Dear Editor

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I would like to report an unpleasant incident at Studland Bay on Thursday 6th September.

We were anchoring our Southerly 110 sailing boat close inshore. On our first attempt the anchor did not hold so we moved a little closer inshore and anchored again. This time the anchor dug in immediately and held on reversing the engine.

This whole procedure was watched by a man and a woman in diving gear. Once at anchor they walked over to us – we were anchored in just 1.4 metres of water – and the man commenced filming our anchor and chain whilst the woman watched. On politely asking her what the man was doing she was evasive. When the man surfaced – a full 10 minutes later – we asked him what he was doing. He replied in an aggressive and offensive manner that he had seen us ploughing the weed with our anchor, that we were pulling the boat forward on the anchor and that he was recording the damage we had done to the eel grass and the sea bed. He added that we were breaking the law and that the film would be sent to “the authorities” and would be used “in evidence”.

To refute this I would point out that we were anchored on the sand and that we could see the bottom, the anchor coming to rest just at the edge of a small patch of weed of perhaps a metre square. There was no sign of a long furrow made by the anchor before digging in and our chart plotter records the fact that we were above the low water mark. On both occasions we raised the anchor there was just a ball of sand/mud on the anchor with a few strands of weed on it.

My concern is that this film will be used at some stage as supposed evidence towards the introduction of a ban on anchoring in Studland Bay. If this should occur and should you ever see this film I would like a chance to refute any claim that damage was done to the seabed.

RYA member

Caroline Price, RYA Planning and Environment Advisor replies

The recent Crown Estate survey and monitoring of seagrass beds in Studland Bay Dorset concluded that there was ‘no consistent evidence that anchoring is impacting the seagrass habitat at Studland Bay’. As a result the voluntary no anchoring zone has now been lifted.

From what you have told us it is clear that diver in question was incorrect to suggest that you were breaking the law.

RYA news story: No evidence from Studland Bay Seagrass Study