Opinions on Royal Clarence Marina

[richardbrennan]

If you're coming down in any case, do have a look at Haslar. You will find a very high level of satisfaction amongst the berth holders, the showers are good, there are two restaurants, (although personally I can only vouch for Hardy's as being very good), and there is also a yacht club that organises rallies and social events. The staff are also first rate and cannot do enough for you, and you also get free nights at East Cowes, Portland and Weymouth. However, as I said in an earlier post, it is a bit more expensive than Royal Clarence.

 

[dom]

Clarence Marina: kind of cool in a Neutron Bomb Chic sort of way

 

[Paddy Layback]

I would not consider leaving my boat there, it's deserted all the time, which makes life easy for interlopers.
You walk the 1/4 mile to the heads in the rain, and the Dickensian gloom makes you half expect to meet Jack the Ripper lurking under the archway

Haslar is the place to go for, excellent in every way. Full of friendly people, top security, etc etc..

 

[[2574]]

Presumably the fact that there's a tendered contract for a company to run it means that the marina isn't the core business of the outfit? I guess it's a property company whose architects thought a marina would look good on the plans of their harbourside development?

I got the same feeling when I stayed at Gunwharf just before Christmas. The ablutions block there for instance was clearly an afterthought, tacked on by a designer who hadn't been aware that such things are necessary.

Pete

Castle Marinas bought the long lease from the Freeholder, Berkeley Homes. They are not under a contract to "run the place"; the place is theirs!

 

[Resolution]

If staying at Clarence you MUST nip along the footpath to the Explosion Museum. Full of wonderful bits of kit, few visitors to get in the way. And in the workshop behind is some even better stuff to play with - Polaris missile, part working gun turrets etc. Toys for the boys.
PS Above based on four years ago - is it still there?

 

[richardsn9]

I use it regularly, mainly on the grounds of cost. It is a longer walk to town (and previously the loos and showers, although that will soon be a thing of the past). As a place to leave you boat and sail out from, it is great. There is good shelter and an interesting view over to the naval dockyard.

If I intended to spend more time sitting on the boat and socialising, Haslar would definitely be my first choice, but I understand the cost difference is fairly substantial.

 

[prv]

Clarence Marina: kind of cool in a Neutron Bomb Chic sort of way

Hah - excellent summary

Pete

 

[KevB]

I got the same feeling when I stayed at Gunwharf just before Christmas. The ablutions block there for instance was clearly an afterthought, tacked on by a designer who hadn't been aware that such things are necessary.

Pete

I'm used to the opulence of Premiers loos (not gosports though) but have always found gunwharf's loo's more than adequate and far from the worst I've seen. You're obviously posher than me

 

[ashtead]

Not sure I would want to spend any time at Gunwharf when you could be enjoying delights of Haslar plus the added bonus of a trip on Green ferry and delights of Gosport

 

[prv]

I'm used to the opulence of Premiers loos (not gosports though) but have always found gunwharf's loo's more than adequate and far from the worst I've seen. You're obviously posher than me

I don't mean the quality of the loos themselves, I mean their location squeezed into an odd space next to the shopping centre management office, tucked into a corner of the site behind the base of the Spinnaker Tower and a long way from the actual marina. To me that says the marina facilities were never considered in the overall design - the architects just photoshopped in some pontoons and boats to enhance the look of their property development and assumed that was all that was required. Then late in the design process someone asked about the loos, and they found a bit of left-over utility space near the site office in the corner by Burger King and dumped them there.

Pete

 

[Simondjuk]

Were they just dumped near Burger King or was it strategically planned positioning offering mutual benefits?

 

[LittleSister]

When I last visited it was very characterful, and full of interesting craft. You were left to your own devices on the pontoon, but if the weather was inclement the staff were happy to let you sit by their heater and give you a hot drink.

I haven't been back since about 1965, mind!

 

[Jamesuk]

So was I. Hello James

I made a snowman on the aft deck, gave it a broccoli for hair, I think a carrot for a nose and some other things. That was Feb/March/April 2008!

 

[Paddy Layback]

When I last visited it was very characterful, and full of interesting craft. You were left to your own devices on the pontoon, but if the weather was inclement the staff were happy to let you sit by their heater and give you a hot drink.

I haven't been back since about 1965, mind!

Ha ha! The same applies to lots of places I reckon

 

[LittleSister]

When I last visited it was very characterful, and full of interesting craft. You were left to your own devices on the pontoon, but if the weather was inclement the staff were happy to let you sit by their heater and give you a hot drink.

I haven't been back since about 1965, mind!

Ha ha! The same applies to lots of places I reckon

My strongest memories of the Royal Navy's Royal Clarence Yard was how cold, wet and stiff natural fibre ropes were (I knew nothing else at the time); how cold you could get messing about in boats; what a fine big pot bellied stove the chaps in the shed had and standing shivering beside it; and how much you couldn't stop yourself trying to drink the near boiling cocoa they kindly made for us, but how hard it was to hold the tin mugs in frozen hands, and how the hot liquid burnt lips and tongues.

It had never occurred to me at the time that one could own one's own boat, or that you'd have to find somewhere to berth it if you did.

Them