We hear a lot about damage caused by anchors in places like Studland and though the scientific evidence suggests that there isn't an issue in Studland despite what some claim, it's clear that poorly designed moorings can cause issues.

Here in Deshaies, the moorings are free which always makes us a bit suspicious. Who is paying for the maintenance if there is no income? Out here it's always easy to dive and check as the water is lovely and warm :). This is what I found: It's really nicely done. A thumping great weight, a float to hold the riser off the bottom and a nice thick warp up to the buoy. Plenty of life on the seabed.

Contrast this with the mooring for the trip boat right next to us. Clearly this is not one of the official moorings and you can see the seabed is scoured around the riser as it's dragged around the sea floor. Sometimes it's worth doing it properly...