Moving to the East Coast

[maby]

Well yes but the premise was a four hour day sail and I venture to suggest that two hours out and back again from anywhere is going to get a bit boring (unless your "thing" is purely sailing as opposed to getting to places by sail - a subtle difference perhaps but a significant one)

...

OK, but a day sail is usually more than four hours and less than eight (or possibly ten) - the four hours pottering up and down the river effectively halves your range.

There is a reason why the Solent is so crowded - it offers some of the most interesting sailing around.

 

[pvb]

There is a reason why the Solent is so crowded - it offers some of the most interesting sailing around.

As does the east coast.

 

[maby]

...

However any enthusiasm I had for MDL marinas in Lake Solent ended once I received their quote for £8.7k for a year's berthing!

It is a bit of a dampener, I have to admit! We figure that we can pay it while we are both still working - when we retire, we will not be able to afford it, but equally we will not need easy access to London and will be able to move to somewhere cheaper out West.

 

[maby]

As does the east coast.

The trouble with the east coast is that it is so shallow which limits the number of moorings plus the lack of good marinas that are not a long way up river. Don't get me wrong - we've enjoyed our time there, but we feel the need for more freedom to potter around, marina hopping.

 

[Bru]

The trouble with the east coast is that it is so shallow .....

Shallow? Rubbish! Plenty of water! I get nervous if the depth sounder gets into double figures

 

[maby]

Shallow? Rubbish! Plenty of water! I get nervous if the depth sounder gets into double figures

I get nervous if I'm five miles off shore and could walk all the way to the chip shop!

 

[Bru]

I get nervous if I'm five miles off shore and could walk all the way to the chip shop!

I can beat that, try seven miles offshore

 

[LittleSister]

One of the great advantages of Shotley is you are not treking up and down the same stretch of river every time. You can come out of the marina and depending on time/tide/wind/whim can go left up the Orwell, right up the Stour, or straight on out to sea.

We have previously been very happily berthed at Shotley. (Unfortunately bank manager not so happy! In reality we're not in the marina berth wealth band, so couldn't stay long term.)

There are pros and cons to all the Orwell marinas, suspiciously little difference in prices, and champions and detractors for each of them.

Some find the lock off putting, or the extra few minutes' drive (compared to other Orwell marinas), but we didn't.

 

[Hydrozoan]

... I've been afloat in December in Scotland, with ice on the surface of the marina!

With your moniker, we'd expect no less!

The trouble with the east coast is that it is so shallow . ...

As the late Charles Stock pointed out, the sandbanks rapidly dissipate storm swells.

 

[Supine Being]

Well, whatever the pros and cons of Brightlingsea as a place are, it is noteworthy that the harbour definitely has a waiting list, and so won't be on my list for next year. However, it is a place I would intend to visit and suss out for the future.

Whilst Brightlingsea does, in theory, have a waiting list, it's worth a try if you're interested. I was always put off by the waiting list but, fancying a change from Burnham, decided to fill in the application one March and got a pontton berth almost straight away. Ok, it helps that we have a 26 footer, but you never know.

 

[MikeBz]

Whilst Brightlingsea does, in theory, have a waiting list, it's worth a try if you're interested. I was always put off by the waiting list but, fancying a change from Burnham, decided to fill in the application one March and got a pontton berth almost straight away. Ok, it helps that we have a 26 footer, but you never know.

There is a lone pontoon (the 'White pontoon') much further up the creek than the main ones which does appear to have space on it. £69 per metre for a 7 month summer berth, £94 per metre for 12 months. The downside compared to the main pontoons is you can't get in/out at LW (access by dinghy is OK at all states of the tide) and it's a bit of a hike by dinghy (but still only £1 on the water taxi). We berth there because we like it - it's a lovely place to sit and watch the marsh birds etc., well away from the stench of DHSS rabble roaming the streets and in most wind directions free from the pall of smoke from torched cars. It is marginally closer to Jaywick so it's best to bolt everything down, install a safe and double lock all your hatches. Oh hang on, I've just been transported into an alternative reality...

Joking, sneering, snobbery, and paranoia aside, if I were travelling any distance to my boat I would prefer walk-on access and dedicated parking if I could afford it.

 

[Habebty]

Try Fox's Marina. I've been on the Orwell 16 years and never tire of the view going up and down to the open sea. If the OP would like a hand sailing down here, I'll throw my hat in the ring!

 

[MoodySabre]

If the OP would like a hand sailing down here, I'll throw my hat in the ring!

Me too.

(I have had the great pleasure of sailing the OP's boat on The Clyde.)

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Try Fox's Marina. I've been on the Orwell 16 years and never tire of the view going up and down to the open sea. If the OP would like a hand sailing down here, I'll throw my hat in the ring!

+1.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

An extraordinarily inaccurate statement (unless it's referring to the 'marina'). 'Dire' is of course subjective (few would agree) but factually there are somewhere in the order of 140 all-tide pontoon berths. They are not marina-style walk-on, no water or power, no dedicated car parking (it's a harbour not a marina). Lovely natural surroundings, much less like being in a car park. Not so good if the prime use of your boat is as a horizontally-static caravan. There is a considerable waiting list.

All tide? To lie afloat, yes! To get out into the Colne? Depends on your draft I would have thought.

 

[Athene V30]

All tide? To lie afloat, yes! To get out into the Colne? Depends on your draft I would have thought.

Yes, with 1.4m draft access is about 5 hours either side of HW at Springs and all tide at neaps, so not really very restrictive!

 

[pks1702]

Try Fox's Marina. I've been on the Orwell 16 years and never tire of the view going up and down to the open sea. If the OP would like a hand sailing down here, I'll throw my hat in the ring!

FMYC on site too!

 

[jant]

OK, last time I visited was by car, about a year ago, on a dull day. But it was hard to ignore the dilapidated housing, the abandoned shops, the rubbish, the very downmarket locals, and the overwhelming sense of deprivation in the place. I understand that Brightlingsea's neighbour, Jaywick, is now ranked as the most deprived area in the UK. At the waterside, the so-called marina development was full of mud, the shop units were empty, the few flats which had been completed look run-down (and I hear that many are now rented by DHSS clients), and there were hoardings disguising the unbuilt flats which nobody would buy. I wouldn't want to leave my car on the street for the weekend. Everyone can choose where to keep their boat; Brightlingsea might be convenient for you, but I wouldn't base my boat there if they paid me. There are far nicer areas to sail from.

Very biased comment. Best you don't visit Brightlingsea then....for the original posts info, B'sea does not have a waiting list for the fore & fat moorings.

 

[pvb]

Very biased comment. Best you don't visit Brightlingsea then....for the original posts info, B'sea does not have a waiting list for the fore & fat moorings.

Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make it "biased". This is a forum, for the exchange of views held by different posters. If you can identify anything in my original post which is untrue, please let me know. Otherwise just get used to the idea that not everyone will share your rosy view of Brightlingsea. And, to reassure you, Brightlingsea won't ever be on my list of places to visit by boat.

 

[sailorman]

Never say never why one day you might trade up to a Smack