Jet ski ban for Bowleaze Cove
It comes into force from 1st April
Jet skis have been banned from Bowleaze Cove in Weymouth this summer.
The move was welcomed at a meeting of this week’s Dorset Council harbours committee meeting.
Portland Cllr Rob Hughes welcomed the decision to exclude all motorised vessels from the area, from April 1st.
“Well done on closing the area at Bowleaze to jet skis, it was a safety issue that has now been dealt with.
“I have used that area of the beach myself in the past and I fully understand the risk to swimmers and kayakers by these vessels in that area. I fully support the closure to them…if we could now also keep them off the Chesil Beach I’d be very happy,” he said.
Weymouth harbourmaster Jamie Joyce said a new non-motorised vessel area order was coming into place which would make the Cove safer for swimmers, kayakers and paddle boarders, who would be the only users able to be in the area, up to 400m offshore, from April.
He said the area would be marked by white buoys, but even if the buoys were not in place, the order would still be in operation throughout the year.
Mr Joyce said the order had been agreed by consultees, including the RNLI and the Dorset Police marine section, on the grounds of water safety. A new 4knot limit would also apply within the marked area.
The move comes after a review of the risk assessment register for the area which recognised the Bowleaze Cove area as high risk.
The effect of the move will force all jet skis to launch only from Weymouth inner harbour. This, the committee heard, would be helped by a new online payment system and changes to the car parking by the harbour slipway.
Appropriate signs are being planned to warn of the changes.