Moving to the East Coast

AntarcticPilot

AntarcticPilot

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Location
Cambridge, UK
www.cooperandyau.co.uk
Well, this year has finally convinced me that keeping Capricious in Scotland means I don't get enough use out of her, especially as Mrs AntarcticPilot has a demanding job and can't get away as often as we'd like. So, the plan is to move her down to the East coast next April, reducing our driving time from 7-8 hours down to between 1 - 1 and a half hours. That makes a day on the boat to do maintenance feasible, and weekends away more likely to happen! A bonus is that all the feasible berthing locations are even closer to where Mrs AntarcticPilot works than to our home.

We still haven't decided how to move her, but are leaning towards sailing her down, via the Forth and Clyde Canal. That will be a bit of an adventure, and I might well be looking out for crew on the journey. But if we do it that way, I will be taking it easy and waiting for weather windows, not bashing on regardless. Crewing will probably be done on a segment by segment basis, though most of the potential ports are on the rail network.

However, the crucial point is, where do we keep her? Anywhere from Lowestoft to the Essex rivers is fine distance-wise; price is a factor and the more expensive places such as the Ipswich Yacht Haven are out on price. There is also the factor that some places have waiting lists, and we wouldn't stand a chance of getting in for next year. So, any suggestions and advice would be useful, bearing in mind that Capricious draws a bit more than 1.5 metres, and is a fin keel. A mooring might be OK, provided there was car parking and a dinghy park handy.

I'm just going to have to get used to depth-sounder readings in single figures!
 
The only one I would recommend is Woolverstone which is a lovely place that we like very much. It also has the advantage of being part of the MDL chain which gives you a great deal of flexibility with their policy of giving you free stays at any of their many marinas along the south coast. That said, it is not cheap - no cheaper than Ipswich, I would guess.
 
I have a fin M31 kept at Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the Orwell which is a 24 hr access marina.It costs £3165 p/a which is about the going rate for the marinas on the Orwell.
The Tide Mill in Woodbridge on the Deben is about £600 cheaper but has restricted access.
Moorings can be had on most of the rivers but there are waiting lists.These vary from less than £100 to over a thousand p/a.
 
ditchcrawler said:
I have a fin M31 kept at Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the Orwell which is a 24 hr access marina.It costs £3165 p/a which is about the going rate for the marinas on the Orwell.
The Tide Mill in Woodbridge on the Deben is about £600 cheaper but has restricted access.
Moorings can be had on most of the rivers but there are waiting lists.These vary from less than £100 to over a thousand p/a.
Click to expand...
It is a strange phenomenon but all Orwell marinas seem to be a similar price
 
I'll put a word in for Titchmarsh. On paper it looks restricted but we bumped our way in an hour after LWS the other day, or rather squidged through mud in the Twizzle. My wife doesn't let me know how much we pay annually but it is a bit less than the others in the area. I draw allegedly 1.5m but more like 1.6. It's about half an hour to Pye End but we usually start sailing around Stone Point or earlier. There are free places at the moment.
 
johnalison said:
I'll put a word in for Titchmarsh. On paper it looks restricted but we bumped our way in an hour after LWS the other day, or rather squidged through mud in the Twizzle. My wife doesn't let me know how much we pay annually but it is a bit less than the others in the area. I draw allegedly 1.5m but more like 1.6. It's about half an hour to Pye End but we usually start sailing around Stone Point or earlier. There are free places at the moment.
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It's a bit cheaper than Ipswich Haven (£316 vs £338 per metre) for a pontoon berth, but I don't think it's enough to offset the depth constraints.

The Orwell and Stour are the best places to be based, but pontoon berths are all expensive. There are swinging moorings at Woolverstone serviced by a water taxi, which is a bit more convenient than a dinghy.
 
Felixstowe Ferry Boatyard at the entrance of the River Deben is good, car parking, dinghy storage, winter storage and a friendly boatyard. Cheaper than marinas but limited facilities(no diesel) . Don't be put off by horror stories of the entrance, it's not too bad. Put your name down for a cheaper mooring via the Felixstowe Ferry Mooring Comittee and hopefully you'll get a much cheaper mooring within 2/4 years - with luck(I waited about 4 years). I'm 33' and draw 4' 6" and get out of the river 3 hrs either side of high water. Speak to Andrew at the boatyard.
 
Tollesbury?

Marina Berthing 2015 (ex VAT)
[h=4][FONT=&quot]2 x 6 monthly annual contract £240.00 per metre L.O.A[/FONT][/h] [h=4]5% discount for 12 monthly invoice £228.00 per metre L.O.A.[/h]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fambridge
http://www.yachthavens.com/fambridge/rates-and-booking/annual-seasonal-rates/
 
Tollesbury is quite constrained and there can be odd occasions when passage is not possible at HWN. However, people there usually like it.
Having started at Heybridge and then Maylandsea I find the restrictions at Titchmarsh luxury in comparison. I'd feel very impatient if a couple of hours either side of low were a problem.
 
johnalison said:
Tollesbury is quite constrained and there can be odd occasions when passage is not possible at HWN. However, people there usually like it.
Having started at Heybridge and then Maylandsea I find the restrictions at Titchmarsh luxury in comparison. I'd feel very impatient if a couple of hours either side of low were a problem.
Click to expand...

Agreed pvb/johnalison not for everyone I know. I was focusing on the OP's prerequisite that cost is a big implication, lower costs almost certainly mean a compromise.

Would not be for me either, I did enjoy our visit this summer; staff were very helpful and it has a nice feel but the restrictive nature would put it out for me as we tend to have weekend hops out where being too tide restricted would be a problem. I guess if your sailing was to be out for a week or so at a time this might be less of a consideration.
 
pvb said:
It's a bit cheaper than Ipswich Haven (£316 vs £338 per metre) for a pontoon berth, but I don't think it's enough to offset the depth constraints.
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Titchmarsh and Ipswich are so different that a simple cost comparison is only part of the equation. I like visiting Ipswich for somewhere different but Titchmarsh is a much nicer and more peaceful place IMO. I think the OP would prefer it.
 
You have the standard trade-offs of convenience vs price. What sort of sailing do you want to / are you constrained by. We have just moved to Suffolk Yacht Harbour and find it to be a very sociable place with 24/7 access and no lock to faff around with. We didn't have to wait for a berth, it only seems to be an issue for the longer, modern 'lardy' boats. The folks next to us live by the Deben but keep their yacht on the Orwell, not because of exiting the Deben but the risk of not being able to get back in if conditions change.. Same would apply to the Ore. Bottom line is though it is a great place to sail and the people are nice, welcome along!
 
Thanks for all the help! I'm quite happy with places further south - Brightlingsea and the Blackwater are perfectly within range for us. All experiences are valuable, but I must reiterate that price will be a factor in our decision, and I don't want to pay more than our present rates, and ideally rather less! For information, James Watt Dock Marina charges about £300 pa - but as with many places, incumbents (especially the first boat to berth there!) gets some consideration. Peace and quiet is desirable; I rather like the idea of the Deben and Brightlingsea from that point of view. We're not ones for an active social side; chewing the fat with a few friends will suit us fine!
 
I'll put in a word for Fambridge

Yes, I know it's quite a long way upriver but honestly, we don't find that an issue at all

You can go for a plain swinging mooring (car parking, tender dock on the river end of the all tide pontoon, weekend trot boat and use of the river pontoon to load / unload for free, £10 a night to overnight on the pontoon)

Then there's the Summer Swing package. Same as above May to October then a marina berth for the winter

Or valet berthing which adds to the above the yard moving your boat from the mooring to the pontoon (during working hours, 4 hours notice reqd. IIRC) and back again when you've gone home

And then there's the full marina experience of course (depending on berth it can be a bit tidal though, with your draught you'd want to be down on the lower end of Stow Creek)

Broad range of facilities and services on site, excellent showers, two yacht clubs, etc

A key advantage is that there's somewhere to go in virtually any weather. If all else fails we can toddle down to Burnham for a night or two in anything short of storm conditions. There's several fabulous anchorages within the confines of the Crouch and Roach too

It is, in fact, a veritable paradise but keep it to yourself, we don't want it getting crowded :)

Google Fambridge Yacht Haven for the rates
 
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