stay pontoons generally provided for free throughout the south? Even here I'm used to seeing charges posted, and while I might try to dodge them, I don't complain about it on the interwebs when I'm nabbed.

Think about it - if the sales in the Lightship are going to cover the cost of tying up, then they'll just have to charge more for drinks and snacks...

bedajim · 03 June 2013, 10:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dry Run

Whilst I agree that £8 is crazy, I think the last 4 times I've been, I've only been charged once. So for me that's £2 a time - which is worth it for the great vantage point you have sitting on the deck.

That's about how it's worked for me in the past too

And £8.00 added to the day's costs really isn't that much to shout about

Wightdiver · 03 June 2013, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dry Run

Whilst I agree that £8 is crazy, I think the last 4 times I've been, I've only been charged once. So for me that's £2 a time - which is worth it for the great vantage point you have sitting on the deck.

I agree, lovely outlook and best of all I have not been cought yet!!

NSS · 03 June 2013, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

Think about it - if the sales in the Lightship are going to cover the cost of tying up, then they'll just have to charge more for drinks and snacks...

I agree, but an additional £8 makes the cost of two cups of coffee akin to prices you'd expect to pay in Venice, not Gosport (regardless of how good the view is).

Yes, I expect to pay to moor on what is, after all, a private pontoon, but some place just take the ****. Car parks have to display their charges. Why is the same not the case for boat 'parking'? At least if they did that you'd know what to expect, and be able to choose whether you're prepared to pay accordingly.

willk · 03 June 2013, 11:28

I agree that charges should be clearly posted, along with instructions of who/where to pay. Online payment is something that bigger concerns are beginning to introduce - saves time and fuss for the busy.

C2 RIBS · 03 June 2013, 11:46

Another issue for all of us is the number of boat users who regularly role up at a marina/ private pontoon and expect to moor without calling the marina for permission and where to moor. Quite often we can book moorings, arrive at a location and find the mooring is taken by a fellow boater who just rocked up and hooked the lines on and diappeared leaving the marina having to locate us elsewhere.

The fees at Haslar Lightship do seem steep for a half hour coffee stop. Each marina on the solent have fees which vary on price and times for short stays. A lot are very fair and allow a free come alongside and drop and pick when I suppose they could charge being private property

Hightower · 03 June 2013, 20:02

I think that there is another reason they charge the price. If it were free or at a reduced rate of say £2 for an hours stay then the traffic in to and out of the Marina increases significantly, thus making it more difficult to manage at times. When we used to roll up there years ago we were often rafting, even though they have lots of pontoon space.