Itchenor Mooring

[bumblefish]

Hi, I am currently at the far east of the Itchenor reach and have an option to move to a mooring much further west, actually the westernmost mooring. Apparently this is not a popular mooring because of the exposure. Is there anyone here who is moored in west Itchenor Reach that could give me their opinion?

 

[KeithH]

I used to have an Itchenor mooring, but above Itchenor hard itself. However, having passed that way many times, I would not want one of the westernmost moorings as:

• They are definitely more exposed to the weather
• They have a huge traffic of assorted boats from the hard in the summer as well as the ISC boats

There is much to be said for being upstream of Itchenor hard - or I suppose down towards Bosham.

 

[bumblefish]

I am up near Bosham at the moment, however I am alongside the main channel and get a lot of slamming about from the wash of passing vessels and I have already had a £1800 bill for pulpit damage that was unreported! Swings and roundabouts?

 

[KeithH]

I have great sympathy with you - even when I had a mooring two rows off the main channel above Itchenor, I used to get the occasional huge amount of wash from passing motor boats in the main channel - especially in the evening/early morning, when they know that the HM wont be there.

I recall one evening when the wash was so bad that I was knocked out of bed. Looking out of the hatch, I could see a receding motorboat, and masts of moored boats oscillating from side to side. I suppose that the key thing to do in such motor boats is never to look behind you to see the carnage you are creating.

I must say that I would like to see a recording speed camera (the like of which you often see on local roads, which flash your speed) somewhere in the harbour to catch these thoughtless twerps.

 

[Poey50]

Our 32 footer is at the western end of the reach (0 degrees 52.21' West). There is more fetch when the wind is WSW but we put a big metal mooring spring on to soften the hobby-horsing and it is fine. I wouldn't leave her on there all year round, though.

 

[bumblefish]

The harbour team will apparently move her eastwards in the winter, I quite like the idea of sailing on and off the mooring which I can not manage single handed at the other end of the reach. I plan to double up woth strops to two foredeck cleats as well as the chain on the anchor cleat. I will look into a spring as well.