Marinas: best or worst you have been to???

capnsensible

capnsensible

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I am a fan of marinas. Yeah, understand about anchoring, drying berths, river pontoons, privacy, noisy neighbours, yada yada. But, to visit, go ashore and generally enjoy, what is on your love or hate list?

Anywhere in the world??
 
Allright, I'll go first. West Cowes marina is, in my view, bottoms. Surly staff - on one occasion I was given a demand for mooring fees whilst still tying up- shore facilities totally inadeqate and total rip off prices ashore!! Captive audience. The only place to get a decent wet was the British Legion, gone now apparently.

Jolly Harbour in Antigua is brill!!
 
be interested to hear what you think of the groups (MDL, Dean & Reddyhoff - Yacht Havens etc...) instead of individual marinas. what makes a good marina?
 
The trouble is; some of the problem marinas are in places we love or need to visit.

Such as - Poor shelter - Ystad in Southern Sweden
Long walk to facilities - Dieppe
Rafting -up - Falmouth Town harbour & QAB Plymouth
Generally grotty - Brighton

All-time favourite - Neustadt in Germany, Yacht Club. Peace & quiet, immaculate facilities, a warm welcome and a pleasant walk to the town. I always find yacht-club marinas the friendliest.
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Worst & Best

Whitby

Worst if you have to leave your boat there, I had engine problems on the way in and had to be towed in by a trawler. The local engineer from the chandlers came down to look and said he could fix it but not today as it was Saturday he said it would be next week before he got on to it. I went to speak to the harbor master to see if we could come to some arrangement over mooring fees he just laughed at me and said our fees were already cheap @ £18 per night, i explained we were a young couple with no money but still not interested. we had to get the train home and leave the boat that cost nearly £100 in its self.

I returned the following weekend thinking the boat was fixed, it still would not run. so back to the engineer he said he would bring the boat out of the water to minimise costs. this was in May after many many phone calls and visits he decided he could not fix it I ended up bringing it back by road in October. I had a bill of over 2.5 grand from the marina and the engineer and the engine would still not run!!!! The cheeky sod charged me storage costs as well for the all the time it was there even though half the time he could not be bothered to work on my engine. I have only just finished paying back to loan 3 years later!!

I only stay in marinas if I have to but my favorite is but really only a harbor with a pontoon is Wells next to sea in north Norfolk
 
some of the problem marinas are in places we love or need to visit..........Rafting -up - Falmouth Town harbour & QAB Plymouth

I wonder if this is not part of the problem..... our herd mentality.....

I dont know about t'other places... but I do know that there is no need to visit either of these places..... In falmouth we now go to Mylor instead... which is far better... or up the Fal to the moorings past the bar..... In Plymouth QAB must surely rank as one of the worst for visitors... Tight, prone to swell, noisy..... versus across at PYH which has none of the problems...

I agree there will be some places that we have no real choice over... but there do seem to be a lot of places were we go to... and then bitch about.... when we could have gone someplace else!
 
Best for me so far - Shotley tieing with Nieupoort Air Force YC

Worst? Hm. Ramsgate is always shoddy and uncaring.
 
I think I may have mentioned this before (once or twice) but Port Dinorwic is the absolute pits. OK potential, but spoiled by a bunch of a*s*holes with no idea of customer service
 
Dover and Ramsgate are both fairly shoddy places. I cringe when I think that for many from this Continent, this will be their first acquaintance with British harbours - which are also far more expensive than anywhere else in northern Europe.

And talking of expense - I spent two nights in Pavilosta marina. I was charged for only one. I looked slightly surprised, and he said apologetically, 'Times are hard'. I would have thought they were harder for him than for me, but didn't argue.
 
I have no love for marinas and avoid them when ever possible. But personally I think my favorite has to be Falmouths visitors yacht haven, because it's small, friendly and close to the pub.

As for the worst, there are I fear, too many contenders. But I think Fleetwood has to take the prize as far as location goes.
 
Best is Dordrecht (can't remember the exact name, it's the council run one). Very pretty, very friendly and £5 a night inc leccy and you're in the old town.
2nd best is Youngboats at Oare. Iffy facilities, very crappy tidal access but the nicest friendliest place we've ever kept the boat. And such a relief to be away from the Weaselman and Hyacinth Bucket down the Swale (if you're a local you'll know).
 
Crappy ones are Dover and Brighton and any number of the French ones down the Atlantic coast - La Rochelle which is like an NCP or Bourgenay which has all the charm of Eastbourne.

Good ones? Well there are many that have good points like nice clean showers and toilets but ridiculous charges ( Pwllheli), but mostly they are all just ordinary.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
Well there are many that have good points like nice clean showers and toilets but ridiculous charges ( Pwllheli), but mostly they are all just ordinary.
Click to expand...

Aberystwyth... rather like Pwllheli only it has fewer facilities and IRC silly prices. They rocketed last April - I expect they'll come up with another lame excuse to do the same again this year.

Access to Pwllheli is better, H24 ish and Aber' (+/- 3.5) harbour looked like it needed some serious dredging and the weir repairing - hardly deserving of such high prices IMHO.
 
Portavadie in Loch Fyne is very good.

Loads of space, an excellent restaurant and brilliant, new facilities. One or two unusual features, though, such as hair straighteners in the Gents! (not that I have much use for those).
 
Agree about Portavadie
Worst on the Clyde (for visitors) is Kip, the berths are just at the entrance on very long fingers, with 4 to 6 boats to each bay, if you make the mistake of not turning to reverse in and there is any westerly breeze you need about 4 crew ashore to squeeze out again, then you have to find somewhere to pick them up.
Tobermory has great pontoons but the a*****e who designed the new showers should have been made to go in their in his black suit and poloneck and made to take one before he was paid.
 
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Worst there are to many to name, but I'll name a few:
Messolonghi - just **** at the moment.
Aberystwyth - nice place, friendly YC and very close to the town - but the marina is dire and expensive for what you get.
Biaona - just rubbish.
Lagos - to many ex pats it just like being back in the UK only warmer.

Good ones:
RCYC - we were well looked after there
Pavoa de Vasim - cheap and cheerfull, close to the town
Portosin - cheap and good food at good prices in the YC
Rota - just liked the town and the marina was good and relatively fair - good showers
Smir - cheap and friendly

But laying to anchor is miles better than any of these, and its free.
 
I would agree that Ramsgate's mostly OK, having visited the place pretty often since 1978. As long as you don't arrive during Ramsgate week that is.

I've not had any problems with Dover either, and rather enjoy going there, especially if I get the chance to hold up a ferry on the way in. Granville dock is quiet, and there is 24-hr fuel.
 
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