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WHAM AGM

The AGM of WHAM took place on 8th December at the Marine Laboratory, Dunstaffnage and there was a healthy attendance of members and interested parties. The minutes have already been circulated to Mooring Association secretaries. The outgoing Chairman, Robert Kincaid, addressed the issue of 'what do members get for their money' and concluded that we offer a good value policy. Robert Clement ( RHYC and WHISCA) was elected Chairman and Jim Traynor (Tobermory HA) Vice-Chairman while Brian Evans (Sunart MA) and Eoghan Maclachlan (Luing MA) were elected to the committee.

After the business meeting Rob Adam of Crown Estates(CE) brought us up to date with developments and current pressures. On tags he reminded us of the need to ensure they are present while recognising that they were known to fall off! Alternatives were all poorer in performance. He also recognised that this issue generated strong views and encouraged members who felt strongly about tags to contact him or P-J Korbel directly. Concern was expressed about delays in obtaining replacement tags from Bidwells and the advice was to copy requests to RA or P-J when sending requests to Bidwells.

The developments at Tobermory are a first for the West Coast and have been very successful. CE continue to look for investment opportunities in marine estate and MA's are encouraged to bear this in mind when considering development. (Stop Press! CE has just bought a marina in Wales). CE sought discussion with WHAM regarding a common approach to the Scottish Government on coastal issues, particularly those associated with Section 34 consents. The secretary agreed to meet with CE at an early date.

Deep concern about Section 34 consent processes was expressed in 'any other business' and this was discussed at some length. There is widespread recognition that a sound process is needed and the faults of the current one are well known. Altering it will not be straightforward but the clear wish of the Scottish Government to introduce a Marine Bill may be the trigger for a review.

The business meeting was followed by an interesting resume of the work done in connection with the SAC's in Loch Creran and the Black Isles together with an outline of the SSMEI study in the Sound of Mull given by Mark Steward,Marine and Coastal Development Manager, A&B Council. 

Consents

The total number of consents sought on the West Coast in 2007 was 97, a substantial reduction on 2006. Much of this reduction appears to be due to less activity from Scottish Water and the continued rationalisation of Fish Farming coupled with Local Authorities assuming control of Fish Farming licenses.

WHAM objected to 2 only, seeking a small movement in a proposed development in L Pooltiel and supporting CE in an objection to a mooring in Saulmore Bay, Connel.We also sought clarification on an application to farm seaweed in the North West as the species to be cultivated included 'Laminaria' aka Kelp. It appeared to us important that an assurance could be given by SNH that infestation of anchorages would not occur if this proposal went ahead. SNH gave a sympathetic reception to the query but no answer has yet been received from SNH and consent has not been granted to date. 

It is becoming very clear that the pressure on mooring space is intensifying, with increasing difficulty being encountered in finding free spaces even in the less populated areas, while many MA's have waiting lists. There is little prospect of these pressures diminishing unless radical changes in travel and recreation patterns occur.

L Shieldaig

Happily, we are able to report that Shieldaig MA have retained their exclusive licence in discussions with the CE agents in Inverness(Bidwells). Only the particular area occupied by Highland Council's 'storm moorings' has had to be given up and it has been delineated in the new lease. This is the 'least worst' outcome of an unhappy episode triggered by a doubtful Section 34 consent despite strong representations!

Oban Bay Marine

Many will be aware of the developments in Oban in the course of 2007. For those who are not we commend the OBM web site (obanbaymarine.org.uk) which will explain much of the background. The initial scheme has now been amalgamated with another development and an extraordinarily well attended public meeting in Oban, chaired by Jim Mather, has been held at which it was clear there was widespread recognition of the part leisure boating might play in Oban. Meantime sufficient funds have been generated from interested commercial organisations to fund a proper study of the options. Funding the final proposals will be a real challenge but there is an impetus building up in the area-at last! 

NLB

The new buoys in the Stanton Channel, Sound of Harris are in place and certainly ease passage through that channel! The new lighthouse is in place on Carn na Burg More-it is probably just as well that NLB use helicopters for access and solar panels for power in places like that! The lighthouse on the Monachs will shortly be re-lit. Independently of NLB a new beacon has appeared on the approach to Isle Martin harbour in L Broom. At the NLB Consultative Committee in November there was much discussion on electronic aids to navigation, particularly the re-launch of e-Loran as the back up to GPS in its various forms and the 'fate' of Galileo.

Visitor Buoys in the Western Isles 

The Western Isles deputy harbourmaster has sought WHAM's advice on placing possible additional visitor buoys in Harris and Lewis. After a very constructive discussion with him and some helpful suggestions from pilot authors, we suggested Lochs Lemreway, Leurbost, Erisort, and Finsbay together with Scalpay Harbour as possible places on the east coast of Lewis. A buoy at Calanish in L Roag on the west coast would also be of some advantage though the number of yachts visiting L Roag is very modest.

Wave and Tidal Power

Attendance at a recent Marine Renewables Meeting in Dundee showed clearly that developments are gaining pace. In addition to Pelamis, the flexible tube, there are other devices for Wave Power close to trial and an early tidal turbine has been sited in an Orkney sound at Warness. It is clear that the potential of places such as the Pentland Firth is enormous but the engineering problems to be overcome on the way to realising power from such areas are 'challenging' to quote a source at the meeting! So far there has been little indication of interest in some of the narrower channels farther south. An interesting brochure from the Sustainable Development Commission called 'Turning the Tide' makes good background reading. From a discussion with Scottish Power recently it is clear that the first phase of commercial tidal power devices are more likely to be close to existing grid connections with spare capacity e.g. Caithness rather than Orkney, at least until new connector capacity is installed

Red Diesel

There are no developments to report on this subject. The comments have been collected and they are all with Customs and Revenue who are 'thinking about it'. 

Weather Forecasts

The changes last year to the CG VHF forecasts appear to have been generally welcomed, particularly the 3 hour cycle and the more frequent up-dates. Efforts are still being made by RYA to reduce audible background chat in the CG broadcasts and ensure transmission to areas not affected by emergency working when an emergency occurs elsewhere in the CG District. This latter problem is not an easy problem to solve apparently because aerials are linked together and it is difficult to separate them, or so we are assured.

A real loss is the outlook which is very superficial on the VHF transmission and of little help in passage planning for a few days ahead. 

Closely related to these changes is the development by MCA of Navtex as the primary source of weather information including more extended outlooks. The West Coast is fraught with difficulties for Navtex and transmission from our nearest aerial at Portpatrick is often blocked by the geography. However, discussions are in hand with MetEirean to establish whether Malin Head can transmit our forecasts on Navtex. Since Malin faces north east there is a good chance that this would overcome many of the geographical problems. In addition a new transmitter in Faroe will have the range to reach much, if not all, the west coast. Many small craft do not have Navtex, of course, but these changes will make consideration of it much more worthwhile in future -and it does now work! If you are fortunate enough to have a pc on board then obviously you have access to much more weather information than is available via Navtex.

Green/Blue Seminars

A series of seminars are to be held on 21,28 February and 6 March in connection with the green/blue initiative. Details are on the web site www.thegreenblue.org.uk. 

Notes supplied by David Vass, Secretary. See WHAM's website here.