new to the hamble

[just add water]

Looking to pick a few brains ,we bought our new baby and she was in the hamble while we arranged for transport up to our mooring on windermere ,we had a nosey around the hamble and thought we could be missing out on something here (yes never seen sunshine ) so SWMBO gently suggested that we should give it a try so mooring sorted lets try this open sea stuff, would like to do local like Cowes ect could anyone point us in the right direction of good family moorings to visit over night or quiet bays does not have to have cold guinness (we all have to make sacrifices ) keeping it local for now,we are 30ft and draw 4.5ft any pointers more than welcome and gratefully received cheers

 

[l'escargot]

I am afraid you aren't going to find much in the way of quiet bays in the Solent and nowhere really to anchor up overnight unless the weather is really settled. Have a look at the Folly, up from Cowes, Newport (if you can take the ground), Lymington, Yarmouth and Beaulieu which are all good for families. Also Bembridge, but plan your tides, and Newtown if you want a "secluded" anchorage if you can find a space amongst all the other boats... Colwell, Totland and Alum Bays down the West Wight can be nice for the day as can East Head just inside Chi harbour - but if it is nice enough to go there, everyone else will think so too...

 

[PhillM]

There is SO much to do around the Solent. We started here 3 years ago and still have not been everywhere, in fact prob. less than 50% of the places we could go.

I found this book was useful:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solent-Crui...8&qid=1372834168&sr=8-1&keywords=solent+pilot

You will find yourself more marinas hopping than anchoring. I always like overnight trips because they feel like you have been somewhere - a real sense of achievement.

Cowes is fun, Gosport (yes I know but I like it) is a good overnight trip. I like Yarmouth with its 1970's feel.

When I wanted to do an overnight on the hook I went to Beauleiu. I quite like the river but personally don't rate the marina at the top much.

You can also have fun around the Hamble. On a nice windless day, it’s fun to play in the dinghy. I'm told the trip to the pub at the top (forgot its name) is good, but I have not got round to going that far (I row cause I don't have a working outboard).

Bursledon has a regatta http://bursledonregatta.co.uk/?pages=4 which is also fun to watch from the dinghy in the day and the fireworks at night are pretty good too.

One tip from me is that I HATE the bottom of Southampton Water. It’s busy (loads of wash) and always seems windier with choppy seas. The kids used to hate getting the sails up there as every time you go forward the boat gets knocked around with the wash etc and I used to get frustrated trying to get sorted out. Now I always put up my main IN the river and tend to motor a little further out towards Hook before really trying to get sailing, especially in an Easterly.

I find the North Channel towards Portsmouth tends to be less crowded than the route to Cowes and West. It also makes for a nice day sail. Often you can reach in one direction and close haul in the other and as I say, it tends to be less crowded except on days where there is a lot of racing (when there is nowhere un-crowded on the Solent.

Final tip, weekends in the summer are manic but weekdays are surprisingly quiet. If you can get out in the week it’s much easier to practice.

 

[prv]

nowhere really to anchor up overnight

You what?

In three years in Kindred Spirit in the Solent I spent more nights at anchor than I did in marinas or on moorings combined. Marinas in particular I think I only went into three or four times.

Admittedly this was helped by the fact that I was often singlehanded and therefore had no desire to go ashore (what am I going to do, go and sit in the corner of a pub on my own?) but even with friends we sometimes dinghied ashore from moorings, or were at the Folly and used the water taxi. At Bembridge we walked ashore having dried out on the beach, which I realise not everyone can do

This site has some ideas: http://www.troppo.co.uk/tightwad/tightwad.htm

Pete

 

[l'escargot]

...Admittedly this was helped by the fact that I was often singlehanded and therefore had no desire to go ashore...

The OP asked about "... good family moorings..." perhaps you could list the places that you anchored which fall into this category to answer his post? I did suggest the Folly and Bembridge.

 

[Babylon]

Well, you've got three broad areas: the Central, Western and Eastern Solent.

For a shortlist of non-marina destinations, I'd suggest the following (personal preferences for non-marina destinations in bold):

Central:
- The Folly, upriver from Cowes, mid-stream pontoons with the Folly Inn for sustenance.
- Osborne Bay anchorage, sheltered in winds from S to W
- Cowes itself (marinas)

Western:
- The Beaulieu river, mooring buoys downstream from Buckler's Hard itself which has facilities and sustenance.
- Newtown Creek, where you can either anchor or pick up a buoy, and explore ashore, including a reasonable walk to pub
- Yarmouth Harbour, either inside (try to get a berth on the Harold Hayles pontoon rather than in the now flashy marina-style harbour) or outside on buoys (can be rolly in some conditions)
- Lymington itself (marinas or town quay pontoon)
- Keyhaven anchorage, inside on buoys/anchor depending on tidal height, or outside on anchor (usually used when waiting the tide to exit Hurst Narrows for passages to the west or cross-channel)

West of the Solent, a half-day's passage or so, you've got Poole Harbour with lots of options to anchor or pick up buoys around Brownsea Island etc, or outside in Studland Bay anchorage

Eastern:
- Bembridge Harbour, walk-ashore pontoons with basic facilities but a lovely place with beaches etc, only enter HW+/-2 approx
- Portsmouth itself, either marinas just inside the entrance or buoys elsewhere (not overly familiar with options), but excellent for historic Naval Dockyard
- Chichester Harbour, a large area with a choice of marinas, buoys, anchorages, but particularly anchorage inside East Head and Itchenor where you can pick up a visitor's buoy.

These are only a rough personal shortlist. As has been said, see The Tightwad Sailor's website for more.

Enjoy.