Brighton?

[avebury]

All,

SWMBO has approved budget for a boat as long as we keep it in Brighton. We have a young family, so I am keen to only sail for a couple of hours, stop for a while and so on.

Any suggestions on places that can be reached within 1.5 - 2hrs? and any opinions on Brighton marina?

 

[Twister_Ken]

On two hour sails, Brighton is pretty much out and back unless you've got a quick motorboat. Otherwise, Newhaven or Shoreham, neither of them exactly fleshpots.

 

[Marmalade]

Have only stopped as a guest at Brighton - brilliant in the sense that it's the only Marina I know with a multi screen cinema; multiple restaurants and pubs and an Asda.

Gloomier news on the where to go front... 1.5 - 2 hrs might just get you to Eastbourne which is like Brighton only less so. You can make Newhaven which I like, but it's not metropolis. Turning right out of Brighton you pass Shoreham in less than an hour - then there's B***er all of interest until you reach the solent - definitely more than 2 hrs!

Finally if SWMBO is a newish sailor you have the binary problem of being on the channel. Calm inside the breakwater - then the full monty within seconds of exiting the harbour. In anything more than a 4 (or a 3 dependent on tide and the recent weather) it can be a bit uppy-downy for newbies. If this is a concern an estuary with a gradual build up may suit more or the solent. It may mean a longer drive to the boat but it may mean you use it more...

Simon

 

[PaulR]

second everyones comments - we live near to brighton but have kept our boats in the solent for years- key advantage is for the sake of an extra hour in the car we have access to so many more places for short let alone longer sails - when our children were younger often used to only go to the beaches on the isle of wight or east head in chichester - more or less regardless of the wind direction and strength could go somewhere - have had one boat in brighton (whilst selling through their brokerage) but wouldn't be tempted to be based there at all - if compromise needed what about chichester marina? good base for starting out - good luck- ps heartily recommend sailing with children - shame they grow so fast!

 

[RupertW]

I moved from Brighton to Newhaven (7 miles away) for a number of reasons including:

1) I'd far rather be in Brighton on my Saturday night aboard than Newhaven. Lots of basic entertainment around the Marina, a nice hotel if we're treating ourselves and abundant choice a walk/bus/taxi ride away in town. So sail to Brighton, go out, sail back next day seemed a lot better than sail to Newhaven, go out etc.

2) The price of getting stuff done in Brighton seemed very high. Newhaven is much more cheap'n'cheerful and I can keep the boat in better nick on the same budget.

Apart from Newhaven (one good local fish restaurant, excellent chippy, one good curry and that's about it), then there's Shoreham (not really taken by it. Of course if you've got a mobo then there's far more variety in 1 1/2 hours distance from the newly pretty facade of Littlehampton to Eastbourne - with an ok marina for a drink or a meal, to Rye or even to France.

Otherwise anchoring off Brighton beach or Cuckmere haven is fun in the right weather. I really need to find more anchorages than those but haven't yet.

 

[avebury]

Thanks for this advice.

Brighton is on the cards because my wife works in Kent (and Reigate) and we live in Wilts. She likes the idea of Brighton because of the Gym etc. I think it will only be for a year or so as my wife's employer (IBM) like to move employees around. Once that happens I'll have the boat in Gosport in a flash.

I'm looking at a Hanse 300 / 301 any comments?

Simon

 

[nicho]

[ QUOTE ]
Have only stopped as a guest at Brighton - brilliant in the sense that it's the only Marina I know with a multi screen cinema; multiple restaurants and pubs and an Asda.

[/ QUOTE ]

Port Solent has all that, except Tesco's is a bit of a hike.

 

[billmacfarlane]

As a fully paid up inhabitant of Brighton, I keep my boat in Chichester Marina. The main reason being that the cruising grounds for an average weekend is excellent. But in your case with a young family Brighton's probably your best bet. Mind you East Head on a sunny day takes some beating for the bucket and spade brigade though it gets VERY busy. Getting to Brighton on a hot weekend can be a bit of a pain and it would pay to know the back roads into the city rather than be stuck on the A23.

 

[nigelhudson]

[ QUOTE ]
If this is a concern an estuary with a gradual build up may suit more or the solent.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Solent is an estuary! We live near Brighton and we keep our boat there because it's close. However if it wasn't close we would not use it for all the reasons stated by the other respondents. I think that you would get much more use out of the boat if it was located closer to your home - Poole would be ideal if you didn't choose a deep finkeeler.

 

[Koeketiene]

Only stopped at Brighton a couple of times.
I would not dream of keeping my boat there - soulless, concrete jungle and bloody expensive to boot.
Nouveau riche playground.

 

[stevepremia]

Brighton is excellent for everything except (IMHO) sailing, especially if you have a young family. We bought our first boat and it was in Brighton so we kept it there at first. We moved it to Chichester Marina after having some fairly bumpy sails (even in fairly light weather F4) out in the channel. Also there are very few places within a short sail. Chichester does have a leisure centre near to the marina with a good gym, although the lock at the marina can be a bit of a pain in the summer (it took us 3 hours in the queue to lock in when we sailed from Brighton (not what you need after a 10 hour trip). The harbour is very nice though, if a bit shallow for a good sail if you have a deep keel, with lots of places to go, and the Solent on you doorstep.

Have no comments on the Hanse as I have never sailed one.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[bobgoode]

Nothing wrong with the Hanse except you may find the lack of a second cabin a pain after a while. Why not try a Jeanneau 29, like the hanse but two sleeping cabins.

Brighton is a bit like Milton Keynes, everyone knows where it is but noone wabts to go there. I would keep her near to the solent and sail to Brighton when you are favoured with the weather.

 

[LadyJessie]

We have only once stayed in the Brighton marina for one night on a pass by the south coast, so my experience is limited. However, that short stay was the the worst marina stay I have ever experienced anywhere in the world. It was one disaster after another; from being directed into a berth that did not have enough depth so we grounded, to really grotty unsavoury showers. Lots of nightmares in between. Brighton, never again! is one of the sayings among the crew of my boat.

We had great experiences in the marinas west of Brighton, though.

 

[phanakapan]

We live in Brighton- 10 minutes away from the marina- and keep our boat there; mainly because with our various work and childcare commitments, we would never ever get to the boat otherwise. Day sailing IS crap. There is really nowhere to go of any interest within 1- 2 hours sail- even Newhaven can take longer than that, and although I love it's retro tackiness I agree that it would be better to keep a boat there and sail to Brighton for the night rather than the other way round.I don't mind Brighton;I quite like going out, having lunch on the boat within sight of the pier, doing a bit of feathering for mackerel; even though we live nearby we still go and spend the night watching a film/getting wasted on cocktails in the Karma bar then staggering to the boat. The showers etc are very good imho.
If you get the tides right Littlehampton can be possible, quite fun in the summer if you like an old fashioned run-down resort, but it's way more than 1- 2 hours and the bar/ entrance can be seriously interesting/impossible at the wrong state of tide.
If you want to use your boat as more of a weekend caravan with the odd bit of sailing thrown in, Brighton isn't bad- in fact I love living here.
You don't say how old your kids are, but there is quite a little community of liveaboards with kids which you may be able to hook up with.
(Sorry- slightly late at night to be more coherent- do pm me for more info if required!)

ps any forumites in Brighton Marina- do get in touch!

 

[pvb]

Brighton showers...

I've visited Brighton Marina many times, and the new shower blocks built in recent years are superb. Bright, modern, individual toilet/basin/shower rooms, with seats and sensible space for changing. Regularly cleaned too. Some of the best in the UK.

There's been a lot of dredging in recent years, too, so going aground shouldn't be a problem.

As a visitor, my only gripe is the fact that the marina control doesn't seem to be very good at answering VHF calls!

If I were a resident, I'd imagine the long walk between boat and car park could be tedious, especially if you forget something.

 

[Koeketiene]

Re: Brighton showers...

[ QUOTE ]

There's been a lot of dredging in recent years, too, so going aground shouldn't be a problem.


[/ QUOTE ]

We were last there in July.
Got our berth assigned.
Ran aground 5m outside the berth.
Back to the marina office.
"Oh that part hasn't been dredged yet"
"In that case, why did you put us there? I told you we drew 2.1m"
Blank stare

Left & found my own berth
W-anchors

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Brighton showers...

So they have done away with the portacabin toilets.
My preference is to keep the boat somewhere in striking distance of places I like to visit, no at that place. Otherwise you are sailing to places you don't like quite as much.
If Avebury is looking for places to sail in 2 hrs then he is pretty well limited to the solent.

 

[Chris_G]

Second everyone's comments, we used to race out of Brighton every Sunday, the entrance can be tricky (ie very Lumpy) on days when it's blowing SW or S 5/6+, it's not so much the leaving but get back. Agree there's no where much local to cruise apart from Newhaven and Shoreham so we always used to go to France if anywhere, Fecamp though is dead easy, steer 176' and you'll be there in a day.

 

[Athene V30]

Re: Brighton showers...

Grew up in Brighton (Hove 'actually') and used to race J24s out of the marina when it first opened.

In 2005 stopped off when on passage - and it was a right pain in the backside - no answer on VHF so had to go alongside and go into office. Was allocated a berth which of course needed the fenders on the other side (a pain when singlehanded) and then was occupied when I got there so I took the next free berth! Long treck from the boat back to office to tell them and to anything else for that matter. Showers were excellent though!

And then I got the bill - no I only want one night - that is for one night!

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[copterdoctor]

I rate Brighton as the worst "marina" experience in 30 years of sailing. As others have said the sailing is quite limited, Chichester is good ith plenty of options. What does SWMBO like about Brighton so much?