Demand for moorings starts to cool after high last year

In October of last year, Guernsey Ports’ marinas were 95% full and had more than 200 people on the waiting list.

‘Last year it was just exponentially getting bigger, but there has been a bit of movement in the market and we’re under 200 now,’ said assistant harbour master Kieran Higgs.

The type of mooring depends on the size and depth of the boat – owners of larger boats could be waiting two or three years, but the wait for smaller boats may be 12 to 18 months.

‘If people buy new boats, it generally takes that long for them to be built anyway,’ said Mr Higgs.

‘There is a lot of demand, but with costs going up and fuel prices, that will

mean we probably see some movement soon.’

Mr Higgs has been working to change the way moorings work, and has satisfied a lot more customers by moving moorings around and moving boats to smaller pontoons when the owners downsize.

‘We’re working hard to try and optimise the space we’ve got and squeeze boats in where we can.

‘I’m working with marine traders to keep the market buoyant, but every boat manoeuvres differently, some owners are more capable than others, so each case is different.’

There was an upsurge in the number of people looking to keep a boat in the island during the pandemic.