The Plymouth Yacht Haven has played an integral part in the Fearn’s life over the last quarter of a century. From back in the early 90’s when the Yacht Haven had just taken over Clovelly Bay, starting out as a new marina with a few portacabins, to the smart offices, hangars, café and facilities on offer to berth-holders today. With 25 years inexplicably linked to the Yacht Haven and it’s Plymouth team, it continues to play a huge part in their lives today.
“The staff are amazing” Angela Fearn explained, “we always get a call if there’s ever a problem on the boat, invariably after they’ve fixed it. We even had a call from Tamsin once, when we were abroad, to ask whether we’d meant to leave a light on, onboard. She went down and switched if off. It’s great to know we’re being looked after, from a security point of view too, just like having a house-sitter.”
Flexible from the start
Jeff and Angela met Tamsin on the day they first steered their motor yacht “Wild Thing” into the marina. They had been assigned F10 on the pontoon but when they arrived, someone had already taken it. The Fearns headed for the office, met Tamsin (then 16 and on a summer job) the now Office Manager, to query it and found that a gentleman had been assigned F13 but didn’t want it for superstitious reasons (!) so Jeff and Angela took it. They had “Wild Thing” on that pontoon from 1994 until 2000, a year later replacing her with Miss Elizabeth, retaining her name in memory of the Queen Mother.
Jeff explained “we’ve had Miss Elizabeth ever since and have enjoyed many family outings, with our 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 2 adopted grandchildren!
Great staff, accessible location
A retired railway driver Jeff, proud to have driven the Queen Mother on a few occasions, told me “Plymouth Yacht Haven is easily the best marina in the area, the way it’s run, the staff, keeping an eye on the boat when we’re away, the location with accessibility to many beautiful coves and bays, both local like The Guard Room and Turnchapel, and further afield too. We’ve enjoyed trips to the Channel Islands, the north coast of France and absolutely love visiting the bays, dropping anchor, turning ‘phones off and relaxing … out of reach!”
Plymouth Yacht Haven’s development over 25 years
When asked what has changed over the years, Angela explained “The Yacht Haven has got bigger. When we first joined, we became part of a tiny marina community, with many boat owners on the marina 24/7, but things change, a few moved away and a few sadly passed away. The Yacht Haven facilities, however, have improved and the level of service is brilliant; the laundry, showers, the Bridge, on-site engineers and maintenance teams and ...” Jeff interjects “the Café in the sheds does a fabulous breakfast.”
With experience in maintenance, having once been a mechanic, Jeff points out “I had a fuel leak on the boat once, which I just knew I couldn’t get to. The guys in maintenance got around to the back of the engine, god knows how (!) took a picture of the problem and fixed it. They were brilliant.”
Memories to cherish
“We’ve had lots of excitement in the marina over the years too though. There was the time they were dredging around the sheds and located a WWII bomb. The police vacated all the local houses, but no one thought to tell the marina. Meanwhile I had left the boat to get fish and chips, luckily bumping into the police blockade, between us raising the alarm and evacuating the marina before they safely dispatched the bomb to detonate it.”
“We’ve watched fireworks displays and an eclipse from the deck of Miss Elizabeth, which we’ll never forget. As the sun hastily re-appeared from behind the moon, the quietened seagulls all flew up in unison – an amazing sight. We’ve seen the pontoons float away with the highest tides I’ve ever witnessed. We’ve put up fellow boat owners when their boat suddenly caught fire, and the office stored our Christmas presents temporarily to make space.”
“Then there was the time we won the first Christmas Lights competition 12 years ago. We lit up the boat with two reindeer at the front, piling up the cabin with Santa and presents, so it looked just like a sleigh.”
And finally, thank you.
“We hugely appreciate the team at the Plymouth Yacht Haven and continue to make many wonderful memories down there. Always making a point of presenting them with a box of biscuits and tin of sweets every Christmas to say thank you to Tamsin and the team for looking after us so well.”
If you’d like to hear more about what’s on offer at Plymouth Yacht Haven call us on 01752 404231.