help needed

[vitalspark1]

hi all
New to the london area and i'm looking for a berth in
A) burnham on crouch
B) the river thames (around the O2 area)
now my problem is i'm from the west coast of scotland where you jump on board and your sailing
now here the choice is A or B because both are within a hours drive so my question is just how easy is it to sail in a tidal river with constricted space and large ships to dodge
my choice of wepon is a 24 ft sailing yacht so would prefer to sail than motor
and very new to tidal rivers so any advice would be of great help
thanks
alex

 

[vjmehra]

Near the O2 you have:

Greenwich Yacht Club (swinging mooring only):
http://www.greenwichyachtclub.co.uk/

Limehouse Basin:
http://www.bwml.co.uk/marinas/limehouse_marina

South Dock:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200065/south_dock_marina

The latter two are apparently full at the mo.

A bit further out you could try Gallions Point Marina:
http://www.gallionspointmarina.co.uk/index.html

As for Burnham, there are a few places you could choose from, the only one I've been too is:
http://www.yachthavens.com/fambridge/

Try posting on the East Coast forum as there are many with far better knowledge than me!

Also we are currently at Gillingham:
http://www.gillingham-marina.co.uk/

Which for us (coming from Central London) seemed like a good compromise on distance/time. We wanted somewhere within an hour and that didn't take ages to get from the marina to the sea.

I should point out however that we have a RIB not a sailing yacht, so your criteria will not be exactly the same.

 

[vitalspark1]

thanks vjmehra
yes the two I have looked at were fambridge/crouch
and gallions point marina/thames so just trying to find out can I sail from both or would i have to motor to a more open area first ??

 

[vjmehra]

It can be done....

Its personal choice as to whether you enjoy sailing within the confines of the river or not.

Also, obviously conditions/traffic can be restrictive.

Fambridge to the Crouch Estuary takes a while, 4 hours or so @ 6 knots if I remember rightly, personally that would frustrate me too much on a regular basis!

That said, Gallions Point, probably is a fairly similar journey time (can't comment specifically as I've only been down that way on the Thames on the RIB).

The other thing to remember about the London based marina's is the Lock restrictions. Gallions Point is advertised as HW +/-5 hours, although for this season the lock was actually only operational +/- 3 hours, so definitely check that out if you did decide to go there.

It may be worth having a quick chat with one of the yacht clubs, Greenwich I believe to cruiser racing and cruises, so they may be able to offer more sailing specific advice.

 

[oldgit]

Prob best on Crouch.Lots of places to explore and instant access to water.
The top bit of Thames twixt QE2 bridge and Tower bridge is a bit scuzzy to say the least and you will not be able to go beyond Tower Bridge.
It is not a nice bit to sail esp in a small boat .

 

[NB Willawaw]

I was born in Barking creek so know the river quite well.

If I were you, I would visit the marinas on the Thames and have a look round the area. Its interesting to visit but I don't know if I would want to sail there every weekend.

If I were you, I would have a look at the Crouch or the Blackwater, which isn't that much further.

 

[warrenmarkus1]

hi all
New to the london area and i'm looking for a berth in
A) burnham on crouch
B) the river thames (around the O2 area)
now my problem is i'm from the west coast of scotland where you jump on board and your sailing
now here the choice is A or B because both are within a hours drive so my question is just how easy is it to sail in a tidal river with constricted space and large ships to dodge
my choice of wepon is a 24 ft sailing yacht so would prefer to sail than motor
and very new to tidal rivers so any advice would be of great help
thanks
alex

Hi,
I keep my 23' boat with a drop keel at Upriver Yacht club at Hullbridge on the Crouch, which is about 20-30 mins to the M25 J29 by road!
Sailing a twisting river requires lots of tacks, a keen eye on the sounder, and yes does take a fair time to get to the 'sea'. It has low costs, plenty of places to anchor, good social scene, and a several destination options. Costs are lower if your boat can take the hard easily (bilge keel). The upper reaches of the Crouch do dry out and therefore only accessible a few hours after Lw. and yes it does get busy in summer!!
Picked URYC when I moved from Plymouth a few years ago as the best for cost/and road distance for me.