Anchoring a fin keeler in Poole Harbour to visit Brownsea

[Angele]

I have visited Poole a few times, but invariably end up moored in a marina (usually Poole Quay). A couple of years ago I popped across to Pottery Pier with the intention of landing the dinghy on Brownsea. The tide was already ebbing and, if I had anchored, I was destined to stay the night. (There is no way back across the harbour for a fin keeler once the second high tide has passed until after low water).

I concluded that the only place I could anchor off Pottery Pier, and still be afloat at low water, was slap in the middle of the marked channel (I think it is called the Wych Channel). I would be loathe to do that anyway (because I don't want anything to go bump in the night), but more especially because some charts bear a legend prohibiting anchoring in the buoyed channel.

Although I haven't explored there, I think the same is true of South Deep. The channel immediately to the south of Brownsea (is that Blood Alley lake?) is too shallow for me.

I am thinking of paying another visit to Poole in the near future. Low water the days in question is 0.8m and Angele draws 2.1m. (High water is 1.8-2.0m, depending on which day I go, so getting across from Poole to Brownsea is going to be tight even at HW).

So, what am I to do to visit Brownsea using my own vessel? Take the dinghy from Poole Quay? Buy a bilge keeler? Or does someone out there know something I don't?

 

[Seven Spades]

You can stay afloat in South Deep and it is usually OK to leave at low tide with 1.7m I have never bottomed out. Others will probably have better advice but You may have to leave it an hour either side of low tide if you want to leave, but you will have no problem staying afloat, there is plenty of water.

 

[yoda]

There are plenty of moorings off Brownsea which used to be rented out by Anvil yacht charters (but I do mean a LONG time ago) they had plenty of water at low tide. A bit of searching may get you a contact and the possibility of at least a reasonable price for a night or two.

Yoda

 

[Tranona]

There is no problem mooring off Pottery Pier overnight even though it is shown as a channel with withies and some buoys marking the edge of the mud flats. Follow the Wych Channel north of Brownsea rather than taking Wills Cut from the Quay.

The trip to Brownsea by tripper boat from the Quay is a good day out in its own right as you can do a round trip with the return going round South Deep and back up via Pottery Pier. That would be a challenge with 2.1m draught in your own boat.

 

[Seajet]

You can stay afloat in South Deep and it is usually OK to leave at low tide with 1.7m I have never bottomed out. Others will probably have better advice but You may have to leave it an hour either side of low tide if you want to leave, but you will have no problem staying afloat, there is plenty of water.

Agreed, but with caution; if anchoring look out for the power cable across South Deep.

I visited there once with a crew who was a keen swimmer; as he poised to dive in I had an eye on the depthsounder and a camera ready - Steve surfaced looking like ' The Creature From The Black Lagoon '

 

[Angele]

You can stay afloat in South Deep and it is usually OK to leave at low tide with 1.7m I have never bottomed out. Others will probably have better advice but You may have to leave it an hour either side of low tide if you want to leave, but you will have no problem staying afloat, there is plenty of water.

For South Deep, the Navionics webapp has the same legend as for Pottery Pier - namely "mooring [sic - I think they mean anchoring] not allowed in the channel". Do people just ignore that? Certainly I would have to with low water at 0.8m.

 

[Angele]

There are plenty of moorings off Brownsea which used to be rented out by Anvil yacht charters (but I do mean a LONG time ago) they had plenty of water at low tide. A bit of searching may get you a contact and the possibility of at least a reasonable price for a night or two.

Yoda

Do you mean to the north of Brownsea? I know there are lots of small boat moorings there, but I don't recall any moorings to the west (i.e. off Pottery Pier) - only boats at anchor - and immediately to the south is too shallow.

 

[Angele]

There is no problem mooring off Pottery Pier overnight even though it is shown as a channel with withies and some buoys marking the edge of the mud flats. Follow the Wych Channel north of Brownsea rather than taking Wills Cut from the Quay.

The trip to Brownsea by tripper boat from the Quay is a good day out in its own right as you can do a round trip with the return going round South Deep and back up via Pottery Pier. That would be a challenge with 2.1m draught in your own boat.

So, anchoring in the channel it is then, despite the instruction on the charts not to do so.

I agree about taking the long way round (via the Wych Channel) from Poole quay. I took Wills Cut the last time, and that was at HW springs. At one point I had less than 50cms clearance.

I'm almost certain I couldn't do the tripper boat circuit. The channel to the south of Potter Pier is too shallow. (I also worked that out last time).

Would I be foolish to cross the harbour in my dinghy? I wouldn't think twice about doing that distance up/down the Hamble. But, somehow, it just seems unseamanlike in an open harbour like Poole.

 

[Tranona]

No reason not to take the dinghy. Many of the moorings in the Wych Channel are accessed by dinghy from Parkstone Yacht Club. The worst bit is from the Quay across the main channel as it can get rather fraught with traffic. However the trip along the north side of Brownsea in your own boat and dropping hook off Pottery Pier (preferably under sail!) gives great pleasure and a sense of achievement.

 

[rosewood]

So, anchoring in the channel it is then, despite the instruction on the charts not to do so.

I agree about taking the long way round (via the Wych Channel) from Poole quay. I took Wills Cut the last time, and that was at HW springs. At one point I had less than 50cms clearance.

I'm almost certain I couldn't do the tripper boat circuit. The channel to the south of Potter Pier is too shallow. (I also worked that out last time).

Would I be foolish to cross the harbour in my dinghy? I wouldn't think twice about doing that distance up/down the Hamble. But, somehow, it just seems unseamanlike in an open harbour like Poole.

Ive sailed round brownsea in my sailing dinghy a few times and on a nice day its a lovely sail. ive had to get out an push sometimes due to lack of water and the main channel (i came from poole yacht club) can get a bit lumpy

 

[Robin]

Do you mean to the north of Brownsea? I know there are lots of small boat moorings there, but I don't recall any moorings to the west (i.e. off Pottery Pier) - only boats at anchor - and immediately to the south is too shallow.

Pottery Pier is a very popular anchorage, just edge out of the 'channel' a tad to avoid the wrath and wash of the tripper boats, OR anchor near the harbour entrance end of the island off the castle, quite deep here too but the tide runs fast. On the north side in the wytch channel there are lots of moorings and many used by deep keel boats too, it is possible to search around and find a spot to anchor but beware of snagging old ground chains.

Also be warned that they will charge you the visitor/landing fee for Brownsea just as if you arrived by a tripper boat, even if you went ashore by your own dinghy on a beach.

you could also follow 'South Deep' around to Goathorn point area where there is deeper water to anchor but the dinghy ride to Brownsea is longer. The South/West side of Brownsea is shallow except where the channel joins South deep near the Castle.

Another option would be a visitor berth at Parkstone yacht Club marina (call them first) and take the dink over from there, many members do that trip to their (club) moorings out in the Wytch Channel.

Enjoy, one of the prettiest places in the world.

 

[colhel]

The moorings mentioned are ran by dolphin marina and yes they are North but on the Western side and within easy reach of pottery pier. I think Parkstone Yacht Club have some too. I have seen small tenders crossing the harbour and in the right conditions and a reliable engine I'm sure it would be fine as long as you're aware of the tides. I would be anxious about aproaching pottery pier in anything but a rising tide with your draught. There is a route marked by withies just south west of the ferry terminal. (Can't remember the cardinal nearby)

 

[PurpleKate]

Hi Angele
Ive moored overnight off Brownsea Island its a lovely spot and if you dingy ashore you can get a free look round as no-one takes your money. Just watch out for the broken pots on the little beach

I too was a bit concerned by the No anchoring but I concluded its further West and South than you need to be to anchor. Just had a quick look at this chart (LInk: http://www.visitmyharbour.com/harbo...51/poole-south-deep-and-anchorages-2012-chart) and the notes give additional Lat and Long where the anchoring is not allowed. When I anchored (with 2m Keel) it was about half way between the red post and pottery pier so I dont think I was in the zone. (Awaiting some local to now tell me I was breaking the rules ;-) )

Quick look at my old log book I anchored in 4m water with 1.7m of tide at that time and it was due to drop to 0.6m. I didnt go aground, nor did I get hit or shouted at by the Brownsea ferry.

I used the Wych channel to get there which is plenty deep enough (not the Wills cut) at all states of the tide to get in and out.

This reminds me I should go back as its a lovely spot.

 

[Angele]

There is a route marked by withies just south west of the ferry terminal. (Can't remember the cardinal nearby)

Yes. That is Wills Cut, as mentioned by Tranona earlier. Impossible for me other than at HW (and on any day when HW is below 2m).

 

[alahol2]

The anchorage at Pottery Pier should be plenty deep enough. The 'marked channels' where no anchoring is allowed are quite narrow and are marked by small red and green buoys. Any area between the buoys and the withies is OK to anchor in. The folks on Brownsea no longer seem to challenge anyone for landing fees anymore. We normally go ashore in the evening after all the trippers have gone home. It is then a magical place with all the wildlife coming out of hiding. Only problem then is that the café is shut so we don't get a slice of cake. If we have time we also go ashore during the day so that we can go round the nature reserve (£2-00 if memory serves).

 

[Angele]

Ok, so the posts by PurpleKate and Alahol2 suggest that I should perhaps have looked to anchor further to the northeast of where I tried to drop the hook last time when I visited Pottery Pier. I recall there were several boats anchored close to the pier (in shallows where I dare not venture) and the area where I thought to anchor and could have stayed afloat was clearly in a channel. But, that was almost certainly to the south of 50deg 41.62 N - the northern limit of the "no anchoring in channel" area marked on the Admiralty chart.

Thanks for the advice all.

 

[GrahamD]

If you are a member of National Trust there is no landing fee. Quite a few visitors pick up a spare mooring on the Wych, although important to be aware of the possibility of the owners returning, so not a good idea to leave the boat with no-one on it. Landing on the North side of the island, opposite the moorings is restricted. You would have to dinghy to the west end of the island. I agree with alahol2 about avoiding just the red and green moored section of the channel. Enjoy yourselves!

 

[Angele]

One more question, guys.

If anchoring my (2.1m draft) boat in South Deep, is there a best place to do it?

It looks like the channel is long. Starting at the east end, there is a deep(ish) channel running ENE-WSW. Then it turns NW-SE (pointing at Furzey island) and narrows, but it looks like a side channel off to port (heading in from the harbour entrance) might be deep enough. That is directly off the tip of Goathorn Point.

Going back to the main channel, there are a few cables where anchoring is not permitted (as mentioned by Seajet earlier), but after that (in a NE-SW direction) it looks ok. And then finally there is a reach running NW-SE and bending slowly round the west of Green Island.

Any views?

 

[DJE]

The weekend before last we put in to Poole for a few hours to wait for a fair tide round to Weymouth. We anchored off the southeast corner of Brownsea SSW or the castle and west of Stone Island. I think you would find somewhere there with enough water and only a short dinghy ride from the beach on the South shore of Brownsea. The wind was light northeast, the tide was strong but it was a perfectly smooth and quiet anchorage.

BTW the first green post west of Stone Island seems to have more water on the wrong side than the right side at the moment.

 

[alahol2]

The 'preferred' anchorage (ie the area that most people seem to use) is the channel SW, S and SE of Green Island. As I mentioned earlier, the navigable channels where anchoring is prohibited are marked by small red/green buoys. There are quite large areas of water between the buoys and the withies which are available for anchoring. It's probably also worth pointing out that the majority of Poole harbour consists of thick mud so even if you touch bottom the boat will just sink in and stay upright.