Dover Marina News 2022

"We need to deliver other works in 2022, which will require us to temporarily close Dover Marina to new customers including Visitors this summer – 13th of May to the end of August 2022. "

Dover is not one of my prefered destinations. The town is not very nice and hardly worth visiting. I usually give it a miss most of the times I pass. Bet many potential visitors, especially those coming down from North Foreland, will it a big problem.
 
I can remember anchoring once in Dover Harbour in the late 1960's. Most uncomfortable night ever as we rocked and rolled all night. Later we entered Wellington Dock where it was like a mill pond. Anchoring may still be possible, but a quick call to Dover Port Control will give a definite answer.
 
Concerto said:
"We need to deliver other works in 2022, which will require us to temporarily close Dover Marina to new customers including Visitors this summer – 13th of May to the end of August 2022. "

Dover is not one of my prefered destinations. The town is not very nice and hardly worth visiting. I usually give it a miss most of the times I pass. Bet many potential visitors, especially those coming down from North Foreland, will it a big problem.
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It is hard to blame Dover for its lack of charm, when it was largely flattened by the Germans, just as we flattened Le Havre. Although the shopping area is dreary, there are things to see. Dover castle is one of the great south coast attractions with a fantastic history and shouldn’t be missed. The Western batteries also make a great walk and the Great Shaft fairly amazing in itself if you get a chance to see it.

Dover is also better placed than Ramsgate for many of us when heading west, allowing you to get past Dungeness with the tide on the way to Brighton or Eastbourne.
 
The Royal Cinq Ports Yacht Club is very welcoming to visiting yachtpersons, I think it's open every afternoon for food and drinks.
Pity about the marina.
 
johnalison said:
Dover is also better placed than Ramsgate for many of us when heading west, allowing you to get past Dungeness with the tide on the way to Brighton or Eastbourne.
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When I head west, I start to ensure I leave Sheerness at high water and then head to N Foreland, then down to S Foreland, pass Dover and then direct to either Eastbourne or Brighton. It is a long way, but I catch the gravy train of tides and only punch about 4 hours.Getting a crew motivated may make this more difficult, but I find it easy singlehanded. In the past I once went from Medway Yacht Club direct to Cowes in 26 hours when there were 4 of us on a Nicholson 30. Maybe I am used to pushing the distance card, rather than heading for last orders at the pub.
 
Marina - Award Winning Marina - Port of Dover

What a masterful spiel that is about a marina 'waterfront' that isn't there and when it comes will be an enlarged layby experience that we might have thought clever in the 1970s .Apparently too late for a design review ,it's a desperate planning approval on a scheme that should have gone to competition in the first place.
 
Concerto said:
When I head west, I start to ensure I leave Sheerness at high water and then head to N Foreland, then down to S Foreland, pass Dover and then direct to either Eastbourne or Brighton. It is a long way, but I catch the gravy train of tides and only punch about 4 hours.Getting a crew motivated may make this more difficult, but I find it easy singlehanded. In the past I once went from Medway Yacht Club direct to Cowes in 26 hours when there were 4 of us on a Nicholson 30. Maybe I am used to pushing the distance card, rather than heading for last orders at the pub.
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Coming from the Harwich area, we are usually ready for some rest by the time we get to Kent, especially if the famed spring easterlies haven’t materialised. We did Brighton in one go a few times but the trouble (for me) is that a long overnight trip demands a day to recover before moving on, and in the end we make more progress with day-sails rather than by punishing ourselves. My first sail to Brighton, in our then Sadler 29, was memorable, leaving our anchorage near Mersea at 6 o/c and picking up the wind from the east a couple of hours later, which then swung round to the south for a fast reach along the south coast and a southerly 6 when we surfed into Brighton at 2.30 am. I have also been stuck in Dover for nearly a week waiting for the wind gods to respond to my libations.
 
As a singlehander, I always try to make Dover from Harwich. It always seems a long slow slog from Dover to Brighton with Dungeness never seeming to be out of sight! Coming back is another matter having done Eastbourne to Harwich in some very quick times with the much more favourable tidal streams.
Looks like Ramsgate to Eastbourne this year then on to Sandown Bay if settled. Round the bottom of the IOW to Portland or even Lyme Regis possibly. (haven't timed that bit yet).

Anyone anchored off Sandown? I have seen the odd boat there anchore near the pier in some quite strong W breezes, and even looks quiet in a SW wind.
 
Habebty said:
Anyone anchored off Sandown? I have seen the odd boat there anchore near the pier in some quite strong W breezes, and even looks quiet in a SW wind.
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Have lunched there, and looks possible for a reasonably comfortable overnight spot. My concern about all the 'possibly quiet enough' places is what happens if you get there and find it is not quiet enough - especially as a single hander after a long sail. Plan B from there without Dover as an option is back to Ramsgate, or keep going to Dungeness or Eastbourne.
 
Concerto said:
I can remember anchoring once in Dover Harbour in the late 1960's. Most uncomfortable night ever as we rocked and rolled all night. Later we entered Wellington Dock where it was like a mill pond. Anchoring may still be possible, but a quick call to Dover Port Control will give a definite answer.
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They still advertise rates for anchoring in the outer harbour so it must be available. Dover is one of the original "harbours of refuge" so I think they would be pushing their luck to deny access totally. It seems they want the Wellington dock cleared so they can dredge it and build a new boatyard and lift there so they are offering all berth holders a few months trial in the new marina while they do it. Hence no space for visitors.
 
I was born and brought up in Dover and still maintain a keen interest. The White Horse was always a quite gentrified pub and the Louis Armstrong (Grapes) was always a musicians pub. Some well known names used to go there and some still do. What has changed is some of the old seaman's haunts have gone or been gentrified and I see the Lord Nelson is now a posh nosh pub. It used to be the 2nd roughest pub in town when I was a lad but you could get served there when well under the legal drinking age. The roughest place was down Snargate St and was even better! I always enjoy a visit to Dover where I can pretend to relive my misspent youth and then have a curry at the best Indian in Kent.
 
It seems Dover Marina has now written to clubs and marinas on the continent. I have received a mail from my club warning us that Dover Marina will be closed this season.
 
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