New mooring laid for Zig Zag

Red Star BC Moorings

The full complement of Red Star BC members turned out on both Saturday and Sunday last, to give Zig Zag the necessary help in laying a new mooring in Warrenpoint outer harbour.

Led by the skipper of Maggie May, the result was a successful dropping, according to the GPS co-ordinates issued by and agreed with the Crown Estate Commissioners.

As can be seen, from the subsequent low water picture, courteousy of the Skipper of the Ares, it is settling in nicely. Next job is the 'dig in' when the rising tides allow from Wednesday next.

The Skipper of Zig Zag would like to pay a big thank you to all members who helped - it's great to be a member of a club which pulls together and helps out individual members without hesitation or argument. It could not have been done without you !!! No cliques or arseholes in our club !!

All Red Star BC member moorings and their GPS co-ordinates, are now legally registered with the Crown Estate Commissioners - unlike the moorings of other, defunct, local boat clubs.

Warenpoint Harbour Authority have no legal jurisdiction over the outer harbour, and moorings, and even  less interest. It is CEC jurisdiction.

Any Red Star BC member who feels that his boat and mooring is impaired by an unregistered, illegal mooring please bring it to the attention of the Red Star BC Commodore Commander-in Chief. A complaint about an illegal mooring will then be sent to the Crown Estates.

Anyone with any issues about any Red Star BC moorings can read what law applies within UK waters. see below ;

Mooring Law 

Laying of Moorings in Tidal Water

The foreshore, namely the ground between high water and low water, and the seabed extending twelve miles out to sea is primarily owned by the Crown Estate Commissioners (CEC). 

In Fowley Marine (Emsworth) Limited v. Gafford (1968) 2 QB 618 it was held that there was no common law right, therefore no public right, to lay or maintain permanent moorings, since it would be little less than fantastic that the law should allow anyone navigating a ship or vessel, including every amateur yachtsman, to place bulky objects on another person's land without permission and to retain them there, presumably forever, as being an ordinary incident of navigation .

Trespass

A person laying and maintaining a permanent mooring without permission may be trespassing and accordingly liable to the owner of the seabed or riverbed on or in which the mooring is placed.

The Crown Estate Commissioners, the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster may bring an action for the recovery of land in the foreshore at any time before the expiration of sixty years from the date on which the right of legal action accrued, namely the date from when the mooring was laid without permission.

Practical steps to legally lay moorings

Clubs seeking to lay moorings for its members should first identify whether the water in which they intend to lay the moorings falls within a statutory habour authority area. If the water is not regulated by a harbour authority, then the club should contact the Crown Estate Commissioners to identify whether the water is controlled by them.

Having clearly identified the status of the intended mooring area, the club will then know whether they must seek permission from an authority to lay and use the moorings.

The club may need to seek authority to lay the moorings from more than one body, namely the harbour authority, if within a harbour area.

Department for Transport

Section 34(1)(b) of the Coast Protection Act 1949 prohibits persons, without written consent of the Secretary of State for Transport, to deposit any object or any material on any such part of the seashore, this being the area of fundus from the high water to a distance of six miles from the low water mark. Material is defined as being minerals and turf, including coal, stone and any metallic substance. Persons in breach of this statute will be liable to pay a fine.

Therefore, the club should consider very carefully the type of mooring tackle which they intend to lay and what effect that tackle would have on navigation.

Within a harbour area, the requirements of s.34 Coast Protection Act 1949 may be supervised by the harbour authority.

This should clarify matters for anyone - plus the CEC has granted full 

permission for the other 5 planned new Red Star BC moorings, and their GPS

co-ordinates. The CEC can be contacted at....

The Crown Estate
16 New Burlington Place
London
W1S 2HX

Everything  clear ??