North Brownsea Island Buoys

[RedFrog]

Many years ago on our Day Skipper practical we spent a night on a buoy north of Brownsea Island. I can see these buoys on Google Maps (not a tool we use for navigation):

Google Maps

I can find no reference to them in any guide, app or almanac (I've tried many). Navionics hints at them based on some user content.

This is will be our first passage to Poole Harbour so we were hoping to make it easy for ourselves.

Can anyone confirm their existence and/or availability for visitors?

Thanks!

 

[RedFrog]

I've just contacted Pool Harbour Control - they confirmed managed by Pool Quay Boat Haven and various other marinas.

 

[Tranona]

Correct, but there are fewer of them now as it is not a very good place and demand for visitor's buoys, particularly for larger boats has fallen since the marina on the Quay opened.

 

[alahol2]

We sailed along the Wych Channel a couple of times last year and there were quite a few empty buoys. I guess as long as you stay on board and be ready to move there is likely to be no real problem. We would normally anchor around Pottery Pier or in Whiteground Lake.

 

[RedFrog]

We sailed along the Wych Channel a couple of times last year and there were quite a few empty buoys. I guess as long as you stay on board and be ready to move there is likely to be no real problem. We would normally anchor around Pottery Pier or in Whiteground Lake.

Thanks - I’ve read that’s a good spot to anchor. We were hoping to find somewhere “known” and spend the weekend pottering about the harbour so it’s familiar next time we plan a passage. We are waiting for a windlass install so anchoring at not our first choice at the moment

 

[Jonny A]

My boat lives on one of those buoys, owned by Parkstone Yacht Club. A plea to prospective visitors: if you are assigned a buoy please make sure you pick up the correct one. I returned from a day sail last year to find a visitor on my buoy, who turned quite belligerent when I politely told him he must have the wrong buoy and asked him to move. Eventually he grudgingly agreed to phone the Harbour Master, who set him straight.

 

[Jonny A]

PS I am all in favour of visitors to Poole!

 

[Tranona]

Thanks - I’ve read that’s a good spot to anchor. We were hoping to find somewhere “known” and spend the weekend pottering about the harbour so it’s familiar next time we plan a passage. We are waiting for a windlass install so anchoring at not our first choice at the moment

None of those moorings are particularly attractive for visitors as they don't have good access to the shoreside facilities. As suggested there are much better places to lie at anchor and none of the anchoring is particularly demanding as the water is mostly shallow. However most are alongside the navigable channels so can suffer from wash from tripper boats in the day, but quiet at night. The Wych channel moorings don't get much traffic and are fairly sheltered except at the eastern end.

 

[Dunx]

Sat anchored off Pottery Pier at the moment. Not been for a while, by day hoards of small motorboats anchored up but they thin out by sunset. Just a few yachts at Tranona says anchored along the edge of the deep water of the Wych channel. There has just been a party boat gone past but I assume probably a Saturday night thing for the ferry operator.

 

[RedFrog]

Sat anchored off Pottery Pier at the moment. Not been for a while, by day hoards of small motorboats anchored up but they thin out by sunset. Just a few yachts at Tranona says anchored along the edge of the deep water of the Wych channel. There has just been a party boat gone past but I assume probably a Saturday night thing for the ferry operator.

Nice - we never made it past Limington - the wind was not our friend! Worse places to end up mind

Windlass install confirmed for next week so happy anchoring here we come!