A love of sailing launched James Dodd’s lifelong relationship with the beautiful River Dart, a connection which continues today in his role as chairman of Dart Harbour board.
James Dodd
James began sailing when he moved to Dartmouth with his family as a youngster, a hobby which led him to work as a professional yacht skipper in the ‘90s.
Later he chaired the Joint Regatta Sailing Committee for Dartmouth Royal Regatta’s sailing week, and in 2016 went on to become both the commodore of Dittisham Sailing Club and join the board of Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority.
Since becoming a board member, James has helped resurrect the Dart Estuary Forum which focuses on environmental issues in the eight-mile stretch of river between Dartmouth and Totnes.
In 2020 he was elected chairman and found himself somewhat thrown into the deep end as it was the same year the former chairman resigned, along with a fellow board member and the former harbourmaster, Mark Cooper – ann unsettled period that also included the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic, something which has had repercussions on the business of managing the River Dart ever since.
But with his ability to see the bigger picture and extract the best from his team, James has continued to lead a steady ship through these setbacks.
James explained: “In 2016, I had come to the end of a three-year term as chairman of the Joint Regatta Sailing Committee when a friend suggested I should try to become a board member of Dart Harbour.
“During my interview I was asked what I wanted to achieve and my reply was that I considered that we were all caretakers of the river during its long evolutionary path, and that I would be happy to leave it slightly better than I had found it but had no particular goal or project in mind - so no axe to grind.
“I feel the same way today.”
James continued: “Originally I was asked to be the focal point for environmental issues, which I found very interesting, but which required a great deal of research and self-education.
“In this capacity, and together with the harbourmaster, and Nigel Mortimer of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty office, we resurrected the Dart Estuary Forum and have since put all things environmental to the fore in Dart Harbour planning and consideration.
“I was also elected to be the vice chair in 2017, and then the chairman early in 2019.”
When asked about the skills he brought to the table, James responded: “It is always a difficult question but I try to think logically, be open to alternative views and see the bigger picture.
“I also strive to be a good team leader and can usually draw disparate characters to work together in a common cause.
“As the chairman, my role is to provide leadership and direction, drawing on the wealth of skills, knowledge and experience embedded in my fellow board members.”
He added: “As a board we now review our overall skill set annually and seek to fill any perceived gaps at the next round of recruitment.
“This methodology is now common practice for modern boards and has replaced representational membership that was the model of days gone by.”
To understand the role of the board one must first understand the nature of the authority, said James.
As a Statutory Harbour Authority established via an Act of Parliament, Dart Harbour is what’s known as a Trust Port.
That means it’s required by law to provide certain services such as maintaining the channel from the sea to the weir at Totnes
It must have an ‘open port duty’ to enable both passenger and goods-based trade, and as a ‘Competent Harbour Authority’ must also provide pilotage when necessary or requested.
In its capacity as a ‘Local Lighthouse Authority,’ Dart Harbour also has responsibility for providing and maintaining the navigational aids and marks to ensure safe transit up and down the river.
Dart Harbour is run as a private business which means it is responsible for covering all the costs involved in running the river, and must ensure it has enough money in the bank for future sustainability including replacing key assets.
James said: “The unpaid board members are the duty holders and carry the full weight of responsibility for both the safe operations of the harbour and also the success of the business model - failure is not an option!”
He added: “In carrying out their duties, board members must adhere to the seven principles of public life first set out by Lord James Nolan, one of which is selflessness, and as such they must not promote their own pet projects.
“Rather they should seek to understand the wishes of the stakeholders and act accordingly.
“However, the requirement to sustain the business model must come first.”
For the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has been and continues to be the centre of focus for the board.
Thanks to the “skilful management” of the former harbourmaster, Captain Mark Cooper and his team, the authority ended 2020 just marginally short of its intended financial target for the year, which James hailed “an amazing achievement considering how ‘quiet’ the river had been.”
He added: “We also conducted a challenging recruitment campaign to find a new harbourmaster and are delighted to have Captain Geoff Holland with us today.
“For 2021, the first priority is to allow the new chief executive/harbourmaster to settle into the role, but whose duties will inevitably be hampered by the on-going Covid restrictions and, therefore, to continue to minimise the impact of these on our business model.”
First published in By The Dart magazine in May 2021
