Best Solent anchorage for a first overnight on the hook?

[Sans Bateau]

Beaulieu has the advantage that I have been there before so know my way in and so that will keep the stress levels lower.

I'll let you know what we do and how we get on - thanks again

Very wise. The earlier in the day you anchor the better, it will give you greater confidence when it gets dark.

 

[l'escargot]

Chart also shows an Anchorage area North of the Folly - 050 44.4285 N 001 17.3184 W

Is it an old chart? That is all mooring buoys now, I wouldn't risk an anchor in there.

 

[Ru88ell]

Phill
Picking up a buoy in your boat is easy; I've done a few single handed in mine this year in Loch Ranza, Arran, and in St Mawes. As others have suggested it might be worthwhile doing so before a night on the hook.

I may be around later this week and over the weekend. I'd be interested in coming to wherever you go to get some pics for the forum.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Phill, Ru88ell wants to take photos for the forum!! NO PRESSURE!!!

 

[BlueChip]

Unlike others here I am not a great fan of Newtown Creek, my experiences there are only unpleasant and painful. Often others anchor too close and at the turn of the tide or with wind over tide there is the likelihood of bumping into neighbours. This doesn't make for a good nights sleep.

With a youngster on board you have to keep them amused and also tire them out so they sleep, this invariably means a trip ashore in the dinghy, that's not so easy at Newtown
creek without getting muddy.

In East round to South West winds the Island shore at Totland Bay close to the West of the pier offers shallow water, god holding and perfect shelter with a bar/restaurant ashore, sunsets from here are spectacular. This would be my choice as a first time anchorage,

When you have a little more anchoring experience I would suggest you try our favourite Solent anchorage in winds from the West, just in the lee of Hurst Point, by the lighthouse. You can sound in quite close to the beach in fairly shallow water, holding is excellent and tidal streams are weak. Take the dinghy ashore and you have got Hurst Castle and the shingle spit to explore, light a fire or BBQ and watch the sunset over the water, then in the morning watching the sun rise over the Solent from the East is magical and something you or your son will never forget.

 

[fireball]

Unlike others here I am not a great fan of Newtown Creek, my experiences there are only unpleasant and painful. Often others anchor too close and at the turn of the tide or with wind over tide there is the likelihood of bumping into neighbours. This doesn't make for a good nights sleep.

He's got a small enough boat to be able to anchor away from the majority of boats that crowd in there ...

With a youngster on board you have to keep them amused and also tire them out so they sleep, this invariably means a trip ashore in the dinghy, that's not so easy at Newtown
creek without getting muddy.

Been ashore plenty of times - never got muddy ... depends where you want to get in I suppose ...

then in the morning watching the sun rise over the Solent from the East is magical and something you or your son will never forget.

Eek - got to be up early for that

 

[jhr]

He's got a small enough boat to be able to anchor away from the majority of boats that crowd in there ...

Plus, I doubt it's going to be overcrowded on a Friday night in mid-September....

 

[dunmor]

i had my first anchor over night at newtown creak a couple of months ago
and what i found i needed more than anything was a good oil lamp. i spent most of the evening running around turning the bloody lights off after the missus.

 

[machurley22]

I have three things left on my "to learn / do" list for this season.

1) Pick up a moorning

2) Learn to anchor - only ever tried once (unsuccessfully)

3) Sleep overnight on one of the above - mainly to see what modifications I need to make in the main cabin / accomodation during this winter's planned refit.

1) If you can get a long keeler in and out of marina berths you will have no problem with picking up a mooring since you can nearly always approach into either wind or current. Remember you don't have to do it at the bow; you can take a line from the cockpit forward on deck, through the bow roller (drop-nose pin in place so it stays there) and back outside everything to the cockpit again. Then drive up to the mooring so that it comes alongside the cockpit and attach the "outside" end to the mooring, take up the slack from the other end as the boat falls back before going forward and sorting it out properly.

2) The key to successful CQR anchoring is to do it gently and allow the anchor to plough in slowly. Come up into the wind (or current) drop the anchor in your chosen spot and pay out chain as the boat blows off. Then (assuming you have any more than a couple of knots of breeze otherwise you'll have to use the engine for this phase too) just let things settle down for a while. After the wind has straightened out the chain as much as it's going to you can start to motor the anchor in - gently again. Ideally have someone at the bow indicating the chain direction so that you pull in a straight line at tickover initially until your transit stops moving, then a few more revs and wait again to come to a stop and so on. I usually go to about half revs but it all depends on your boat and engine - obviously.

3) Whisky helps but you may want to set a radius alarm on the GPS for the first few nights and maybe also a regular alarm to wake you when the tide turns.

I seem to have made a bit of a mountain out of a couple of molehills but none of this is rocket science and you will soon get confidence in your anchoring. I clearly remember my nerves at my first night at anchor as skipper with just my young daughter aboard. We had a very gusty night and were still there in the morning!

All the above IMO of course.

 

[laika]

When the sun shines Newtown can fill up even mid week and out of peak season. I don't think old hands should under-estimate the paranoia involved in anchoring in limited space by inexperienced yet cautious souls: gross over-estimation of required swinging room, under-estimation of distance between boats, mistrust of one's secondary port calculations, disregarding the soft and forgiving nature of newtown mud and not trusting to its holding power with an appropriate length of chain. I don't doubt that there are many forumites who've been put off using the hook by early experiences of sleepness and worry-filled nights.

I suggest that if the OP does take a look inside Newtown and doesn't fancy the space on offer, the alternative (if there are no buoys available) if the conditions are benign is to anchor outside to the west of the entrance, as noted in Reed's. More space and less stress if the OP is unhappy with what is available inside.

 

[Ru88ell]

I suggest that if the OP does take a look inside Newtown and doesn't fancy the space on offer, the alternative (if there are no buoys available) if the conditions are benign is to anchor outside to the west of the entrance, as noted in Reed's. More space and less stress if the OP is unhappy with what is available inside.

This happened to me almost a year ago. The exceptionally warm first week of October pulled crowds of yachts out, and Newtown was too full for even my little boat - or so it looked from outside. Boats had already started anchoring to the west of the entrance just off Hampstead Point - it was getting dark so I had little choice but to join them. It was my first time at anchor, and I was on my own. It all passed off smoothly and I gained more confidence than I'd bargained for.

 

[robertj]

.....assuming you are happy to dry out (it's Springs). Not perhaps what the OP wants on this occasion. Also the harbour master is likely to turn up these days and demand £5 for absolutely nothing.

Don't pay

never say you won't just ask for a itemised Bill (not an invoice) on production of the Bill then pay.
You'll find he can't produce a bill.

 

[robertj]

I think it was a season of anchoring as skipper before I trusted the hook and developed a reasonable amount of confidence on what my Bruce held in best.
At my age now I am up a couple times a night anyway so incorporate this with a quick lookout. Sometimes I will make a cuppa even though the bunk is beaconing as the night sky is something to behold, makes it worth it.
Mooring is ok but once getting confidence jn the hook is established it can't be beaten.

What connections do you use from anchor to chain as that is the critical area more than dragging in my opinion?

 

[BelleSerene]

.....assuming you are happy to dry out (it's Springs). Not perhaps what the OP wants on this occasion. Also the harbour master is likely to turn up these days and demand £5 for absolutely nothing.

The harbour has no rights to anchoring fees in the Medina, does it?

I know Beaulieu is an exception, with an ancient custom there overriding the general rule that the seabed isn't owned, but I do not think this is legal in the Medina?

 

[l'escargot]

The harbour has no rights to anchoring fees in the Medina, does it?

I know Beaulieu is an exception, with an ancient custom there overriding the general rule that the seabed isn't owned, but I do not think this is legal in the Medina?

I think you will find the charge is "harbour dues" not an anchoring fee. There is an element of all mooring charges whether they are permanent or visiting that go to the harbour authority.

 

[PhillM]

Thanks again everyone. Plans and ideas are starting to come together. It looks like Beaulieu because I know my way in, it seems to have more options and as its closer, I should have more time to play around in the afternoon.

One of the objectives of the exercise is to build up confidence (or find the problems with our current setup) for spending one or more nights away from a marina.

One of the joys(?) of renovating a MAB is that everything you want to do with the boat has to be thought through from scratch. There is no manufacturer supplied / recommended equipment and most of the kit / setup that exists needs to either be inspected, repaired or replaced before use. It seems to take me longer to practice what see like simple tasks, but when we do get then right, there is a real sense of satisfaction.

Paean is / was very basic inside: head but no sink (small sink fitted last winter), no galley (now fitted with single burner Origo), still no internal electric lighting (nav and anchor light fitted) but do have oil lamp and torches, etc. So before we go cruising, I want to find out how the current setup works when you are living aboard for 24 / 48 hours but do so in a place where if it all goes wrong, we can abort and go to the pub!

I think we will have a practice anchoring and see how we feel about it. If we are happy we will spend the night on the hook. If however, we feel less confident then we can off to a buoy and if my cooking is to such a low standard that I get munity, we can alwaysmotor upriver to the pub (and add a one pot cookbook to my Christmas list).

I am also really looking forward to the feeling of solitude, peace and quiet that an almost deserted anchorage promises.

 

[fireball]

For food - take something that just needs heating - hotpot or something to go with boil-in-the-bag rice ... makes life a bit easier!
Don't forget - it's getting chilly at night - just 6°C this morning...

TBH a buoy is easy - especially up Beaulieu ..

 

[VicMallows]

This happened to me almost a year ago. The exceptionally warm first week of October pulled crowds of yachts out, and Newtown was too full for even my little boat
.

Been in Newtown for the last week (pretty good weather) and never more than 4 boats at anchor in Western Haven (with 1.2m draft just dry on Springs) and only 2 or 3 in Clamerkin Lake. Lots of the visitor buoys empty.

 

[BelleSerene]

I think you will find the charge is "harbour dues" not an anchoring fee. There is an element of all mooring charges whether they are permanent or visiting that go to the harbour authority.

Interesting, l'escargot: thanks. So for what would the harbour claim the 'harbour dues' are payable, if not for attaching your boat to the bottom of the river? I appreciate that an element of (pontoon) mooring charges may go to the harbour authority, as they've allowed the pontoon operator to stick fixed pontoons in the harbour, but if there's no such permanent fixture here, for what are 'harbour dues' validly chargeable?

 

[Malabar]

Harbour dues, for a start, fund the maintenance of lights, buoys and other aids to navigation. Also, any survey work and dredging that might be needed, all of which benefit everybody who enters the harbour limits.