Jul 2024
Where did you grow up?
I was born and grew up in Limerick in Ireland. My Dad was a dairy farmer and I had the most amazing childhood growing up on a farm.
What was your favourite subject at school and what did you do next?
History was my favourite subject at school, and after that I moved to England in 1989, returning to Ireland in 1999 to work in an accountancy office. I started night courses in accountancy, which was very strange as I didn’t much care for math during school! I found that I loved accountancy and auditing which is what I have progressed in.
I started working at St. Katharine Docks in August 2011, before IGY took over the management of the marina, so I’ve seen many changes over the years!
What does your current position involve day to day – what are your greatest challenges and what do you most enjoy?
My main role within St. Katharine Docks is accountancy, but as we are a small team I also catch lines for boats arriving and departing, welcome visitors, meet and greet, and move boats. I also help to organise our events – it’s a very varied role, no day is the same.
How would you describe the atmosphere at SKD and what types of visitors come here?
During the summer, the atmosphere is one not to be missed. We are positioned right beside Tower Bridge, the best back drop you can get for any boat entering the dock. As often as we can, we take photos of boats either locking in or out and we send them to the visitors who are absolutely blown away.
One amazing but very sad story: Hollowshore Cruising Club comes to the Docks from Kent every year. They are our oldest boat owners and they have been coming to us for many years. I have taken many of their photos over the years and have always sent them on. One year they returned less one boat and told me the skipper had passed away, but on his coffin his family had placed my photo of him and his boat locking out of the Docks with Tower Bridge in the background. He loved that photo and it was pride of place at his home. I was so blown away that my one photo had been so important to him.
They presented me with his dress overall flags for his boat saying he would have wanted me to keep them. We use them when we are hosting events so he is never far from our minds.
What types of vessels come to SKD and what’s the busiest time of year? 
We have all types of vessels visiting us, be it Thames sailing barges, sail boats and motor boats. Our busiest time is during the summer months, but the season starts in April, kicking off at Easter and running all the way through to the middle of September.
We have a lot of foreign visitors from Belgium, and clubs that return to us year after year. Some of our staff members have been working at SKD for years, so we are familiar with them all and they like to see us on arrival.
What events or social activities are hosted in the marina and who do these attract?
We hold various events during the year but our main one is the Classic Boat Festival in September when we clear the centre basin as we can have up to 45 classic boats attending. This includes Dunkirk Little Ships (the ones that saved so many soldiers during the war) lovingly taken care of by their current owners who, after so many years, are like family to us now. We have steam tugs, star craft, and various classic boats which are open to the public on specific days over the weekend, all free of charge, and the atmosphere is amazing, a must see if in London.
What trends are you seeing in terms of large yachts visiting the UK, and what changes do you foresee over the next 5-10 years?
St. Katharine Docks is limited in terms of the size of boat we can accept, so the larger boats that tend to visit other IGY marinas wouldn’t be able to lock into the Docks. We can accept vessels up to 40m, as SKD is lock bound so we operate based on the tides.
On a personal level, what are you most proud of?
We have a good tight team here and I am proud to be part of it. We act and work as a team, we discuss everything from boats arriving to the drinks and food we are going to serve at an event or when the clubs arrive. We are very hands on and it shows – our visitors know us by name and we make the experience as personal as we can.
What do you enjoy doing in your downtime?
My garden and allotment are my downtime. I love nothing more than going to the allotment for a few hours, be it to work or just to chat with my neighbours. The season is starting soon so a lot of planning is ongoing. I make various jams from my produce and last year I discovered you can pickle almost anything! I am also part of a running group and I attend Tuesday and Thursday for a good run. I get out over the weekend too; I find it brings calm to my life.
If you had access to any yacht in the world for two weeks, where would you go and what would you do?
A trip to the Antarctic Peninsula – a bucket list item for sure.
What’s a lesser known fact about Margaret Kelly that would surprise your colleagues?
I am a very private person; I like my peace and quiet.
