Feasible costal marina for someone living in East Midlands

[johnalison]

I try to treat sailing as a chilled out pastime so act accordingly.

Definitely, which is why I think that being at the head of a river can be beneficial for newcomers; they learn to adjust to the rhythm of the tides.

 

[Greemble]

I guess the waiting for bridge lifts must be a pain at times?

The Inner Harbour at Lowestoft does have the bridge as an extra obstacle / security measure yes, but as pointed out, it has a lifting schedule which is on the harbour website.

That said, there are moorings at the Haven Marina in the Outer Harbour, at their Hamilton Dock site. No bridges to worry about and the commercial shipping is much smaller than the container vessels going in & out of Felixstowe
Fewer facilities than the School Road site, but still relatively cheap compared with the Orwell marinas and if you need hauling out, it's not much trouble to head for the various yards passed the bridge.

The main downside of Lowestoft is road access.
No dual carriageways within an hour's drive - or more, if you take the A17/A47 route from Newark passed Kings Lynn & Norwich.

 

[lpdsn]

Suggestion for the OP to consider from the other east coast: maybe look at flying to the boat rather than driving. You could keep the boat somewhere around Belfast Lough say.

Sailing in NI has better scenery and less mud than the Thames Est.

Rail line to Bangor passes Belfast City Airport and there's a shuttle to the nearest station. At a pinch you could walk from the airport to Belfast Harbour Marina. EasyJet fly to the International airport but regular buses into town.

Or even the Ayrshire coast. With the near demise of Prestwick Airport it's not as good as it was but still not difficult to get from Glasgow Airport to the marinas on the coast.

 

[Lucky Duck]

The Inner Harbour at Lowestoft does have the bridge as an extra obstacle / security measure yes, but as pointed out, it has a lifting schedule which is on the harbour website.

That said, there are moorings at the Haven Marina in the Outer Harbour, at their Hamilton Dock site. No bridges to worry about and the commercial shipping is much smaller than the container vessels going in & out of Felixstowe
Fewer facilities than the School Road site, but still relatively cheap compared with the Orwell marinas and if you need hauling out, it's not much trouble to head for the various yards passed the bridge.

The main downside of Lowestoft is road access.
No duel carriageways within an hour's drive - or more, if you take the A17/A47 route from Newark passed Kings Lynn & Norwich.

I thought the marina at Hamilton dock had been given over to craft serving the wind farms or is it just visiting craft that are discouraged from seeking a berth there?

 

[Greemble]

I thought the marina at Hamilton dock had been given over to craft serving the wind farms or is it just visiting craft that are discouraged from seeking a berth there?

From what I've seen, most of the wind farm boats are in the Trawler dock, next to Waveney Road.

Although there does seem to be very little about the Hamilton Road marina on the Haven site, so that may be the case - I'll have a look and see if there is any sign of private use still going on.
Last I saw (earlier this year, in the Summer) there were a few fishing boats moored there as well as private craft.
Fishing boats don't necessarily mean it's not usable for private craft - there are some fishing boats in the Yacht Basin run by the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk YC, too.

I would suggest the RN&SYC as a possible marina, but that requires joining the club and then getting onto the waiting list for a pontoon.
They don't like non-members to stay more than a week or two.

 

[Cantata]

I thought the marina at Hamilton dock had been given over to craft serving the wind farms or is it just visiting craft that are discouraged from seeking a berth there?

As far as we know, the Hamilton Dock Marina closed to leisure craft as of last winter, and book updates for Lowestoft on our website certainly reflect that.

 

[Greemble]

Just had confirmation from one of my ex-students that works at Haven.

Unfortunately the Outer Harbour, Hamilton Road site is closed to leisure craft.
So Lowestoft is through the bridge only, unless you can get a berth at RN&SYC.

On the plus side, the inner harbour is a lot more sheltered and the facilities are pretty good.

 

[Greemble]

As far as we know, the Hamilton Dock Marina closed to leisure craft as of last winter, and book updates for Lowestoft on our website certainly reflect that.

As far as your knowledge goes, you are quite right.

 

[Paddy Fields]

Suggestion for the OP to consider from the other east coast: maybe look at flying to the boat rather than driving. You could keep the boat somewhere around Belfast Lough say.

Sailing in NI has better scenery and less mud than the Thames Est.

Rail line to Bangor passes Belfast City Airport and there's a shuttle to the nearest station. At a pinch you could walk from the airport to Belfast Harbour Marina. EasyJet fly to the International airport but regular buses into town.

Or even the Ayrshire coast. With the near demise of Prestwick Airport it's not as good as it was but still not difficult to get from Glasgow Airport to the marinas on the coast.

I expect to go down to working 3 days a week by next year, so that could work.

I’m only 20 mins from East Midlands airport, which has almost daily direct flight to Dublin and Guernsey as well.