Probably got more chance of finding a golden egg I'm afraid.
I'm on the waiting list of just about every marina near the Solent that can take a 55' boat (bigger than you're looking for I know). The shortest list is about 3 years!!
Try Southsea Marina in Portsmouth. Some friends of ours have just bought a Fairline 40 (Correlejco I think it's called) which is berthed there. We're going down with them this weekend to bring it back to the East Coast and I know that the current owner isn't planning to buy a new boat yet.
A lot of this shortage stuff is hype. Its the marina equivilant of the tooth sucking car salesman on a trade in. I enquired just after the boatshow at Hasler, Port Solent, Campers, Brighton and somewhere else (forget where, up Chichester way). All put on a sort of superior laugh at the enquiry and eventually agreed to put my name down on the waiting list. By the end of April, I had telephone calls from each and every one of them, offering me a 12 metre berth.
Matching experience but in the 10M length - I phoned up a couple and found that if I was ready to commit to the contract there and then and would pay the complete annual fee up front then they could find me a slot. It became an issue of where we liked and how much, rather than of when.
I also think there is a lot of hype - ? it keeps the price up
We have been in the Solent for over 20 years, moved around quite a bit and never had any problem getting into somewhere. Usually it was deciding what was important and the price. Until 1999 we were in Shamrock Quay and they were never full AFAIK. So I am afraid that I will have to disagree with PaulineB for the first and hopefully last time.
I was given a lot of teeth sucking for a 15M berth in Solent. Found the best way was to turn up as a visitor and then become a sitting tenant. First went to Haslar as a visitor (2 months) was offered a permenant mooring (declined, too lumpy from wash). Went to Hythe Marina Village as a visitor, no permenant moorings, millions on waiting list - after two days got a permanant mooring.
My advice is visit a marina with a view of paying visitor rates for a couple of months, then as soon as a space comes free you'll be at the top of the list 'cause they'll be sick of moving you around!
Can you do that? I wd have thort LYH would take it back off you? Not allow you to pass it to someone else of your choosing. If I had paid £300 for a place on waitlist I would be very narked if LYH allowed you to do this. Just interested in how it all works.....
Well I ring up regularly and I get told theres still no berths. I was offered one at Gosport but they said I couldn't park my card there for more than 24 hours. Port Solent had one too, but I've seen the queues in and out of that lock in the summer, I could get from Brighton to France in the time it takes to get through that thing!