Dun Laoghaire's six yacht clubs have criticised the high prices for the proposed 680-berth marina. It is feared that it could cost over £2,750 for a 30-foot yacht per year. The clubs are also angry at the permanent removal of 260 of the harbour's 450 moorings to make way for the country's largest marina, scheduled for completion in 2002.
The four waterfront clubs, representing over 5,000 sailors, have protested that charges at £275-per-metre would be more than triple those paid for swinging moorings or double those levied at Howth YC marina.
Operating under the umbrella organisation of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Clubs (DLCC), Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, Royal St George YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC, as well as Royal Alfred YC and Dublin Bay SC, were supported in their protest yesterday by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA). DLCC spokesman Martin Crotty has sought an urgent meeting with Philip Lynch, chairman of Dun Laoghaire harbour company, to underline the fact that high berth prices could cause a reduction rather than an increase in sailing activity.
Neither the harbour company or Marina Marketing and Management Ltd, the preferred bidders in the marina concession contract, would make any comment yesterday on the basis that they are precluded from doing so under the public sector tendering process.
In February, DLCC were one of four other shortlisted bidders for the marina contract and, in their unsuccessful tender, they argued strongly that berth costs could realistically be set in the region of £160 per metre. "We have reason to believe, but will be very pleased if it is untrue, that Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is negotiating with Marina Marketing and Management Ltd, a private company, that will result in berth rates in the region of £225 before VAT, or a likely £275 if VAT is charged, plus additional charges for lift-out, launching and winter storage ashore."
Current rates in the Dublin area are in the vicinity of £160 per metre per annum according to the DLCC. The commercial marina at Malahide in north Dublin charges approximately £170 to 190 per metre. Howth YC Marina charges £4.60 per square foot, which is equivalent to £135 per metre for a typical nine metre boat.
Supporting DLCC, ISA president Paddy Maguire, responsible for the Government-supported national sailing policy, has also written to the harbour company seeking the likely charges for the new facility.
A significant proportion of Dun Laoghaire boats up to nine metres are valued at £8,000 to £14,000. At a berth rate of £275, the annual charge would be £2,475, or between 18 per cent and 31 per cent of the capital value of the boats concerned, Crotty claims. DLCC estimate the national average mooring charge is estimated to be five per cent of capital value. DLCC have surveyed some of its 5,000 membership and confirmed that marketable rates are approximately £160.00 per metre per annum based on a typical nine-metre to 10-metre boat. In the Dun Laoghaire context, this is equivalent to approximately twice the rate currently paid by yacht club members for a swinging mooring for the sailing season, plus the cost of annual launching, lift-out and winter storage ashore. In principle, the clubs are welcoming the increase in berths the marina will bring, as it has the potential to increase greatly the level of sailing in the Dun Laoghaire area, but the benefits they say will be realised only if marina berths are priced at current market rates.
For its part, the harbour company maintains it must charge a commercial rate after the cost of construction, including a £12 million breakwater, is taken into account.
The clubs have, without any capital grant assistance, recently invested upwards of £3 million in improved facilities in the harbour. The clubs now fear a possible drop in membership with sailors choosing between a marina berth or club membership if costs dictate.
