Needs work

Last evening as we were returning from dinner, there was a major confrontation on the dingy dock between two boatyball customers.

One boat had taken a ball that was not their designated reservation. The actual reservee came later and wanted that ball. The first boat wouldn’t move. The discussion was pretty heated. The first guy – a charter captain was being a jerk. A guest on the second boat was screaming at everyone in a most unladylike manner. The second captain was ok. They had a mooring just not the one assigned.

The system is cut-throat. Especially for the popular sites within easy reach of the charter bases. Reservations for that night open at 7am. Everyone logs in early and waits with their finger on the button eBay bidding style. However there is no oversight or enforcement. No way to resolve issues like this that happen.

In Sweden you can reserve in advance. Think there may have been a limit on the length of stay. At every location there was someone overseeing the spaces – usually a “dock blond”. The system worked very well.

Initially there seemed to be plenty of mooring available to anyone who wanted one. Now there are more boats wanting moorings. Having some sort of premium reservation system makes sense. As currently implemented this needs work.