Brightlingsea as a base?

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Mandarin331

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We are thinking of returning to sailing after an enforced absence of several years. Having always been based north of the Wallet we thought it would be a nice change to be based further south and we're very interested in Brightlingsea having sailed in there a few times in the past and liked it.

We know some of the pros and cons (ie pontoons midstream etc) but would appreciate feedback from anyone based there what's its like to live there rather than just visit.

We were also intrested to see on the harbour website that they're looking at plans for the future, does this look good or something to worry about as a resident?

Thanks VM
Chris
 
Depending on how big your proposed boat is, B'sea has the undercover storage, where a tractor meets you at the waters edge and tows you to there big shed. I don't know about cost etc, but it looks good to me - No more antifouling, no more getting out to a mooring, no more worry about dragging etc.
 
Brightlingsea has been a very friendly place for many years and yachtsmen seem to get on well with the harbour staff.

There is the inevitable risk of minor damage from so many boats coming and going at close quarters but if the WSC moorings in Wivenhoe don't suit you, you could hardly do better than Brightlingsea. You might want to join the CYC if you are going to be based there and a number of people belong to both.
 
There is a waiting list for anything other than mud moorings AFAIK. I suspect there are (mud!) berths available in the Waterside Marina (no longer run by the Harbour Commission) but these will be a £ot more expensive. There are probably swinging moorings available in the Pyefleet again at considerable extra cost I suspect, and you need a more serious tender to get there.

As a base for sailing from Brightlingsea is excellent. With 4'6" draft you will have accessibility all of the time, except possibly the lowest of low springs where you may get stuck briefly at Creekmouth. It is well serviced in terms of boatyard facilities and related tradesfolk.

As a town it has its pros & cons. Pros are that the waterfront is underused and being at the end of a 3 mile cul-de-sac it is relatively quiet. It is well serviced in terms of banks, butcher, baker, greengrocer etc. Cons, well the High St. is decidedly low-rent, the pubs are downmarket and there are no middle-to-upmarket restaurants (this doesn't bother me but it does bother my wife!).

Personally I love it.
 
Shamal said:
What we have in mind will only come out once a year max :) (LOA c 28-30', draft max 4'6" ish)
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Keep my Cutlass on the north side of south pontoon. Love it at Brightlingsea to the extent that I sometimes think I should move elsewhere, then I could sail there at weekends and visit rather than just use the town as a car park!

What sort of boat you looking at?
 
Thanks everyone - we do love Brightlingsea as a destination and town and your positive comments are encouraging.

How do you find access to the berths, some of the pontoons & moorings are a long way up stream from the hard, can you rely on the water taxi to get around or is a capable dinghy & outboard essential, if so wheres the best place to store them?

We're looking at something like a Seal 28 or 850 / Moody 29 / Sabre 27 (which we had before), basically something which will not limit us with East Coast ditch crawling, comfortable and can be sailed short handed.
 
Firstly I can only endorse everything that MikeBz says. As a base, Brightlingsea is IMHO VERY hard to beat. The Water Taxi sevice is now run by the Harbour Commissioners. When it is not operating, the harbour staff will always run you out or bring you back inside their working hours!!! Other than that an 8 foot tender and a decent pair of oars or a small outboard will get you to and from your mooring. Storage...well again at something of a premium, but you should be able to secure a space in the Harbour Commissioners dinghy park racks...speak to the harbour office.
If the Harbour office can only offer the waiting list for a mooring, pop along to Morgans and have a word with them. Last season they had at least a dozen empty slots in the South Channel beyond the White Pontoons. Ok it is a bit further to go and a bit more of a tidal restriction, but you still get a usable mooring!!
 
I was there for a few years until recently; I have moved to Pin Mill largely for maintenance purposes.

Got to be the friendliest, most co-operative harbour staff in the country. They have extricated me from near disaster on more than one occasion!

Minor point; I don't think that you will get a swinging mooring - there are a few but are taken up by BOD yachts. The vast majority are fore and aft moorings.

Oh yes, there is a waiting list for the dinghy park but there always seems to be space in the racks; so bear that in mind.
 
Further to the above, swinging moorings in Brightlingsea VERY rarely become available and other than the BOD moorings which are all close in on the Cindrey shore, the only other swinging moorings are either drying or much further down the South Channel towards Whites Pontoon. As such and as far as I am aware for new occupants you are limited to 26' LOA maximum. Having said that I think that the moorings below Morgans moorings will accept over 26', but you are severely restricted on draft 1 hour either side of Low.
 
Since the public meeting of the Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners on Tuesday evening, it appears that an additional 200m of pontoon berthing are being mooted as a viable plan in the south channel in the foreseeable future.
Drying moorings are still available quite readily but a spot on the existing pontoons is almost a case of 'Dead men's shoes' .
First thing to do is get a £10.00 deposit down at the Harbour office to buy a place on the waiting list.

The staff and general ambience of the harbour have remained pretty good despite a massive reshuffle when the former chief executive left and the general consensus seems to be that changes should happen slowly.
Scary note though is that there may be plans afoot to introduce water and electricity to the pontoons, This sounds good but, as with everything , there will be a cost implication which cannot be predicted and could reduce the more pleasing aspect of the economics of keeping a vessel here.
Finally, the best way to get a berth in Brightlingsea is to become a resident in the town, as the Harbour Commissioners are obliged to make every effort to put local needs ahead of national ones.
Personal note, been here ten years and actually find the place very good to both live in and sail from !
 
GrumpyOldGit said:
Since the public meeting of the Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners on Tuesday evening, it appears that an additional 200m of pontoon berthing are being mooted as a viable plan in the south channel in the foreseeable future.
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Did they mention dredging the south channel to make it wide enough to provide all-tide access to a pontoon with boats either side? It certainly isn't at the moment. It'll bugger up low tide access to moorings (and the White pontoons) further up as well.
 
MikeBz said:
Did they mention dredging the south channel to make it wide enough to provide all-tide access to a pontoon with boats either side? It certainly isn't at the moment. It'll bugger up low tide access to moorings (and the White pontoons) further up as well.
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I would have thought it would have made more sense now that the gravel workings are defunct to have stuck another stream of pontoons into the North Channel above the wharf and up as far as John Hickmans yard. Would also be a very good excuse to get some serious dredging done in both North and South channels. I haven't been up there this season as boat is "laid up for sale" but last season on LWS there was precious little water for a Hurley 22 to get to Whites!
 
chinita said:
Got to be the friendliest, most co-operative harbour staff in the country. They have extricated me from near disaster on more than one occasion!
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This!... +1 Always courteous, always friendly and willing to help. A credit to Brightlingsea.

As for water and leccy on the Pontoons... Noooo I like the basic facilities it's part of it's charm.
 
MikeBz said:
Did they mention dredging the south channel to make it wide enough to provide all-tide access to a pontoon with boats either side? It certainly isn't at the moment. It'll bugger up low tide access to moorings (and the White pontoons)

Indeed they did, sadly ,the dredging carried out a couple of years ago seems to have succeeded mainly in covering the 'Hard' with a foot or more of mud.
The latest answer to this problem is a decidedly dodgy craft carrying two water pumps and a Box Dredger? A vain attempt to shift the mud into suspension.
Watch this space !!!!
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