After 17 boats were broken into at Parkstone Yacht Club (PYC), Dorset, last November cruising captain George McInnes held a meeting to highlight the issue and to call for a solution.

Little did anyone expect that member Jon Knight, a technology designer, would create MoorMesh, a pioneering security system.

MoorMesh takes a £150 outdoor 4G wireless security camera and solar panel set from Amazon and, using a £4 a month SIM card, combines it with the Telegram messaging app, via a web-based notification system.

Its strength is that when the night-vision camera sensor is activated, in addition to sending a real-time alert to the owner’s phone, if not turned off by the owner, it then alerts the wider community, which in PYC’s case includes the Poole harbour master, with timings and exact co-ordinates.

The system can also be set up so that an alarm or voice-recorded message can sound on board, and boaters can also talk in real-time through the camera to anyone on board, as they view the footage on their smartphones.

George McInnes with the MoorMesh system installed on his boat. Credit: Jon Knight

“Our jaws dropped when he showed us what he’d been working on,” said cruising club deputy leader Rhonda Card.

“The solution surpassed what we had hoped for, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be global.”

Knight has spent ‘thousands’ and ‘a lot’ of time on the project, but within just a few months has created a security system that proved successful in a 12-boat trial between April and May and is rolling out at PYC.

He said: “I used AI to program, strengthen and perfect MoorMesh, AI has been the equivalent of having a team of five people working on this; it’s been a real eye-opener for me.”

Knight, who keeps his Comar Comet III near Brownsea Island and in the past has had a £400 VHF radio stolen, said: “We’re fortunate to have some of the most beautiful moorings in the world, but with recurring thefts, it was like having this cloud over us, taking the shine off it.”

How MoorMesh looks on your smartphone. Credit: George McInnes

Night view – the onus is on the boat owner to escalate the alert to police and the harbour authorities. Credit: George McInnes

Real-time alerts

PYC teamed up with Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) and Dorset Marine Police to trial MoorMesh.

Poole harbour master Harry Gregory said: “Thefts of equipment from moorings in quieter parts of harbours across the country are a persistent issue and the harbour masters I frequently speak to are following this trial with keen interest.

“All too often a theft is discovered days or even weeks after it took place and unfortunately little can then be done.

“The MoorMesh system, trialled by PYC and involving PHC, Dorset Police, Harbour Watch and other yacht clubs, could well be the answer.

“It’s an impressive capability that includes automated alerts to nearby mooring holders and to my team in Poole vessel traffic services who, in most cases, can bring our 24-7 network of radars and night viewing cameras to bear.

“This builds evidence to assist police in their response and can track suspicious small vessels.

“In any smaller harbour without those capabilities, MoorMesh still significantly level ups any community watch initiative and forms a great deterrent.”

Would your club or organisation like to try MoorMesh?

Parkstone Yacht Club members Rhonda Card, George McInnes and Jon Knight with general manager Alice Thewlis. Credit: Laura Hodgetts

The Reolink solar panel that comes with the camera works even through tinted windows. Credit: Laura Hodgetts

Plans are already in motion to share the MoorMesh security system with neighbouring South Coast clubs, including Poole Yacht Club, Lilliput Sailing Club and Salterns Marina, however Jon Knight also welcomes interest from across the UK – and beyond.

He said: “We’d love to hear from any community groups interested in trying MoorMesh. Please go to moormesh.com and fill out a form to nominate a harbour, marina or yacht club to trial the system.

“We can help with the set-up remotely. The commercial model is still being shaped through the early pilots but for now my focus is on getting the system right.

“The underlying hardware is off-the-shelf 4G cameras and what MoorMesh adds is the platform to make those cameras work together.

“A conversation over beer has turned out to be a very viable solution to a problem that is not unique to Poole Harbour.”

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