Anyone know port werburg on the medway?

[Robin]

Just came across it and it apparently has residential live aboard moorings. any good? where would be cruise destinations from there ( short or longer duration)? Any other similar facilities on the East coast? I'm a 50 year South Coaster and all points west and fairly ignorant of matters mud, so please be gentle.

 

[Tradewinds]

Port Werburgh
You have probably done this already but here's a couple of screengrabs from gmaps. Not sure it's what you may have had in mind . . .

 

[Robin]

Port Werburgh
You have probably done this already but here's a couple of screengrabs from gmaps. Not sure it's what you may have had in mind . . .

Ta muchly, I had seen those and been all over the marina's website and local links. Really after opinion from anyone there or has been there as a live aboard base. on paper it looks a definite maybe if they haven't got huge waiting lists, even has a muni pay and play golf course nearby as well as medical and dental practices close.

 

[MoodySabre]

It was next door to Hoo Marina but has now taken over the marina which is no longer open to visitors. The yacht club there still exists and has moorings in the river. You might glean some information from their website http://www.hooness.org.uk/index.php

There are quiet a few Medway boaters on the forum who would be able to answer some questions - oldgit and xyachtdave for example. PM them

 

[Gin]

Just came across it and it apparently has residential live aboard moorings. any good? where would be cruise destinations from there ( short or longer duration)? Any other similar facilities on the East coast? I'm a 50 year South Coaster and all points west and fairly ignorant of matters mud, so please be gentle.

Walk away and be grateful!!

 

[Spuddy]

Port Werburgh/Hoo marina is pitching itself more at liveaboards nowadays but there are a few of us who get out and about. It dries out but my 5'6" sinks into the soft mud happily. Access is about 2 hours either side of HW. Dunno what you are looking for but it's not the Hamble. I'm there partly because of the chums I've made and because Hoo Ness Club is next door.
Another option is Gillingham marina across the river where discreet liveaboards are unofficially tolerated.
Cruising options are poking about in the Medway creeks, round the Foreland to the Channel, up the East Coast to the Essex rivers or beyond and there's Holland.
I went up and down the Channel trade routes for a few years; the East Coast is quite different - a friend with the same draft won't come round the corner cos he thinks it's too shallow. Working the tides and skimming the banks is rewarding stuff.

 

[Hadenough]

I suspect after Florida it might be too bohemian for you.

 

[Robin]

I suspect after Florida it might be too bohemian for you.

After Florida it would be heaven, Florida sucks, especially when trump is around, like every weekend now, can smell when he flies over us. We are going home to claim asylum.

 

[Robin]

Port Werburgh/Hoo marina is pitching itself more at liveaboards nowadays but there are a few of us who get out and about. It dries out but my 5'6" sinks into the soft mud happily. Access is about 2 hours either side of HW. Dunno what you are looking for but it's not the Hamble. I'm there partly because of the chums I've made and because Hoo Ness Club is next door.
Another option is Gillingham marina across the river where discreet liveaboards are unofficially tolerated.
Cruising options are poking about in the Medway creeks, round the Foreland to the Channel, up the East Coast to the Essex rivers or beyond and there's Holland.
I went up and down the Channel trade routes for a few years; the East Coast is quite different - a friend with the same draft won't come round the corner cos he thinks it's too shallow. Working the tides and skimming the banks is rewarding stuff.

Last time I went to Hamble was to race OK dinghies at HRSC in 1970. LIveaboard is what we are looking for, have found the places that turn blind eyes but we need to be official at least for a while to get re-established in the system, even to paying council tax dues:nonchalance:. Later we can go wandering off piste, no fixed abode, again if we wish. We are thinking either mobo with sub 4ft draught or mono sail sub 6ft, even a shallow draughter like a Prout Snowgoose cat, depends what is available when we arrive. Waiting to sell our dirt based condo here, boat already gone. I did once get a sail on the Medway in a customer's then leisure 17 one evening many moons ago, not sure from which marina or even where, as he drove whilst I drank the beers.

 

[lpdsn]

...Florida sucks, ...

The mud in the Medway sucks too.

Doesn't smell brilliant at low tide either.

 

[Robin]

The mud in the Medway sucks too.

Doesn't smell brilliant at low tide either.

Bet it doesn't have alligators, or even huge manatees bumping the hull bottom. Do the natives shoot each other for sport after a few beers or a road rage incident? Does the local fish stink, however fresh it is claimed to be? Is it Trump free or is it a fanatical supporter's zone, praising the emperor's latest new clothes 24/7 on TV and in newspapers? Please don't say Farage lives nearby!:biggrin-new::biggrin-new:.

 

[Concerto]

Hoo Marina does have some liveaboards, but they rarely leave. A word of warning, the marina is down stream of the over 100 houseboats and all their discharge flows into the marina. Some days in summer it can smell like an open sewer. Someone I know was renovating a small boat in he marina and dropped a tool into the mud. Without thinking he plunged his arm into the mud to retreive it. He got septicaemia and spent over a year in hospital, nearly loosing his life.

Gillingham Marina has a drying section on soft mud and a wet basin. There are discreet liveaboards there.

Chatham Maritime Marina is a locked in basin of part of the Chatham Dockyard. There are about 30 liveaboards in the marina, all discreet. As long as you look like a boat rather than a floating garden, you will be fine. Technically it is against the rules, but it is accepted. IIRC they make a small charge to handle things like post for these people.

The Medway is a lovely rive to sail and I started in 1965, and I have sailed to lots of other places, including berthing in some places in the Solent, but the Medway is my favourite. With roughly 10 miles of river to sail with some bends, it is pleasant for day sails, or you can go into the Thames. Local destinations are Stangate Creek and Queenborough, with Harty Ferry close by. Trips up the east coast to Burnham, West Mersea, Harwich, and many other haunts are a day sail away. Alternatively head for Ramsgate or Dover, again a day sail. Hopping over to the continent is easy with ports in France, Belgium and Holland easily reached.

Both Gillingham and Chatham marinas would suit you. The lock in Chatham is larger. At Gillingham there is a leisure centre at the marina with a small supermarket a short walk away. Chatham has a shopping centre with 8 restaurants, pub, cinema and small supermarket alongside. Plenty more choice close by with a car. Chatham has lift facilities to 20 tons and a yard with both DIY and local trades. Gillingham has a larger travel hoist and storage outside and under cover, a full repair workshop including mechanical and structural repairs using their staff.

I am berthed in Chatham, but have been in Gillingham in the past. So your choice of area is a good choice, but the final choice would be down to you on your needs.

 

[Gargleblaster]

Both Gillingham and Chatham marinas would suit you. The lock in Chatham is larger. At Gillingham there is a leisure centre at the marina with a small supermarket a short walk away. Chatham has a shopping centre with 8 restaurants, pub, cinema and small supermarket alongside. Plenty more choice close by with a car. Chatham has lift facilities to 20 tons and a yard with both DIY and local trades. Gillingham has a larger travel hoist and storage outside and under cover, a full repair workshop including mechanical and structural repairs using their staff.

There is now a large full range supermarket about midway between Gillingham and Chatham Marinas on Gillingham Pier. Also has a pay by card service station, at a good price which is useful if you travel a distance to your boat as I do.

I was in Gillingham Marina Chandlery over Easter trying to find the insulators that go on top of the pre combustion chambers on a Yanmar 3GM. Unfortunately they didn't have them and I had to make a rush trip to French Marine in Brightlingsea. But I priced some of their other Yanmar parts such as fuel filters and anodes and both were cheaper than I had already paid for them elsewhere. Overall I found their prices quite good for a large range of things. I have largely ignored Gillingham Marina in the past because in the tea room at the club I belong to nearby the word is that they are expensive.

 

[Baggy]

Hi Robin
Have you considered Woodbridge Suffolk,on the river Deben

Good liveaboard communities in boat yards nearby

 

[Robin]

Many thanks, more data for the thinking cap. Discreet liveaboard is seemingly common but initially we need 'proper residential status to re-establish a UK credit history and get new credit cards, doodle ones get expensive with exchange rate costs and we need to shift all funds back to our UK bank who want a proper UK address and our UK expat's mailbox service one doesn't work for them, online at least. We may have to rent a place for a few months on dirt to get it done then go fully footloose after 6 months or so. The marinas I have spoken too so far that accept discrete live aboards all accept routine mail but stop short at using their address for things like bus passes, driver licences etc. I renewed my licence ( over 70) using my expat mailbox address with an explanatory begging letter, but SWMBO's they said had to wait until we have a proper address as she doesn't have a piccy licence yet, just the old paper one. ( being a doodle they cannot just nick a pic online from her passport)

 

[Capt Popeye]

Many thanks, more data for the thinking cap. Discreet liveaboard is seemingly common but initially we need 'proper residential status to re-establish a UK credit history and get new credit cards, doodle ones get expensive with exchange rate costs and we need to shift all funds back to our UK bank who want a proper UK address and our UK expat's mailbox service one doesn't work for them, online at least. We may have to rent a place for a few months on dirt to get it done then go fully footloose after 6 months or so. The marinas I have spoken too so far that accept discrete live aboards all accept routine mail but stop short at using their address for things like bus passes, driver licences etc. I renewed my licence ( over 70) using my expat mailbox address with an explanatory begging letter, but SWMBO's they said had to wait until we have a proper address as she doesn't have a piccy licence yet, just the old paper one. ( being a doodle they cannot just nick a pic online from her passport)

Humm might I suggest that Rental Homes / Flats / Rooms in Gillingham Town are quite inexpensive and somewhere to Park Car deposit belongings etc whilst you sort out the best Marina for your requirements, plus getting a REAL postal address to make oneself a real YUK citizen again ie getting all ones Cards, Licenses, Bus Passe etc etc sorted painlessly. Plus its walking distance to both Marinas from most of Lower Gillingham town