IT is one of the most sought-after sailing spots in the world and, not surprisingly, there's a waiting list to prove it. It stretches back more than 20 years.

The queue for a mooring slot on the river Hamble has been filled by thousands of hopeful weekend sailors. Most are frustrated to find that messing about in boats is anything but plain sailing.

Hampshire's river bosses have vowed to make things ship-shape at last with a scheme to sort out the spiralling queue once and for all.

New measures to ensure the heaving list is streamlined and regularly up-dated have been backed by members of Hampshire county council's River Hamble harbour management sub-committee.

The efficiency drive comes as part of the planned administrative shake-up of the Hamble being backed by council chiefs.

Included in the proposed overhaul of the moorings waiting list are measures to root out insincere or defunct applications, a deposit system, a regular audit and a priority scheme for charitable youth training groups.

Boat owners who repeatedly refuse to take an offered mooring could be removed from the list altogether.

The news of the shake-up was met with caution by one river-lover, Fay Cattell, who, with her husband Graham, has been on the list since 1980. She's been forced to keep her boat in Sweden. Fay, of Fareham, said: "It's so long overdue that it's a farce really but I do think that something really ought to be done.

"There's lots of things that you can see ought to have been done years ago."

It is hoped the list will be overhauled by the end of this year in time for the beginning of the new administrative structure, planned to be in place by next January.

A spokesman said: "The operation of the current extended waiting list is unsatisfactory. People on the current waiting list should not lose their seniority during the transition to any new system, although it is likely they will have to comply with new conditions."