Navigating wind farms

STUART CARRUTHERS is the RYA’s Cruising Manager and is heavily involved in the association’s discussions with wind farm operators

They may not yet be a pervasive hazard to cruising, but with more wind farms arriving by the year it’s fair to say they are already moving on from being something only those on the east coast or heading to Belgium, Denmark or the Netherlands need to think about.

The Danish were the first to install offshore turbines in the 1970s but the earliest applications for UK wind farms were made only in 1996. The Crown Estate owns almost all UK coastline out to 12 nautical miles and had to agree to lease the seabed before construction could start.

Talks with the Coastguard, the RYA and other interested parties were held by the British Wind Energy Association, which then formulated Best Practice Guidelines for offshore wind farm development.

The first project in UK waters was completed in 2001. Between 2004 and 2019, however, 38 offshore wind farm sites including a number of demonstrator sites have been commissioned. Seven more are under construction, and further sites have either been consented or are in the planning stages of development.

It’s important to note that there have been no recorded incidents involving recreational craft and offshore wind farms since the start of operations around the