East Head, Chichester Harbour

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We are thinking of anchoring overnight in order to have a barbeque on the beach in a few weekends time. Probably 4 or 5 yachts, mostly 40 ft and drawing 2 metres.
Has anyone had experience of anchoring at East head recently overnight? What is the best place and what is the holding like? Will be just off spring tides.
 
I haven't been there for many years but I'm pretty sure there is a no fires rule which is probably a sound policy. Others may be able to confirm or not?

I used to know Chichester Harbour well and still have great affection for the place and particularly East Head - when the spit was breached my Dad and I sailed his Scow dinghy from one side to the other at the top of a spring tide. East Head was for a while an island. Memory is a bit hazy as it was around 1960 I think, some thought then the whole of East Head would disappear!

My knowledge of where to anchor is too old to be useful but I'm sure the tide is as strong as ever depending where you drop the hook.
 
Be sure to anchor within the designated area, not out in the channel. That's south of a line between East Head buoy and Snowhill buoy

Anchor ball required by day and an anchor light at night.

You will get stung for "harbour dues" . Not a lot but you will find the rates on the website.

Holding varies. In some places the sand is soft other places hard. I always dig the anchor in and motor backwards against it to ensure it is going to hold.

north/east of Snowhill creek it's muddy rather than sandy

See the harbour website at http://www.conservancy.co.uk/

Barbeques on the beach are common. I am not aware of any restrictions.
 
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With 4 or 5 boats, you'll want to get there early: it get's really busy at w/ends. Also, the anchorage has silted considerably over the last couple of years and, drawing 2Ms at or near springs, you'll need to be a reasonable distance off the beach.
Re the barbie: no problem last summer as long as you take all your rubbish off the beach so a disposable is best.
If you get the chance, go midweek mid summer: you'll have the place to yourself and it's as close as you can get to a Bounty advert within 60 miles of London!
Enjoy
 
Be aware of the fact that in certain wind/tide conditions boats can sheer around in odd directions with there being a counter eddy. Give yourselves plenty of clearance and be aware of the numpty who comes along and anchors close to you.
 
The best place to anchor is not too far off the beach (low water). Eastwards gets very shallow, too far West and you risk "falling off the edge". For an overnight stay, I would definitely monitor things as the tide turns, else you might wake up somewhere else! The bottom is soft and sandy.
 
Also note that the channel has now been moved north, and buoyed accordingly.

Your charts probably won't show this.

This does give you more space to anchor.
 
Bav34 said:
Also note that the channel has now been moved north, and buoyed accordingly.

Your charts probably won't show this.

This does give you more space to anchor.
Click to expand...

I wonder, do the big mobo's coming from / going to Chichester Marina at low warp speed know this, or is one a tad exposed if out to the Northern end of the anchorage ?

I haven't been around the Eastern part of the harbour for a while...
 
Just what the H.M. chap told me when I queried why I had sailed way to the north of the reds showing on my chartplotter.
 
Bav34 said:
Just what the H.M. chap told me when I queried why I had sailed way to the north of the reds showing on my chartplotter.
Click to expand...

Hmmm,

I wonder if you've just hit on a snag; at night especially, what if some hero is just following his plotter ....? Easily done I'd think, and in an unfamiliar place with unlit buoys I expect it would catch me out.

The buoys are lit I know, but I don't fancy being anchored overnight in this new area to the North !
 
Bav34 said:
Some excellent information regarding the new bouyage.
Click to expand...

I love the way they seem to think the harbour only extends East from the entrance !

OK so they mention the buoyage changes there, but could explain it much more clearly, as you did Bav 34...

This is the problem with electronic charts, mine are £200 each, one would have hoped for an update service...

I seriously wouldn't anchor in this new Northern area of East head overnight.
 
Spiffing, but what about what I see as a potential major 'gotcha', I use the harbour but never use that website, and I rather doubt many others going to and from Chi marina do...

I think I'll contact the harbour office tomorrow, though it's hard to think how they can really warn people; has this been an actual NTM ?
 
If arriving by night, be aware of unlit boats at anchor. A couple of weeks back on a black as pitch, overcast and moonless night, I very nearly motored straight through a small boat, only avoiding doing so as I thought I saw a patch of water which had no reflectivity whatsoever by comparison with the minute degree of reflection in the surroundings. I almost ignored it, but got that feeling so forfeited my night vision to the torch, and there it was, a little pocket cruiser a boat length away. I've seen unlit anchored boats there on many other occasions, but have either already been anchored myself or it's been on a night with enough moonlight to easily spot them.

The holding is good, either sand or mud depending on the exact spot you pick. It often takes a really good tug from directly above to break our Bruce out after a night there. If at first you drag, you may have found a patch of weed, of which there are a fair few. Try again and you'll find a good spot soon enough.

The new northern limit of the anchorage does feel a little vulnerable to vessels wandering to the south of the channel. I suggest staying as far in as you can and toward the western end of the anchorage where the holding seems better and you are away from the shallow spot, which is clearly charted, and the shallow bar which describes a north west running curve from in the vicinity of the eastern third of the beach.

Before you arrive, do a FUD calculation, then pick a spot which allows you a little extra water as the heights can be influenced by pressure and wind direction to a potentially embarrassing degree. Also, if leaving yourself marginal on depth, sound out your swinging area as there are a few humps which could otherwise cause things to go bump in the night.

Finally, if the wind makes it at all uncomfortable at East Head, which is rare, you may find more shelter at the bottom of the Thorney Channel, just a few hundred yards north.

It's a lovely spot, sheltered in most weathers and can be had all to yourself even at the weekend out of season.
 
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Simondjuk said:
If arriving by night, be aware of unlit boats at anchor. A couple of weeks back on a black as pitch, overcast and moonless night, I very nearly motored straight through a small boat, only avoiding doing so as I thought I saw a patch of water which had no reflectivity whatsoever by comparison with the minute degree of reflection in the surroundings.
Click to expand...

How daft can small-boat crews be, to anchor in a busy spot without a riding light? Surely staying visible is top amongst the unbreakable rules of responsible cruising. If mini-cruisers drop their hooks and hope not to be flattened, isn't that akin to Russian Roulette?
 
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