By John Denny
Nevis Reporter
(Long Point) – With the new moorings for yachts in place along Pinneys Beach, the number of craft coming to Nevis has been on the rise. With the increase of tourists comes an increase of suggestions and the General Manager of the Nevis Air and Seaport Authority, Spencer Hanley, considers all input, good and bad.
“I feel we have a very good system in place, but that doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement,” Mr. Hanley said. “Most of the (yachters) leaving Nevis have good things to say and are happy with the way we do things and with our (mooring) prices.”
There was a complaint a week ago about Nevis not being “dinghy friendly” by a European couple on their way to St. Maarten and then across the Atlantic.
“We came here to get some groceries and a case of rum,” said Mr. David Seed. “But we were told it was illegal to pull our dinghy up on the beach and the pier is a long way from the moorings and a long way to haul our groceries.”
Mr. Hanley received a written complaint from Mr. Seed.
“I didn’t talk to the man so I don’t know who told him it was illegal to pull his dinghy up on the beach,” said Mr. Hanley. “We have a designated swim area marked with buoys that excludes boats from that area, but it is not illegal to bring your dinghy up on the beach.”
Mr. Seed also expressed concern over his insurance saying that his policy covered him if he used his anchor, but if he tied to a mooring it wouldn’t. He was also concerned with leaving his dinghy on the beach or at the pier while he and his wife bought provisions. They had moved their yacht close to the Charlestown pier to facilitate provisioning and so he could use his anchor, but the port authority told him he had to move.
“On many islands there is provided floating platforms to tie dinghies up to,” Mr. Seed said. “They are usually in water a bit over waist deep, just off the beach. It makes coming ashore much more convenient and you don’t have to worry as much about kids playing on it or someone coming along bothering your dinghy. If we tied it up to the pier… I couldn’t get anyone to tell whether or not it would be insured against theft and I can’t get anyone to tell me whether the moorings are insured.”
The moorings are not insured, according to Mr. Hanley.
“I have never heard of anchor insurance either, but I am not a boater,”Mr. Hanley said. “The moorings were put in last year by a company in Antigua that specializes in doing so. Each mooring is screwed 18 feet into a sound substrate and all of them were just inspected by divers from the company that installed them last year. The moorings are sound, but if you are sailing a yacht, you should have a brain also and if a storm is coming, you should probably head for safer water or the protection of a marina somewhere.
“As for his concern with leaving a dinghy at the Charlestown pier; there is 24-hour security. You can lock your dinghy to the pier. All we ask is that you leave the key with the security guard in case it needs to be moved,” Mr. Hanley said.
