Cattewater , fore and aft moorings , the council ones.

[jakeroyd]

Aware of these but was offered one too late this year.
Would anybody that knows please comment on :-

Security
Facilities landside for car parking and dinghies.
Shelter.
Depths and tidal flows.

etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ronsurf]

They are as secure as any other moorings in the Plym.
I believe there is a dinghy store available. There's car parking available
Can get a bit choppy on westerlies
A chart will tell you depths and current flows. The current was pretty good last night when I was heading out.

Good place to sit and watch the fireworks in August. Probably some of the cheapest moorings around, but you have to come out of the water over winter. I can see them from where I work.

There's one of the country's first protected wrecks amongst these moorings, so don't try and anchor in the gap in the middle

 

[jakeroyd]

Thanks Ron,
anybody else ?

 

[ronsurf]

Actually, they are not council moorings, they are owned and managed by an association. Unless I've got the wrong ones

 

[doug748]

I missed this one Jake, are you still interested?

Is it the fore and aft moorings in the Oreston reach above Trurnchapel?

 

[jakeroyd]

Hello Doug.
yes i think it's the Oreston Trots i'm talking about , the ones next in line going up river after PYH.

Parking both for the car and the dinghy are very important when considering such things.

I gave up on moorings from the council in Plymouth after getting to the front of the waiting list because a lot of them have little or no provision or are approached up torturous roads (apologies to Cornwellians)

 

[jakeroyd]

On reflection they might also be the ones just round Mountbatten point before PYH

 

[doug748]

I suspect you mean the trots at Oreston, nearer the mouth of the river they are all swinging, good picture here:

http://www.plymouthport.org.uk/leisure.htm

I don't think the council have any of those, tho they used to. The Cattewater Harbour Commissioners are the people. Having said that the CHC sometimes release blocks of moorings for subletting, for example those administered by Plym Yacht Club

However.

Some of these moorings dry a little bit (see the link) but it hardly matters as in my experience it is all soft mud. You can have deep water if you want and you might find you have 5ish+ feet at low water. No swell enters the reach and the shelter is very good. The flow in the river is generally moderate but significant, maybe one or two knots, more on exceptional tides and after heavy rain on the ebb. It is fine nothing like the problem it becomes on the Tamar. Thefts from boat are pretty isolated, it has happened but it is not a scourge.

If you have had trot moorings before I will not bore you with all the glitches and detail associated. It is worth making sure that your trot line can be easily split in the middle so that you can arrive and (more importantly leave) in any one of four directions.

Unless you are at the far Hooe Point end you would use the car and dinghy park at Oreston, it is pretty secure being generally free from vandalism - is anywhere totally? The car park will be full at busy times - Fri night racing etc but there is parking in nearby streets. Plym Yacht Club is only a few hundred yards away.

If your projected mooring is somewhere else, I will think agin.

 

[jakeroyd]

Thanks for the update Doug.
It was the CHC ones.
On their site they still have moorings available.

 

[dslittle]

Have just been to Plymouth on one of the buoys off Mount Batten. The Harbour Master was as good as gold and it is a lovely place to be

BUT THERE IS NO DINGHY PONTOON AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GO ASHORE AND LEAVE YOUR DINGHY!!!

As said, the Harbour Master was as helpful as he could be. Royal Western Yacht Club (whose buoy it was) had the helpful suggestion that we land at QAB (£8.50 for four hours in the tender). She did comment that visiting yachtsmen don't seem to go ashore!!!

We came to Plymouth to revictual the boat. We would have spent a lot of money doing do (and eating/drinking ashore).

For a City that brand themselves as 'Britain's Ocean City' they don't seem to want yachties to actually go into their City...

 

[doug748]

No, there is no free, handy pontoon. In case anyone else is visiting:

http://www.plymouthport.org.uk/cattewatermap.htm

You can pick up at the tripper boat pontoons (despite the jolly boat captains growling) but not leave a boat unattended. On the Sailing Centre pontoon at Mount Batten you can pay by the day. There are also two public slips at Mount Batten but you really need to carry the tender clear and find a spot to leave it dry. Not much shopping nearby though.

You could leave the dinghy afloat on the outside of QAB battery breakwater and use the iron ladders, ditto at Commercial Wharf (slips as well), not very handy for heavy shopping though + subject to wash and/or swimming kids etc.

I would suggest locking into Sutton Harbour and finding a quiet spot to leave the dinghy, that is not baulked by security - there are several. Have lunch and a look around and do your shopping at the small Co Op in Southside Street.

 

[dslittle]

Great advice and pretty much what I had already gleaned. Still can't believe that there is no public pontoon. Apparently, the pontoon used by the tripper boats was paid for with public money but not available to the public...

 

[doug748]

I guess for the £8.50p flat charge you could take the yacht in to QAB for 4 hours, crackers.

What I have done in the past is to bring the tender into the marina slip and not trouble to mention it to anyone. Better not to ask than be refused, etc. After all we are mainly only visiting the yacht club or an on site business - if you do this by car there is 2 hours free parking.

Makes you want to despair at times.

 

[ronsurf]

The tripper pontoon was put in for ferries and the optimistic hope of cruise liner tenders that never materialised. It was never intended as a public pontoon. The best option for victualing is the Yacht Haven pontoons. I've no idea about fees for mooring there but it is closest to a large supermarket (Morrisons) as there is very few supermarkets near any moorings in Plymouth. There are no shops on the Mountbatten side, and the Co-Op in Southside St is very small, though it does have a Post Office in it. Mayflower marina may be an option - there is a Lidl and an Aldi within walking distance. If you like walking.

Yachting in Plymouth is well set up if you keep your boat here, less so for visiting boats, unless you plan on staying for a bit.

QAB were supposed to supply a public pontoon outside the marina, but they seem to have forgotten all about it.