Latest Coronavirus Update
Tel: +44(0)1590 673312 E-Mail: enquiries@berthon.co.uk
Tel: +44(0)1590 673312 E-Mail: enquiries@berthon.co.uk
July 19, 2021
Berthon Covid-19 Protocol (July 2021)
All italics are quoted Government Guidance
Berthon COVID-19 Protocol Update 14.07.2021
Information for boat owners, Berthon staff & contractors using our marina and boatyard based upon Government guidelines and our own Risk Assessments:
From 19 July, there will no longer be any limits on the number of people or households that you can meet with. In addition, the requirement to socially distance from others will end, other than in a few exceptions. Social distancing rules (2 metres or 1 metre with additional mitigations) will be lifted. You should continue to consider the risks of close contact with others, particularly if you are clinically extremely vulnerable or not yet fully vaccinated, as the risk of catching or passing on COVID-19 is generally higher:
To help protect yourself and your friends, family, and community please continue to follow all of our guidance even if you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Berthon (including all its subsidiaries) has continued to be fully operational, working within the government guidelines in a Covid safe environment: This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers’ businesses providing manufacturing [&] repair services, storage and distribution facilities.
Berthon Lymington Marina is providing a full service for overnight visitors, short stays (up to 4 hours), long term casual visitors (over 5 nights) and annual berths starting throughout the year. Please call the Dockmasters on 01590 647405 or VHF Channel 80 to check availability.
We will welcome any yachts returning from overseas and will assist in their 10-day mandatory quarantine (if not from a red list country) or the balance of 10 days if you have been outside the common travel area and have isolated at sea by providing a berth, fuel, water, power and a provisioning service where needed to allow diligent quarantining for the mandated time period.
From 4am Monday 19 July you will not need to quarantine on arrival in England or take a day 8 COVID-19 test, as long as you:
Fully vaccinated means that you have had your final dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before the date you arrive in England.
You will need to:
Please check here for the latest country guidance. Yachting has always been a community sport and now more than ever is the time to look after one another. Please contact the Dockmasters for more information.
Follow these steps:
Countries and territories are listed as either red, amber or green. The rules for testing and quarantine when you arrive in England are different for each list.
The rules you must follow depend on which countries or territories you’ve been in or travelled through in the 10 days before you arrive in England, as well as the one you’re travelling from.
For example, if you travel from an amber list country but have been in a red list country in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow rules for red list countries.
If you’re a resident or visitor travelling to the UK from any country, you must provide your journey and contact details.
You’ll also need to self-isolate in the place you’re staying after you arrive. It is not permissible to visit your boat during this period or undertake any activity away from that address. Further information under Useful Links, below or call the dockmasters and we can do a specific Risk Assessment for you.
The Dockmasters regularly patrol the piers and gantries to ensure the overall safety of our property and in the process may notice and correct issues that may cause damage. If this involves a berth holder’s boat, an email is sent as an aide-memoire. We offer bespoke security checks on boats(often with FaceTime) at owners’ requests; contact the Dockmasters if you wish to take advantage of this.
The marina washrooms have had a rigorous cleaning routine since early summer 2020 and until further notice, the marina washrooms will still be unavailable between 1500 – 1700hrs seven days a week whilst being decontaminated (fogging); additionally, we are cleaning washrooms regularly throughout each day whilst open.
We politely request that after you have used the lavatory you close the lid before flushing. This prevents airborne particles (possibly containing bacteria and/or viruses) from being released into the air. Wipes will be provided for cleaning loo seats, door handles etc, including those at the exit; bins for the wipes are inside and outside the washrooms.
However, we cannot guarantee washrooms will be Covid-19 free at any given time. Where possible and for your own safety purposes, owners are asked to use their boat’s showers & toilets, please.
Whilst the dockmasters and cleaners will continue to monitor the washrooms, please do report any situation that merits immediate attention at the Dockmasters’ office.
The office continues to hand out sanitised keys using the protocol we adopted prior to lockdown. This includes sterilising keys on return.
We thank those who filled in the annual review form. We scored between 8.2 and 9.5 /10 over the nine questions and this year we still plan more changes to ensure we continue to improve where we can. If you have time, please add a comment to Trust Pilot or Google. We appreciate your support.
Our staff continue to take regular tests along with sub-contractors and crew that we are working closely with. All of our management team and skilled employees are at work along with all 23 of our apprentices. Our collective challenge is still to monitor when you, contractors, and we are aboard boats on-site if we are to be working on them or showing them for sale) – see link for viewing boats. With Covid-19 surviving airborne and on surfaces we have been quarantining boats with a 72-hour moratorium between individuals going aboard. The amount of work and demand for separate skills has necessitated a change in protocol.
Please ensure if you are on-board your boat whilst Berthon staff are present you stay on the deck whilst they work inside to remove the potential risk to you and them created by close contact
Additionally, Berthon staff will continue to sanitise their hands before accessing your boat and wear masks if not double-vaccinated or on request.
Yacht Maintenance and Repair (YMR) phone numbers:
Berthon sheds remain closed for owners; meetings can occur by Zoom or Microsoft Teams and the YMR department are happy to meet you in the open-air on-board.
Thank you to all owners and contractors who have diligently checked in and out at the Dockmasters office, as part of our collective challenge to work on as many boats as possible. With Covid-19 surviving airborne and on surfaces our Risk Assessment still suggests a 72-hour moratorium between different individuals going aboard unless we decontaminate with an appropriate antibacterial and antivirus disinfectant that kills 99.9 per cent, dries within an hour and is not alcohol-based and therefore safe for engine rooms.
When it becomes necessary, Berthon will endeavour to decontaminate boats if they are to be used by owners who give at least 48 hours advanced notice to the YMR Team and with a deadline of the previous Wednesday lunchtime for weekend use/arrivals, in writing.
The above renders the boat safer for all parties.
The boatyard-gated entrance at Bath Road will remain closed and access to sheds is for Berthon staff only; owners and contractors are simply not permitted unless accompanied by a project manager. The stores are operating with a closed counter apart from Berthon staff. Project Managers can place orders for owners for delivery to the boat.
We continue to ask that owners do NOT come to watch the launch/lift of their boat during these hazardous times.
Please email drysailing@berthon.co.uk to specifically request a boat movement.
Berthon International have a specific protocol for viewing boats for sale. Please call direct on 01590 679222 to make an appointment.
https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk
We thank you all for your continued patience and determination to see off the virus. We, collectively, now need to ready ourselves for a different way of boating that is mindful of the safety of all boat owners, your household members, and the wider Berthon and contractor workforce, as well as maintaining sensible behaviour afloat to prevent poor press that might jeopardise the gift that has been returned to us, IE going to sea.
