Penarth Quay Marina's activities will grind to a halt during the coronavirus outbreak to encourage boat owners to act responsibly during these challenging times and stop non-essential travel.

The boats will become even more picturesque as they remain static for the foreseeable future despite the sunshine and warmer weather Penarth has been seeing.

They said: ''In this troubling time, we hope that you and your families are managing to keep safe and well.

''As a responsible business, we are doing our very best to make good decisions for all of our staff and customers, and we are asking our customers, tenants and partners to do the same. We have no compass, but we are keeping calm and plotting the most sensible course we can.

''Following Monday's announcement by the Prime Minister, the latest government advice is for us all to stay at home, avoid all non-essential travel and keep social contact to an absolute minimum. The hope is that this will reduce the spread of the virus, reduce pressure on the NHS and save lives. Essential travel does not include visits to second homes or similar, whether for isolation purposes or holidays. Unfortunately, this also includes leisure boating.

''We wish to act responsibly, and in line with government advice. So although it goes against everything we stand for, we have to ask our customers to keep away from our marinas and boatyards until the situation improves. Not easy, with bright and beautiful weather out there.

''We can only hope that by us all taking these restrictions seriously we can reduce the spread of this horrible disease, so that we can all get back on the water soon, in time to enjoy the summer boating season in July and August.''

They are therefore taking the following steps:

• Our customers should not be visiting our marinas or boatyards but should be following government advice and avoiding all non-essential travel, including visiting their boat.

• We have closed our marina receptions. Most of our office-based staff are now working remotely, so please do pick up the phone or email as you normally would. They will do their best to answer any questions or enquiries you may have about berthing, boat care or the operation of the marina. You can continue to make payments in all the usual ways, including through our online portal.

• We are respectfully asking customers not to "quarantine" or "isolate" themselves on their boats. You should remain in your primary residence.

They continued: ''You can rest assured though, we are still busy looking after your boats. We are moving to an "essential worker" only basis, with a tight but efficient team who are busy each day checking lines and fenders and making sure that your boats remain safe and sound. If there is anything you need us to do, or you have any particular concerns, just give us a ring and we will do our very best to help.

''If you haven't yet confirmed your berthing plans for the next few months, please do so as soon as possible. We hope that in this time of uncertainty you will continue to support our team while they do their utmost to take care of your boat. We ask that you support us at this time, and renew your berthing as you normally would do now. However, if you want to discuss your plans, please just give us a call.

''We understand what a difficult time this is, but our whole team are firmly focused on riding out this storm with you, and we remain hopeful that the clouds will pass in time for us all to make the most of our summer boating season later in the year.

''Take care and best wishes from all the team at Dean & Reddyhoff and Quay Marinas.''