Chichester Harbour

[Guest]

My wife and I are considering moving our 31ft yacht from the Hamble to Chichester Marina for next season. Unfortunately we have only visited Chichester, by boat, once and so are a little apprehensive about how restrictive the Chichester Bar might be over an average season. Also how crowded does the marina lock tend to get at weekends? Is antifouling a particular problem? Any advice/experiences would be welcomed.

 

[billmacfarlane]

The bar at Chichester entrance shouldn't be too restictive. I don't cross it a low water springs but have done at low water neaps and my last boat drew 3'10 with the plate up and 6'6" with it down. With a 31' boat I would guess you draw 5'8" or thereabouts and to be on the safe side I would cross the bar +_ 4.5 hrs until you feel confident. The only proviso to this is with an ebb tide and an onshore wind of F4 and above. Under these conditions there's a bit of a swell at the entrance. The lock gates at Chichester Marina can be a total pain on a hot summer's day especially at the weekend. They operate a qeueing system at the lock which wil be explained if you accept a berth. Coming in after the lock gate is shut on a Sunday evening can mean a wait of a couple of hours. With a falling tide things can get interesting. Assuming the draught I've mentioned access to the channel leading to the lock will be roughly +- 4 hrs. If I'm heading off for the weekend I try to get out on Friday night if possible and either anchor or pick up a spare buoy for the night. Free flow at the lock is roughly +- 2.5 hours either side of high water. I put 2 coats of micron on a year and that does me for the season with nothing more than a bit of slime and possibly slight fouling round the waterline. Hope this helps.

 

[iangrant]

Take a look at Northney - It's still in Chichester harbour, closer to the entrance and no lock!

Good luck

 

[Guest]

agreed, some harbours in Chich miles from the actual sea, a real drag esp if you've been Hambling. Northney one of the better options.

 

[Grehan]

Not quite what you asked for, but we've berthed at Southsea Marina for the last season.

Very satisfied - friendly people and helpful. Reasonably easy to get to. Good security and the night security chaps will open the excellent chandlery/shop at any hour. Fairly immediate access into The Solent/Approach and across to Wight - and Langstone Harbour itself. We thought it was reasonably priced when we compared, admittedly last year.

The tidal cill is a drawback - approx 3hrs either side of HW, but there is a waiting pontoon outside and marina staff will put the boat away if you have to dash off. We've only once encountered a bit of a traffic 'juggle' passing through the entrance/cill. We also think some pontoon aisles are a bit narrow, but that's probably just our sheer incompetence!

 

[brians]

Take a look at Sparkes Marina right at entrance and only 10 mins to bar beacon. I was there in 2000 and it was fine. I'm now in Hamble - good job there is 2 way movement!

 

[Guest]

Many thanks everyone for all the helpful info you have given. Our current thoughts are that we might now defer our plans for a year and visit Chichester Marina a few times during next season.

 

[ChrisJ]

Just remember that visiting a marina is totally different to keeping your boat there.

Visit:
- Arrive by water
- Arrive at times when others are leaving
- Arrive at times dictated by you / the tide.
- Want shops you can walk to
- Want pubs / beaches / entertainment you can walk to
- Want good showers
- Want peace and quiet for sleeping
Moored:
- Arrive by land (is there somewhere convenient and safe for the car? What about traffic jams?)
- Arrive at the time everyone else does (Sunday evening can be very busy trying to get through any lock)
- Arrive at times dictated by the working week (Friday / Sunday evenings)
- Want good shops you can use to provision the boat from
- Want pubs / beaches / entertainment you can drive to
- Want good car parks, good trolleys for gear moving, friendly staff who can fix awkward problems cheaply, ease of lifting out / fitting out
- Want lots of different marina facilities in case anything needs fixing (chandlery, gas, engine, osmosis, polishing, anti-fouling, rigging work etc.)

And probably many others!

Cheers, Chris