Moorings / Marinas on the south coast of England..

[captainspeaking]

Hello,

Just got the Sailing bug, and become the proud owner of a Gib'Sea 282. I live in the Bristol area but I'm not interested in keeping her in the local area. What we are interested in is mooring her somewhere on the south coast, in particular, anywhere from Lyme Regis down towards Teignmouth. The problem I have is that trying to get info from the internet is just a minefield!... Can anyone out there recommend moorings or marinas within that area? Any info (good or bad )will be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

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[amadeus]

What's your draft? if you draw less than 1.5m or you have bilge or lifting keel then you would be able to use the whole of the Exe as a base. If you are a fin keeler you would find it hard to moor above Turf lock or Starcross, but there are plenty of deep water moorings off Exmouth and Dawlish. There is a marina at Exmouth in the old dock but it is small and access is limited by the swing bridge. Worth a look and the Exe Sailing Club on the docks is a very friendly place!

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[AndrewB]

Agree.

With a 1.4m draft fin keeler, the only real option on that stretch is the Exe, Exmouth Dock or the moorings off Starcross (Dawlish). I think there were a few triple-keel versions of the 282, if so you might be able to find a drying mooring in Teignmouth or even Lyme Regis, but the access problems in both would be off-putting. Seaton and Bridport also have a few yachts in drying berths, but the access problems there are severe, not worth considering. Widen your range slightly, and you have Weymouth at one end, Torquay at the other, both with good, all-tide marinas, but more expensive.

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[john_morris_uk]

Re: Agree.

If you widen your search a little more you have all of Plymouth and the Tamar river. Just as easy to get to as some of the above coming from Bristol.

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[tjfmmaes]

Try this website: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.marina-info.com/minfo/uk/realukindex.htm>http://www.marina-info.com/minfo/uk/realukindex.htm</A>

has a lot of info it seems.

Good luck

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[whisper]

Re: Agree.

Yes, I'd go for Plymouth a well since it offers good and sheltered sailing in its own right whereas Exmouth, Torquay & Brixham don't. There also don't seem to be any instantly available moorings for non residents in either Salcombe, Dartmouth or the Yealm. There's a 2-3 yr waiting list (if you're lucky) for deepwater ones in Salcombe.

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[poter]

As far as your original post is concerned the closet marinas would be Weymouth in the East, (75 miles) & Brixham or Torquay in the West (100 miles)

However I agree with the other posts here, that coming from Bristol straight down the M5 onto A38 to Plymouth , although its a 200 mile roundtrip, is probably your best bet.
You have a choice of Marinas but Yachthaven (where we keep Shady for the winter) is probably the easiest from the point of view of parking and access, its not in the center of town.

Dartmouth is a bit closer for you, with several marinas & trot moorings available, but it is an absolute pig to get to in the summer, except by yacht of course. Salcomb is super but imposible to get a mooring.
Exmouth moorings are available (we are there in Summer) and the Starcross fishing & cruising club is great. BUT there is a problem for access as the main channel is silting up & as usual there are a lot of local interest groups who all have to put there penny's worth in, so nothing gets done.

Brixham has a Marina but very expensive, there are moorings in the harbour & there were some available last year.

At the end of the day there are pros & cons like any pastime & you take your money etc. Marinas of course are expensive, but convenient, why not look at our idea of a Marina for the winter, and a swinging mooring for the summer, best of both worlds at an average cost of £600 year.

But the idea is to get on the water & you will certainly have access to the best cruising area on the south coast if you moor anywhere between say Exe to Plymouth.

Any other probs send a PM.

good luck

poter.



<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by poter on 06/02/2004 20:01 (server time).</FONT></P>