Warning for boat owners

Wednesday 08 October 2014

Boat owners have been warned to take steps to secure their boats with strong winds expected until the end of the week – the Jersey Coastguard say that some have already broken their moorings and ended up on rocks.

The coastguard has issued a warning especially targeting those with boats in the outer moorings saying that there’s a big risk of damage if vessels aren’t properly secured.

Senior marine officer Bjorn Risebrow said that they had put out a warning through their Facebook page, but wanted to follow up to make sure that everyone got the message.

He said: “A few vessels have broken adrift over the strong winds in the last few days. We have seen boats that have broken their moorings, and unfortunately when that happens they can drift anywhere – we have found a few on rocks, some quite badly damaged.

“The main things that we would be looking for people to do is the check that their boats have been properly baled, so that all of the water is out. The next most important thing is also the moorings – if they have been on the mooring all season they can start to get worn and that can catch people out, a strong blow can break the mooring.

“The other thing is that if they check the wind and weather, would be to move the vessel, if it’s on an exposed coastline, to move it in enough time to somewhere safe.”