The Poole Harbour Guide 2013 FREE

Welcome to Poole Harbour
What a great pleasure as Harbour
Master in welcoming you to the 2013
edition of The Poole Harbour Guide
which is in its 15th year
It goes without saying that I am extremely proud of my post as
Harbour Master of Poole Harbour and over the past 5 years I
have been equally as proud of the dedicated team that work,
very efficiently, to ensure that the harbour and port is kept
open 365 days every year for business and your pleasure. A
huge thank you to all who have assisted me thus far.
When you are out on the water in Poole Harbour you may
not realise just what goes on behind the scenes to make that
possible. The safety measures, keeping channels open, vessel
monitoring, harbour patrols, security measures,
communications, co-ordination, pilotage, harbour control,
maintaining Aids to Navigation, moorings maintenance,
dredging, surveying, cargo handling, towage, administration,
the list goes on.
Navigational safety is the primary function of any Harbour
Master and that should apply to everyone out on the water.
Together we must ensure the harbour is a safe place to work,
compete and play. An important factor in achieving this is by
regularly meeting with the harbour community to discuss
issues with the aim of improving safety. Poole Harbour
Commissioners (PHC) pride themselves in meeting with the
majority of stakeholder groups twice yearly. Recently we have
taken the leap into social networking and opened Facebook
and Twitter accounts which have provided valuable
interaction with harbour users that we may not meet.
Poole Harbour Control is our 24 hour information service
that continually monitors activities on the water ensuring that
merchant and naval shipping transits safely without conflict
with each other and other harbour users.
All activities in the harbour have to be formally risk assessed
and when required, control measures are put in place to
mitigate risk to as low as reasonably practicable. Substantial
investment was recently agreed by the Board to enhance
radar and Automatic Identification System (AIS) capability as
well as new innovative vessel monitoring software to
improve situational awareness. This will greatly enhance the
monitoring capabilities of the Harbour Control Officers
thereby improving navigational safety.
All the “behind the scenes” management and mitigation
measures inevitably have a financial cost which is covered by
The Poole Harbour Guide ~ 2013
revenue received by PHC, without Government funding.
For those who enjoy the public right to navigate on the
harbour you should be aware that this is dependent on
purchasing the appropriate Harbour Dues. Harbour Dues
can be paid at the Harbour Office or at any marina or yacht
club in Poole Harbour. Alternatively why not use our online
payment service which can be used via the PHC website
mentioned below. This is your contribution to navigational
safety and the environment.
The incredible Poole Harbour environment is of course what
makes the harbour such an amazing place to be and we
should all play our part in ensuring it is protected for many
generations to come. Please make yourself aware of the very
sensitive areas around the harbour, especially to the South.
PHC were required by Government to produce a
Navigational Safety Management Plan which has recently
been updated and is available to view or download from
the PHC website. A number of important PHC marine
policies are included in this plan which covers the following
areas: Navigational Safety, Pilotage, Hydrographic,
Enforcement, Training, Harbour Control, Moorings,
Wrecks, Dredging, Environment and not least Consultation.
This publication has proved to be very popular over the
years, not only for the local harbour community but also for
the many visitors that are welcomed each year. I do hope
you will make good use of this guide in 2013 which is
intended to keep you updated with all that Poole Harbour
has to offer and to have an understanding of local regulation
which will help to make your time on the water a safer and
more enjoyable experience.
More detailed information can be obtained from the Poole
Harbour Commissioners website www.phc.co.uk which is
regularly updated.
Continue to safely enjoy and look after this beautiful harbour
and please do not hesitate to contact me about any harbour
related matter by writing to the harbour office or by email to
pooleharbourcommissioners@phc.co.uk
Alternatively follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Captain Brian Murphy AFNI
Harbour Master