Forums, Advanced Mooring Systems
A forum to share information and developing ideas about protecting our seabed and the sea life that it supports.
Traditional sinker and chain moorings can scour the seabed around them due to the action of wind, waves and boat movement, causing damage to plant life. This action may also have some beneficial effects in helping spread dislodged plants and bringing nutrients to the surface.
Advanced Mooring Systems are being developed, trialed and assessed around the world to try to restore seabed life in areas where it has been damaged.
At Castle Cove we already have Seagrass and other abundant seabed plant life, we want to keep it that way.
10:47 27 January 2024
Survey Reports from the Marine Conservation Society 2 Replies
These deserve careful reading and further discussion.
Post your thoughts and comments here.
Link to Sea Grass Reports and other downloads if not signed in.
MCS CCSC 2023 report.pdf, Social Science Report Final.pdf, Workshop report Nov 2023.pdf
09:38 21 June 2023
The story so far 1 Reply
Castle Cove Sailing Club was founded in 1923 and is now in its 100th year.
Keelboats have been moored in the shallow waters off Castle Cove and Sandsfoot Beachs for much, if not all of that time. The Sea Grass beds that we see now beneath our moorings and nearby have survived and in some areas are thriving.
To some extent our moorings have provided protection to the sea bed from trawling and other damaging commercial fishing practices.
Traditional sinker and chain moorings, as used on all Castle Cove moorings currently, inevitably disturb and therefore potentially damage sea bed life in the area where there is contact between the chain and the sea bed. This contact is a necessary element in how traditional moorings work, the friction with the sea bed contributing to the dampening effect that helps keep boats safely moored. Anyone with a mooring will know that it is contact with the seabed that also provides the greatest wear to chain; the galvanised protective coat is literally sandblasted away, leaving the unprotected chain to corrode quickly.
‘Advanced Mooring Systems’ (AMS) is the term being used for new ways of replacing traditional moorings with systems that are considered to cause the seabed and sea life less damage.
Castle Cove Sailing Club looked at trialing one of these systems in 2021/2022. We ran into problems finding a suitable way to fix the AMS securely to the seabed. This is still the main obstacle for us.
Working together with the Marine Conservation Society we have supported the laying of the No Anchor Zone buoys, sponsored by Salcombe Gin, to protect the sea bed from the anchors of visiting boats.
Castle Cove Sailing Club is currently supporting a more detailed survey by the Marine Conservation Society Remedies Project of the growth of sea grass around our moorings and nearby. This survey, and other data – including our comments and views, will help guide any changes we may choose to make regarding our moorings so any change is effective in further protecting and promoting sea bed life along our shoreline.
Lack of knowledge of the AMS available, their strengths and their limitations, is a further obstacle which it is hoped this forum will go some way to address.
CCSC members may comment directly and share ideas on this forum.
Members of the public may send comments via the Enquiry service available elsewhere on the Club website.
10:25 18 June 2023
Marine Conservation Society 1 Reply
Dr Solandt is our main contact at the Marine Conservation Society
Visit their website, sign up to their newsletter, read more about what the Society does to help protect our Oceans.
Dr Jean-Luc Solandt
Principal Specialist, Marine Protected Areas
Member, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
ReefCheck Course Director
Marine Conservation Society
www.mcsuk.org