Move to Brixham mooring?

[nedr]

I have the opportunity to take up a mooring (outer harbour) at Brixham for my 20ft Vivacity bilge keeler next season. Currently she is kept at Axmouth harbour. Those of you who are familiar with Axmouth will know that, although a charming harbour & with a great club, it is one of the most difficult entrances on the South coast, and has very limited access times due to it's very narrow entrance, a shifting bar designed by Beelzebub on a bad day, and an ebb that can hit 6 knots when it's been raining & the river is running hard. Also, there is not a lot of day/weekend cruising on offer, with only Lyme Regis, West Bay and Exmouth really viable, and these have entrances limited by tide as well.

Obviously, Brixham suffers from none of these drawbacks, and day sails to Dartmouth, Torquay, Paignton, Teignmouth et al would be possible. BUT....I can get from home to Axmouth in an hour (best part of 2 to Brixham), and I don't know what Brixham is like these days: some say it's a bit tacky, and the traffic jams getting in & out make it faster to sail there than to drive. Also would need to consider whether to stay afloat on swinging mooring in Brixham all year, or sail back to Axmouth to go ashore for the Winter (nearer to work on boat). Any thoughts/ relevant experiences would be very welcome. The thought of giving up a known mooring to move to a new unknown one tends to be a bit fraught!

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Can't comment on the Brixham location, as its been many many years since I sailed there, but can comment on the 2hr drive.

We don't find it a problem at all...... in fact, it creates a nice 'seperation' between home and the boat, and stops you from 'nipping home for something you've forgotten' or 'lets go home because the weather is rubbish'..... we suspect that the 2hr drive makes us use the boat more, not less....

 

[Skyva_2]

We have been in the marina at Brixham for 3 years, and have a longer drive than you. The road from Newton Abbot is usually crowded, it is the slowest part of the journey. We like Brixham; as a working fishing port there is usually something going on, prices are reasonable and the people have got time and are friendly. There is lots to see in the area.

It's not Torquay, and it is definitely a coach trip destination, some would say those are advantages. A visit one weekend in the season would help you. I would think the outer moorings in a NW'ly gale would be exciting! There is another forumite with a mooring out there, he will be able to help, I will PM him.

 

[dukes4monny]

[ QUOTE ]
There is another forumite with a mooring out there, he will be able to help, I will PM him.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have only recently bought my yacht and taken over a swinging mooring in Brixham Outer Harbour, but I can say that so far I am very pleased. Prior to getting my own yacht I have mostly sailed with friends out of Teignmouth, and great care has to be taken with tides both in and out of there, but with Brixham there are no such worries.
The town itself seems fairly laid back and friendly with good facilities - including shops and cafes.
The carpark next to the outer harbour and slipway can get very busy, so best to get there early to bag a space.
As I am traveling from Dawlish, I tend to avoid the Torquay road from Newton Abbot as this can be a bit of a bottleneck, instead I take the coast road through Shaldon which is less congested.
It can still take me 45 mins to get there........but there is plenty to explore once you are on the water: Torquay - Dartmouth - Salcombe and beyond.
As Skysail has already mentioned, and as I was also advised by the previous owner that a NW blow can make it a bit 'lumpy' in the outer harbour.

I am considering getting a deep water mooring off Starcross next year which is 10 minutes drive for me.........but 30 - 45 minutes (est.) to get out of the exe so not sure if this will be better or not.

If you need any more info I'll be happy to help where I can.

 

[Skyva_2]

Second the car parking congestion; I'm not sure where you would want to launch a dinghy, but the slipway next to the Lifeboat station is below the marina car park (up in the quarry), there always seems to be parking space up there.

 

[dukes4monny]

Good point........my outboard was in for service so I have been limited to rowing......which is easy from the main carpark slipway.......I've now got the outboard back so I will check out the carpark on the lifeboat station side.

 

[NickNap]

Isn't Kingkerswell finally going ahead with a bypass after all these years? When that's done that should make the journey much easier.

 

[jparham]

I live in Brixham and have a boat on the Marina and my brother had his boat in the outer on a swing. Outer harbour mooring is fine for all season as long as it will cope with the Jan/Feb North Easterly (not North Westerly) blows which bring a 3 foot max swell into the outer harbour. There's a slip at freshwater quarry monitored by the harbourmaster that you can use for your dinghy. There's talk of a Northern arm breakwater which will make your mooring perfectly safe. Kingskerswell bypass is now to go ahead, but will take some time to sort out.
And of course we're all friendly

 

[nedr]

Thanks for the useful feedback. The great attraction for me of Brixham is its "all tide" status. It seems that all the other Lyme Bay havens have tidal restrictions and often shifting bars, which along with the universal problems of weather means that so many variables have to come together before you can even contemplate a day's sailing. Very character making for a few seasons, but it does get wearing!