Chichester or Portsmouth

[Angele]

But you will get bored of the bit of water between the harbour entrance and the forts, because you will almost always come out of the harbour and turn right.

Ah! But the best bit about Chichester (or Pompey for that matter) for the rag 'n' sticks brigade, for whom a Channel crossing takes many hours but costs nothing, provided there is a bit of wind, is the ability to keep going straight ahead. Vive La France! That is the one thing I find restrictive from my home berth on the Hamble, and Southampton is even more so. Who put that island there.....?

 

[LadyInBed]

You haven't given any info re what sort of sailing you enjoy, alone or with crew or if you will have many time restraints. Round the cans, short 4hr sails and long overnight anchors or marinas or longer 8hr sails and shorter overnight stops. All the above and how much you can afford for a mooring helps to narrow down your best base.
The one thing about the S coast is that you are spoilt for choice, but at a price.

 

[ricky_s]

Traffic to Gosport is an old saw. Yes, if you stick to the A32 it can be bad mainly because of the plethora of traffic lights, but use a decent road map and you'll find there are plenty of alternative routes between Fareham and Gosport. Obeying the speed limits I rarely need more than 15 minutes to get to Haslar after leaving the M27 - and vice-versa.

I would like to have that route!

 

[Topcat47]

I would like to have that route!

We all would.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Roughly speaking Fareham/Lee-on-Solent/Stokes Bay/Bridge over Haslar Creek, but there are several ways of knitting it - so buy your own map!

 

[Sans Bateau]

Chichester is far more beautiful and special, so for that reason I'd choose Portsmouth.

If every time you go to the boat you have to do that annoying slog all the way out the harbour and down to West Pole, you'll get blase and annoyed with it. IMHO it's far better to take the quick dash out to Solent from Portsmouth, and then have the option of sailing to Chi and having a nice night on a buoy under the stars with a cold beer and a BBQ. Keeps it special.

Plus, from Pompey, for weekend sailing you can go left or right, from Chi it's almost always right, and depending on tides and boatspeed, it will make the Needles/Yarmouth/Lymmo a lot less doable for a weekend.

I can sort of agree, but with the boat in Chichester we often get back into the harbour on a Sunday afternoon, then relax with a late lunch/early dinner (its not unheard of that we have a full roast on the boat) sat at anchor in the tranquil surroundings of Mill Rythe before returning to the marina late, after the rush has died down a bit.

As for heading West from Chi, if you leave West Pole at 3 hours before HW Portsmouth you get an hour of slack, before you enjoy the whole ebb all the way to Yarmouth and you get a decent long sail, that is unless you prefer being in the marina rather than the sailing bit. Going back to Chi, once you get past the entrance to Portsmouth you can enjoy some fine sailing without having to dodge ferries and other boats, everyone is going in the same direction.

 

[chubby]

base in Portsmouth but sail to Chi for the weekend: Chi is a good place to visit, Portsmouth more of a place to be based and sail from and places like Wicormarine are only just off the M27

 

[derekgillard]

+ 1 for Wicor I've been there for over 10 years, PM me if you want more details.

Chichester is a nice days sail 40 min to the entrance most times we can sail unless on the nose then you turn left for chichester or right for the solent. Straight on is Bembridge. The point I would make is we can go somewhere in almost any wind so it's Pompy for me.

Delbuoy

 

[Stemar]

base in Portsmouth but sail to Chi for the weekend: Chi is a good place to visit, Portsmouth more of a place to be based and sail from and places like Wicormarine are only just off the M27

I agree. The A27 is a pain in rush hours and can be busy on a Sunday afternoon. Going to Hardway (N Gosport) we reckon that if we don't leave N London by about 1500, we should put our feet up and wait for 2000 and leaving, we need to be on our way by 1500 or wait until 18-1900, but that's taking the North Circular and the M25 into account. However, it's worth it. We get to the boat, look at what the tide's doing and decide whether to turn left or right out of the harbour. Left is Chichester, which is a SWMBO sail away and right is the rest of the Solent, also a SWMBO sail away. Because it isn't home, we benefit more from Chi than we would if we were there.

If, like me, marina bills give you severe palpitations, consider a swinging mooring. there are deep water swings to be had from Gosport Boat Yard and Quay Lane, or you could consider a half tide mooring in deep, soft mud and save even more. There are others, but I've had a very bad experience with Portsmouth Moorings (Percy M See/Goliath Holdings) and would avoid them like the plague. Wicor offers mid-channel pontoon moorings, with access from Portchester that avoids the A27, but there is a lot to be said for a quiet mooring, even if it's a good dinghy run from launch. We often go down for a weekend and go nowhere - boat as weekend cottage

We're members of Hardway Sailing Club, which has some very useful facilities, including a pontoon that allows a dinghy launch at all tides except the lowest of low springs. They have club moorings, but don't join to get one - it'll take years.

 

[SimonMackenzie]

Thanks for all the replies. I do mainly short handed family sailing, may get back to racing but certainly not this year. Have had marina berths for last several years as family like (and in fairness more convenient when on my own) but will look at other options. Time is an issue and like the idea of a range of places to go irrespective of tide appeals. I can see the argument for having Chichester as a place to visit. For work really need to live in SW London (also house hunting) so some chance of being ahead of the worst of Friday traffic with luck.

 

[PhillM]

Why only a portsmouth or Chi? Loads of options on the Hamble and Southsmpton and no further to drive than Pompy.

 

[MinorSwing]

In the past I've kept boats at Chichester Marina and also at marinas in Gosport, Portsmouth Harbour.
Portsmouth wins every time. Chichester is too far from the sea compared with Portsmouth. From Portsmouth you are already in the Solent and have plenty of places to visit only a short distance away.

 

[SimonMackenzie]

Why only a portsmouth or Chi? Loads of options on the Hamble and Southsmpton and no further to drive than Pompy.

Phil, no reason except lack of knowledge so other suggestions welcome although in the end I can't look everywhere at least for first season

 

[Seajet]

Simon,

I would say your choice of Chichester or Portsmouth is spot on, certainly as an introduction to the area but probably long term too.

I have sailed in Chichester since 1970, had a mooring there since 78 and tried a deep water mooring in Portsmouth a few years ago, I reckon these two harbours are the ones to choose between re facilities, transport links etc.

 

[V1701]

I think thats a terrible idea! No where to go, and fairly horrid in there.

As I pointed out in my post!

 

[jimmyk]

I keep my boat in chi on a swiinging mooring in the summer and marina in the winter. costs about 2 grand ish. the swinging mooring is emsworth which is nice and quiet. the only problem is sometimes i miss the tide and have to wait in the pub to launch the dinghy!
it is a bit of a jaunt to get out of the harbour but you get used to it. the er are lost of dinghies and the entrance can be fun when its busy. but you do get used to it and its quite good fun. i enquired about Wicor in portsmouth and the people there seemed very nice and i was all set to move. it is a lot closer to the delights of the solent. however i decided to stay where i was as i knew the area and liked the beauty of chi.
basically both have positive and negative points and it is down to personal preference in the end. so you could try a season in one. then the other and then make your choice. its down to what you like in the end.

 

[KevB]

With the exception of upstream of Bursledon Bridge on the Hamble, Chichester harbour is by far the most picturesque place to be in the Solent. Portsmouth by comparison is a $hit hole. Would much rather be sailing up chi harbour than Portsmouth harbour although granted, easier access to the other delights of the Solent from Portsmouth. Depends what you're after.

 

[awol]

The OP has my condolences. I hope he gets time off for good behaviour!

If Elessar is correct with £6k marina costs for a 27' boat then keeping the boat where it is and commuting for weekend sails could make economic sense. Planning and buying air tickets in advance would also reduce the temptation to let work eat into the more important activities. If I understand the traffic situation around London, the 1h20m flight north could even be quicker.

 

[Twister_Ken]

The OP has my condolences. I hope he gets time off for good behaviour!

If Elessar is correct with £6k marina costs for a 27' boat then keeping the boat where it is and commuting for weekend sails could make economic sense. Planning and buying air tickets in advance would also reduce the temptation to let work eat into the more important activities. If I understand the traffic situation around London, the 1h20m flight north could even be quicker.

I pay less than that for a 34' boat in Gosport, so Elessar may be quoting Hamble prices. My mooring bill would be about the same in Chichester Marina.

 

[Boathook]

Depending on where in SW London Christchurch (fairly shallow so max draft about a meter) and Poole are only 2 hours drive.