Hi Folks, 

I appreciate that it's been a hard ride here at Oban Marina of late. I have attached a letter from Peter which will hopefully put a few minds at rest regarding the future of the marina. Should you require any further information please feel free to contact me. 

Kind regards

Neil

 

The Future of Oban Marina.

I wrote to all boat owners on 29 January 2016 at the start of what has been a long and drawn out process to sell the Marina but I have to report that despite much interest it has not been possible to attract a buyer.

The current position is that we have one new interested party who is studying the documentation prior to sending a surveyor/valuer and one party who has made an offer at the 4 August closing date which was deemed unacceptable but who is still interested and may be making a revised offer.

The time has come that as we approach the end of the season we need to make decisions about the future of the Marina for the re-assurance of boat owners and staff.

I had a meeting with Neil last Thursday and we agreed that the Marina will continue through the winter lay-up 2016/17 and through the 2017 summer season and at the end of 2017 we will review what impact the proposed transit marina in Oban has had on our business before taking a decision on our future.

I spoke to the staff on Friday and have given them the re-assurance that their employment is secure and guaranteed until March 2018 and hopefully well beyond that and all the staff have given a clear indication that they will be staying and working to give the Marina a positive future.

I would like therefore to give you the following assurance,

(1) The winter storage for 2016/17 will go ahead as planned either on the water or on the hard.

(2) On 10 August we recruited another ferry driver. The new driver, Tony, is qualified to night watch-keeper standard which means that the ferry will revert back to late night running throughout August - 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11.30pm Friday and Saturday with a promise to meet transport connections. Hours will reduce through September and October as in previous years and we will still maintain a 7 day service throughout the winter lay-up. Tony will also be trained up to Boat-master standard so that he can drive the 34 passenger Pamela J, so the inconvenience of waiting for ferries will be a thing of the past. The ferries will continue to run on a 2 hour timing and will continue to be subject to 'on demand' booking but if the ferry has been booked to run all will be welcome aboard.

(3) The office will be staffed for the remainder of the season 7 days per week although at weekends the staff might also be driving the ferry so there may be 20 minutes every two hours that the office will be closed. During the winter, the office will be staffed Monday to Friday 08.20am to 5.00pm with the same ferry proviso.

In addition to the above we have come to an arrangement with Forbes Boatcare to provide a range of on-site maintenance and repair activities including :-

Total boat management

Mechanical repairs including everything from engine replacement to routine servicing.

Electrical and electronic maintenance and repairs.

Firbeglass repair, gelcoat repairs, painting.

Wooden boat repairs and repairs to boat woodwork, painting and varnishing.

We will also be maintaining our arrangement will Owen Sails for the supply, repair and cleaning of sails and all mast and rigging work.

Our own staff will carry on working on customer boats undertaking such tasks as polishing, anti-fouling, winterizing engines ETC in addition to the normal monitoring of boats through the season and the regular boat checks throughout the winter.

In addition, we will also be a contact point and provide facilities for wet blast anti-foul removal, major boat repairs, chain and anchor re-galvanizing and stainless steel fabrication or repair. If your boat is in need of any attention please speak to us, we want to help.

However some issues still remain which we will continue to work hard to resolve:-

(1) We are still awaiting an MCA response to the transport of diesel to the Marina. In desperation I approached Calmac to charter the MV Raasay (sister ship to MV Eigg which used to deliver diesel in 10,000 litre tanker loads) which is now in Oban as a standby vessel but the price per run was quoted as "in excess of £2,000 per run", adding an uneconomical 20p per litre which would be un-tenable. There are major problems working on an Island but if the MCA won't grant us permission we will continue to look for any viable alternative.

(2) Water has been a problem in the past, but not particularly this year. We're planning to improve the water supply by connecting our water storage tanks to the spring at the North of the Island and also installing rainwater harvesting on the small shed so water can be pumped up to the main storage tanks, thereby extending our supply in periods of drought before we need to operate the desalination plant. We're also planning a new filtration/sterilizing system for the whole Marina.

(3) The Waypoint Grill future is uncertain since Scott didn't renew his tenancy. The Grill has been managed for the last two years by the head chefs (none of us have any catering experience) but the costs and staffing have not been well controlled and the losses have impacted seriously on the profitability of the Marina as a whole. We feel that the Grill is an asset to the Marina and its customers and we will try to seek a young couple who will take on the running of the bar/grill on a franchise arrangement but making sure that mainland customers don't impinge on the ferry service for boat owners which has been a problem in the past.

(4) We're also planning a range of maintenance issues at the Marina. These will include repairs to the pontoon walkway, improvements to the toilet/shower block, demolition of the old workshop, repairs to the big shed and a range of general improvements to tidy up the shore-side area.

I do hope that you will accept my personal guarantee that the Marina will continue, will improve and will provide a welcoming and safe location for your boat and crew.

Yours sincerely

Peter Weir - Managing Director

Oban Marina & Yacht Services Ltd.