Devastation at Holyhead Marina

[Salty]

Overnight from Thursday 1st to Friday 2nd of March the Marina at Holyhead bore the brunt of force 12 north easterly winds from storm Emma, causing major devastation. The pontoons were ripped off their moorings, many boats were damaged with some seventy to eighty going aground onto the rocky foreshore to the south of the Marina and a number of boats were sunk. Anyone who had a boat there during the storm and who has not already been advised should contact the Marina for an update.

[Laysula]

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/dramatic-drone-footage-reveals-shattering-14367089   Some drone footage and reportage on the aftermath. We had a few years in Holyhead both in the marina and on the moorings. So sad to see.

 

[Salty]

I visited Holyhead on Friday, and apart from one vessel which remained afloat within the area of the Marina, all others that did not escape had either sunk, or were on the rocks to the south of the Marina.
At a meeting held in the Marina cafe that evening, it was advised that the Marina and its insurers were in contact with Loss Adjusters who would initiate and start the recovery process. A single salvage company would be appointed, and to keep boat owners and other users of the Marina updated a proposed schedule and time line would be published on Marina and Sailing Club websites. Affected boat owners were to be notified before their boat was recovered. Security Patrols were already in place in an effort to prevent looting.
At the end of the meeting it was proposed that a further meeting or meetings would be held to ensure that owners were kept informed.
In regard to Holyhead Sailing Club swinging moorings, these were expected to be ready for use as usual from the 1st of April, despite that one of the club launches (No 2 Launch) had been sunk during the storm. However although the club had a fair number of vacant moorings last year, it was reported that there had been a large number of enquiries from persons seeking moorings for the summer that morning, so there is bound to be a queue.
One Bavaria boat is known to be on the rocks, picture to follow.

[Salty]

Rebuilding of Holyhead Marina (BBC News)

Work has started to rebuild a storm-savaged marina five months on from the damage.
Holyhead Marina was hit by Storm Emma in March damaging 80 boats, several of which sank.
In May, the marina received £100,000 from the Welsh Government towards the cost of a clean up, which is now complete.
The owners said they were moving on to the next stage of rebuilding the marina and preparing it for future storms.
Director of the company Geoff Garrod said he was "pretty optimistic" about its future and they were salvaging some of the marina components from the seabed.
"The landing stage is being rebuilt from salvaged and repaired components," he said.
"Some parts of the marina were not damaged during the storm, so it made sense for us to reuse them."
So far, the marina has 160m of docking space for boats, which will increase to 200m by this weekend.
"It's essential for boats on passage that it's back up and running," he added. **
"The marina is accessible 24 hours a day. There is nowhere else like it; nowhere so well connected to the rest of the UK. It's such a great gateway into Wales."
However, Mr Garrod said there had been bigger strategic issues that need to be addressed.
"With climate change, storms are becoming more frequent, so we commissioned experts to analyse Storm Emma so that we can be prepared if something similar happens in the future," he said.
"It's a good opportunity for everyone in the area to rebuild together.
"We've set up a port users association, and we think we can make a forum where we can come up with shore and land based projects."
**(Nb, a limited number of swinging mooring visitor berths are currently available from Holyhead Sailing Club during the remainder of the season to the end of October. These berths are served by a “Club Launch” to get you ashore or back between 0900 and 2100 daily with longer hours over the weekend, contact “Club Launch” on VHF channel 37).