Simon Ellyatt
Dart Connections - Simon Ellyatt
After three and a half years in the role, Simon Ellyatt is standing down as chairman of the Dart Harbour Authority – with something of a heavy heart.
“I’ll be working abroad a lot this year and the authority deserves a leader who is present. It’s not a role that can be fulfilled from afar.”
And Simon will be pretty far away. His latest job sees him looking after a couple of very smart boats, and this summer he’ll be captaining a small super yacht for a wealthy client, moving it between Barcelona and the South of France.
“It costs £70,000 to moor that boat for a year in the Mediterranean – it’s a 22 metre boat and it costs about 600 Euros a night just in moorings. Compare that to 25 Euros or pounds here and you see it’s a big difference. We sometimes get complaints about the price of moorings on the Dart – but down there it is a different league!”
Chairmanship of the Harbour Authority has been a consuming pastime for Simon, a father of four who lives in Stoke Gabriel.
He explained: “It’s an advisory role, chairing the regular meetings and encouraging the board to stick to certain guiding principles. The Harbour Authority is lucky to have a good board. It is a very positive place with a great team.
“I was invited to take up the post three and a half years ago and I have enjoyed it. As a former chairman and managing director of businesses I had the appropriate expertise. The board are all volunteers, and as a trust port, Dartmouth Harbour is not there to make a profit for shareholders, but is there for the benefit of the river. The staff in the Harbour Office manage the day to day running of the river, but we make sure they stick to strategy and national policy – more guidelines than rules.”
It might be a voluntary job, but Simon objects to the term amateur: “I have probably put in 40 hours a month for free for the Harbour Authority, and others put in similar amounts of time. There’s a meeting every month, then probably three or four unofficial meetings in addition to that, and at least an email a day. Everyone involved on the board brings with them a wealth of expertise. We are there to ensure the Harbour Master has the resources he needs to keep the river running properly, for example by managing the 10 year capital plan. The authority is run in the same way as a commercial organisation with the equivalent pricing policy and strategy.
“All of us have a passion for the River Dart, and it is as rewarding as any job to ensure that everyone’s experience of the river is positive. That overrides everything.”
The popularity of sailing on the Dart is ever increasing. There is a waiting list of 800 applicants for moorings, and a purely commercial organisation could rake in profits by filling the river. Simon explained that the Harbour Authority was committed to preserving the character of the Dart, which is why prices stayed accessible and numbers were not increased. A bid to include more people in the running of the river has seen the authority’s annual meeting opened up to all and held centrally in the Flavel.
Simon is well known as the former general manager of Baltic Wharf. Born in London, he grew up in the South East and his earliest memories are of messing about in boats in the muddy creeks of Essex. He went to school on the edge of Exmoor, and began his working life living in the back of a Wolseley while working in a London boat yard In 1981 he moved to Devon to launch Totnes Marine. He’s been here ever since.
After years at the helm in business, it was a conscious decision to stop working full time and adopt a new life style. Now 50-year-old Simon has more time for sailing his lugger in the mouth of the Dart, rowing, walking, teaching Stoke Gabriel youngsters how to sail, and spending time with his own grown up children. He’s about to become a grandfather, laughing: “But don’t tell anybody – I don’t feel old enough for that!”
The tranquillity of the Dart is important to him, as is consideration for other river users. He takes part in rubbish clearing on the foreshore at Stoke Gabriel with other villagers, and he’s not a fan of noisy speed boats or the shouts and yells of noisy people! “It’s not what the river is about. It disturbs wildlife and has a detrimental impact. I row or sail, I never use an engine. It spoils the tranquillity. I have no wish to be a river policeman, but I do think people should stop and think about what they are doing, and about their effect on their surroundings.”
First published April 2010 By the Dart