Anchoring near Brownsea Island

[eddystone]

Forming plan to go down to Poole Harbour and Worbarrow Bay/Chapmans Pool early next week as the ranges are open. I've only anchored in someone else's boat over 20 years ago in Poole Harbour - think it must have been South Deep. How crowded does it get for overnighting - am I likely to find room to anchor? With 1.7M fin looks like I'm limited to South Deep and W of Pottery Pier.

 

[John_Silver]

Its neaps this weekend so should be plenty of water around for you to stay afloat in the pool at Arne if you fancied, Blood Alley too (good shelter if the wind is out of the east and less crowded than Pottery Pier). South Deep / Goathorn likely be busy over the weekend / Friday night. Midweek unlikely to be a problem.

 

[GrahamD]

I've never seen it so crowded at Pottery Pier or South Deep/ Goathorn that you can't find a spot to anchor. If there are a lot of boats they will often thin out during the evening as the day-anchorers go home. The area between Goathorn and Green Island is quite large and can take quite a few boats, but it is important to keep the fairly narrow buoyed channel clear. You can anchor on the South East side relatively easily.

If there is a high tide you could also get in behind Long Island at the Arne peninsula, although anchoring in the deep bit is a bit more difficult as it can't take too many boats with deeper draft.

 

[Angele]

See http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?396359-Anchoring-a-fin-keeler-in-Poole-Harbour-to-visit-Brownsea

 

[Seven Spades]

We went to Pottery Pier on Monday and it was awful as it was bowing old boots and it is very exposed to the wind so we went back to South Deep.

 

[blackbeard]

I think, as a general comment on Poole Harbour, that whatever the wind direction there will probably be an anchorage which is sheltered.
My own favourite (given a N wind, or very light winds) is Blood Alley lake, ie just to south of Brownsea, but as you say it could be a problem with a deep fin keel. You MIGHT get in with 1.7 m, in fact you could probably get in with a deeper keel but I'm not sure about getting out again. Once in, there's a pool with a couple of metres at LAT if you search diligently. You could probably find a bit of South Deep which would be OK with most wind directions, or, as you say, NW of Pottery Pier if the wind is E - ish.
Is there a reason you can't use Studland Bay, which might be ideal if wind has any S or W in it?

 

[Robin]

Pray for a wind with some west in it and anchor in Studland Bay like god intended you to do when he created this stretch of coastline

Otherwise 1.7m is not huge and you could find a spot off Brownsea Castle in the join with Blood alley but get as much out of the tidal flow as you can, otherwise head west up South Deep towards the first double bend, there used to be some deep pools (and a couple of private buoys laid) on the corner area between first right hand kink and apex left turn bend of the Z where there is some kind of weekender cottage on the shore and a grumpy owner who always hated folk taking their dogs ashore for a poop, other than that follow south deep round for another half mile and there are spots to anchor on the edge of the channel, but beware of strong wind against tide there but sometimes you get lucky and the wind will be at 90 degs to the flow Whilst there, collect some cockles from the mudbanks at LW, Poole cockles are a true delicacy.

 

[blackbeard]

On a bit of a tangent ref South Deep.
On the shore there are notices warning of underwater cables, clear of which we are asked to keep. This warning is repeated on my (Imray) charts. But I haven't noticed that everyone does, in fact keep clear; also I seem to remember that the cables were, some years ago, replaced by new cables buried so deeply that not even a Rocna could burrow down to them. Does anyone know the true state of affairs?
Also, still in South Deep: when anchoring, watch out for the steep-ish sides of the channel sloping down from a shelf at about low springs level. I don't know, and have no special desire to find out, what would happen on a falling tide if I got one keel of a bilge-keeler on the shelf and the other in the channel (maybe a deep fin keel on the edge of the shelf combined with a lean channel-wards might be no less entertaining). As I haven't seen much indication of severe anguish at this location, maybe my fears are not justified.

Also; mud hereabouts has a special squodgy property.

 

[eddystone]

Nothing against Studland Bay but remember South Deep (if that's where we were) as being very peaceful and scenic anchorage (c.1990).I doubt if it was Blood Alley as it was a Moody 37 fin keel.