Anchoring in Priory Bay - any tips?

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SolentBoat

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I plan to anchor for (an early) lunch tomorrow and am looking at Priory Bay as a possibility. Not been there before - anything to look out for/avoid? Question from the children - is there an ice cream vendor anywhere nearby ashore?

Many thanks.
 
There used to be an ice cream shop / cafe right on the front, don't know it it's still going.

Apart from the obvious things like keep clear of Bembridge Ledge and an eye on any onshore wind developing ( inc sea breeze esp on hot days ) and if bathing watch out for ship / fast ferry wash it's all straightforward, may be a bit rolly.
 
SolentBoat said:
I plan to anchor for (an early) lunch tomorrow and am looking at Priory Bay as a possibility. Not been there before - anything to look out for/avoid? Question from the children - is there an ice cream vendor anywhere nearby ashore?

Many thanks.
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Avoid the rocky bits at each end of the bay


Dont know if there are Ice creams at Priory bay, There are at the Baywatch Cafe that overlooks the entrance channel to Bembridge. Maybe also at the caravan site between there and Priory bay

Big spring tide early afternoon tomorrow
 
It's a whopper of a tide, isn't it!

The plan is that I'll ride it East from the Hamble in the morning and ride it West to Cowes or Island Harbour in time for supper.
 
There was an ice-cream boat (with a proper Mr Whippy machine on board) doing the rounds of Osbourne Bay on Sunday...

Pete
 
What a gem of an anchorage. We were able to tuck in close to shore (the lift keel makes me less depth-anxious than some!) and do holiday stuff like diving off the bow, loads of swimming, rowing ashore etc etc.

The tides worked a treat to whizz us there and whizz us back later in the afternoon. A superb day out.

I'll certainly be back.
 
SolentBoat said:
What a gem of an anchorage. We were able to tuck in close to shore (the lift keel makes me less depth-anxious than some!) and do holiday stuff like diving off the bow, loads of swimming, rowing ashore etc etc.

The tides worked a treat to whizz us there and whizz us back later in the afternoon. A superb day out.

I'll certainly be back.
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Glad to here it all worked well and that you had a good time.

Did you get any ice creams ?
 
VicS said:
Glad to here it all worked well and that you had a good time.

Did you get any ice creams ?
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Years ago when I used to go there with the kids a quad bike with an ice cream fridge on the back used to come down from the Priory Bay Hotel to sell his wares on the beach.
 
No sign of ice-cream on the beach and the shore party (I stayed with the boat) didn't feel inclined to walk round the headland. Didn't spoil the day, though.
 
How crowded does Priory Bay get these days? From memory, it isn't very big. I quite fancy an afternoon on the hook.

Failing that, does the east side of Bembridge entrance still allow drying out, or is it like a traffic jam there on busy weekends?
 
dancrane said:
Failing that, does the east side of Bembridge entrance still allow drying out, or is it like a traffic jam there on busy weekends?
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You can still dry out on the beach as far as I know. They’re asking for pre-bookings for visitors at the moment, but that may be intended only to apply to the alongside berths. I can’t imagine they’d insist on a reservation for a dinghy to run ashore.

Pete
 
Thanks Pete. (y)

Of course, beaching her doesn't beat anchoring, but it may beat capsizing at anchor in the night. :sneaky:
 
That's very good, thanks Vic. Oh, to be free on a Thursday afternoon. Wonder how it'll look in 48 hours? ?

50170073917_93a9eb6631_c.jpg


I wondered if there are any facilities at Priory Bay, so I had a look at ground-level views on Googlemaps...I guess there are not!

50169232363_08e4565de4_z.jpg
 
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I have never anchored there for a lunch stop but I have done so at night so as to get an early start for France next day.

Lee-cloths were needed to prevent us getting chucked out of our bunks.

For a lunch stop it might be worth laying a damp tea-towel on the table if you don't want your meal in your lap!

;)
 
The thing with Priory and Seagrove is that the container ships leaving Southampton are steaminv quite fast by the time they get there and make a big big wake that rolls into those bays.
 
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