In the summer of 1991, Tony Hackett sat on his Yacht “Bold Lancer” surveying the Cobbs Quay Marina as it was then and he was alarmed at the way it looked! The berths at low tide were full of mud, causing the boats to lie at odd angles and making access difficult for the owners.

Tony discussed the situation with other Berth Holders over a drink in the Yacht Club. By the end of the conversation the Berth Holders Association had been born. The original board members included Tony, Bob Maidment and Eric Hall. The initial purpose of the B.H.A was to represent all the berth holders in a united voice over day to day running of the Cobbs Quay Marina.

The first challenge was to address the dredging of the marina and access channel. The profile of the problem was raised with the help of the boating press and after photographic evidence was published in a Yachting Magazine the marina owners took the necessary action.

At the end of 1993, the second full season, the B.H.A had swelled to 100 members. By the end of 1996 this had jumped to 219, and today over 600 skippers have paid subscription fees.

In 1994 with the majority of the dredging work work completed, The B.H.A established a social side after a successful group cruise. This led to the ever popular “cruising calendar” and “cruising in company”.

Today the objectives of the association are much the same:

The key objectives of the Association for 2007 are:

Vision
Enabling members to 'Go Further'

Key Strategies
Develop members’ experience of cruising from Cobbs Quay.
Continue to enhance members use of website.
Promote safety.
Gain recognition by MDL as a valuable link with the members.

2007 Activities
Liase with MDL to give value add to members e.g. an MDL led activity
Continue to develop the financial input from revenue generating activities
Drive up membership numbers by 100 during the year
Seek to improve the Yacht Club ‘experience’
Produce a Newsletter for our members
Continue to develop website content and functionality
Review and improve Association processes, internal targets and customer service levels
Enhance the understanding of the membership through development of the database
Approach and develop a relationship with Davis’ office and members
Establish and run at least 3 non cruising events to include social and training activities.