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The yachting press depends on support from the boatbuilding industry, who depend on continuous growth of their markets. The RYA has also adopted a ‘More is Better’ strategy, on the grounds that (apart from the wish to introduce more people to our sport) that there is safety in numbers; a stronger sport can present a more effective lobby. Perhaps we are now the victims of their success!
One consequence of this success has been the pressure on moorings and marina berths. I resent the fact that vast numbers of boats, many of which are hardly used, are clogging up the marinas and driving up prices for the rest of us. The situation is again becoming critical in many areas. Marinas are under pressure from boatbuilders to make room for new expensive craft, probably displacing two or more smaller boats but getting more net revenue. Destinations are not getting any bigger. Yarmouth, on the Isle of Wight, for example, has been known to close during a Saturday morning in summer because they cannot physically take any more boats. While such yachting ports are doing what they can to increase density – e.g. by use of pontoons rather than pile or swinging moorings – expansion of facilities gets tangled in the mess of coastal zone planning consents.
The RYA has also been successful, so far, in maintaining with government that self regulation is sufficient, and that it works. For many years, most of us have supported that point of view, but traffic density and the increasing speeds of power boats are making an increasing number of people question whether we can go on allowing anyone to turn up at a boatshow, buy a large powerful yacht or motorboat, and drive off through busy areas. It is increasingly tempting to say that boats should be registered and that ‘drivers’ should pass a test.
So we conclude that any system of boat registration is automatically a tax gathering system, and should be viewed with extreme caution. Despite that, I fear that it has to happen, and will happen. We will rely on RYA, and to a much lesser extent (on this issue) the Cruising Association to look after our interests. I disagree with both of them on many issues, but I am a member of both because they are the only bodies government will listen to regarding my own personal selfish interests.
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