Portishead Cruising Club affords its members the opportunity to benefit from some of the cheapest moorings available in the Bristol Channel. For further information on moorings contact Rodney Deacon, Moorings Officer.
The Club has 13 usable moorings on the River Avon. Moorings are allocated at the beginning of the sailing season in March. All are mud moorings and boats therefore float in a mud wallow over low water.
To apply for a mooring, club members should apply via the online form. Mooring fees are payable in full by the 27th of January and at the annual moorings allocation night. The club reserves the right to charge a returnable berthing deposit.
Each mooring is graded for desirability and floating time and allocated according to the points earned by the owner. Points can be earned by contributing to the maintenance of the moorings or by contributing towards the running of the club. To be eligible for a club mooring owners must be members for at least 6 months and their vessel must carry third party insurance to the value of not less than £2m. To allow safe access, the size of boats is normally limited to 9.2m.
For pilotage guidelines for club moorings, please see the Pilotage for the River Avon page.
Using and Maintaining Club Trot Moorings
The club provides trot chains which cross the creeks. These enable boat owners to attach the risers to their mooring buoys. Risers must be chain and attached to the trot chain using a clove hitch to reduce wear. The loose end of which must be secured to the riser. A mooring buoy capable of lifting the trot chain should be attached to the riser. The length of the riser chain should correspond to the draft of the boat normally on the mooring thus ensuring the riser is kept as short as possible to avoid collisions in high winds.
In general, boats further away from the stream side of the trot will have a lesser draft thus allowing them access over any part of the trot chain they need to pass. On each trot, the owner of the boat nearest the stream is designated the ‘trot master. and is responsible for the maintenance of the trot.
Guidelines for Working with Moorings
The club has provided health and safety guidelines when working with or using the club’s moorings. The guidelines can be read on the health and safety page.