The Harbour Users Association says not enough is being done to revitalise the island’s harbours and open them up to the leisure yachting business.

Captain Eddie Kaighin, who is chairman of the association, stated that more should be done to create marinas in harbours such as Port St Mary and Ramsey.

Citing a 2007 report commissioned by the then harbours division of the Department of Transport, now the Department of Infrastructure, the plans form part of a wider plan to expand the island’s private leisure craft business.

The report is called ’Cowes of the North: Economic Benefit Potential of the Maritime Leisure Industry in the Isle of Man’.

Captain Kaighin states: ’Of all the Irish Sea countries, we are the most ideally placed to take advantage of this lucrative business, yet past governments seem to have had little interest in further developing our maritime leisure facilities.

’Look how the marinas in Peel and Douglas have regenerated and revitalised the harbour areas albeit they fall far short of the recommendations in the report for a first class marina.’

He said the marinas currently have waiting lists, which he claims include some applicants who have been waiting for a year.

He also claimed Douglas and Peel marinas are both at 100% capacity with the few empty berths being used for visiting yachts.

He cites page 23 of the report to suggest new marinas with visitors would benefit adjacent areas.

The 2007 report suggests staging a regatta, saying it could grow to include 100 boats, and outlined the average daily spend of £49 per person, per day for competitors and £137 per day for spectators.

The report also suggests the island could do well due to the number of flights to and from the island per day.

It states that in 2007 the island had busy air links to, in particular, the north-west of England.

’The Isle of Man is well placed centrally to attract non-residents and has good air connections to the UK and Ireland,’ the report states.

’There are up to 18 flights a day to the northwest of England, up to 12 flights a day to the London region, and other populous areas such as Birmingham and Belfast are well served.’

However, since then, the number of flights off the island have decreased significantly, with a number of routes lost including between Ronaldsway and Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Blackpool and Newcastle.

It was also reported recently that tourism into the island has fallen, raising doubts over the relevance of the 2007 report.

The recent harbours development plan also includes proposals to develop marinas in the north and south of the island suggesting there may be a chance for the Isle of Man to become the ’maritime jewel of the Irish sea’ that Captain Kaighin and the Harbour Users Association wants it to be.