Plymouth Moorings (Tamar Birdge) - Advice?

Tim Good

Tim Good

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Is anyone else having issues logging in since they seem to have revamped the forum? Sorry I digress!

I'm currently in Dartmouth but I've been offered a mooring just next to the Tamar Bridge in Plymouth. Since I only manage to get to the boat on weekends the facilities in Dartmouth suit me well in terms of easy access to water, shops, parking etc.

Can anyone give me some local advice on the moorings around the Tamar? Is there a dingy park and who operates it. Is there river taxi service and if so is it reliable / reasonable? Is there a pontoon with water? Is there a local shop for emergencies... like when we run out of Earl Grey for example.

Any other advice on the area greatly appreciated even if it is just to confirm moving from Dartmouth to the Plymouth area is a good idea.

Reason for moving from Dartmouth is two fold... firstly we can't get a trot any more through Dart Harbour and secondly the Plymouth is slap bang in a great cruising ground.. even more so than Dartmouth IMHO.

Thanks in advance!

Tim
 
There are lots of moorings, both north and south of the two Tamar Bridges - as a peek via Google Maps and/or Earth will confirm. Many of these are operated by local sailing clubs for their members. There are several 'mooring contractors' active in the area, who are tasked with the maintenance of the facilities. Arguments rage about the relative quality of their service....

The area is frequently patrolled by MOD Police, for the whole harbour is under the control of the Queen's Harbourmaster and there are multiple 'grey funnel liners' from several nations around at any one time. That doesn't prevent a fair amount of break-ins and theft from boats on moorings.

There is a public quay at Saltash, but this is frequently blocked by liveaboards and mobo'ers. The town of Saltash has all facilities, once one walks up the steep hill, and some of the denizens manage a passable form of English. The dinghy parks are owned/operated by the sailing clubs for their members. To the best of my knowledge, there is no commercial water taxi. Car parking at weekends could be a challenge.

Perhaps your best option is to approach one or more of the clubs.
 
Sorry, I can't really answer any of your questions (being based in Hampshire) - but whilst waiting for knowledgable locals to respond, I'd suggest you take a virtual wander around the area on Google Streetview. I believe the area is home ground to the Saltash Sailing Club, so they may be able to provide the facilities you need. It's a residential area so shps should be close by for an emergency Earl Grey - you should be able to deal with disasters such as an empty whisky bottle too.

I have sailed with a friend in Plymouth and it offers good sailing within the harbour when the weather isn't too good offshore or time is limited. A couple of members of our owners' association are based there and seem to like to picnic at anchor in Cawsand Bay or go around to Newton Ferrers for a jar when they're not off somewhere further afield. We took my mate's aged parents out for a trip round the harbour with picnic en route - both first timers and they loved it, Mum taking the helm for some time.

Rob.
 
I've just taken a mooring with Plymouth Moorings. (http://www.plymouthmoorings.co.uk/). Can't speak from experience yet, but the chaps in the office said that they have had no experience of theft from boats because of the MOD patrols. They run an hourly ferry out to boats and have a car park. Seems enough for me.
 
There are facilities both sides of the river nearby but on the Saltash side they are mostly up a hill and on the Plymouth side a little further away but on a less steep hill. Clubs on both sides are excellent and can provide dinghy storage if you join, well worth it in my mind. Plymouth is an excellent place to be and I think you should take a quick trip to see if it is what you want. I'm not aware of water taxi services in that area of plymouth but there is further down stream in the area of the torpoint ferry. The club pontoons also have water and allow easy loading etc.

Yoda
 
We kept our boat on the moorings of Jimmy Donne on the St. Budeaux side for 9 years. We had to use a blow up dinghy from the hard. Tamar River SC. also have moorings there and it may be possible to keep a dinghy there if you join. We didn't because the Club did not then open Saturday evenings and my wife worked Fridays until late so we only ever got to the boat about midnight after the Club was shut.
No trouble with break-ins. The Donnes kept a good eye on the boat! On the one occasion the trot rope broke they reattached the yacht without calling me down from the Midlands.
It might be worth mentioning that visits on spring tide weekends are far superior to neap since you take the ebb down in the morning and have the flood back in the evening. Neaps you push the tide both ways!
We wintered at Boating World at Landrake, now I think revitalised following a slow decline.
We left St Budeaux in 1996 so all the above is a little out of date, but probably still valid.
 
Contact Saltash Sailing Club. You might get something there - and they can house your dinghy. Extremely good access from the main "A" road, and plenty of opportunity for essentials shopping up the hill. There are various places you can leave a car parked without (touch wood:)) too many problems.
Like KK Tigger goes up to Boating World at Landrake for the winter. I can confirm the "revitalisation" has been going on since 2005 (when we first went there).
 
A couple of years ago that webcam had images on the bridge and river moving in near real time. Now there seems like an age between images. But you can still keep an eye on boats on the moorings in the summer.
 
Good evening Tim,
I have been a member of Saltash Sailing Club for a number of years and keep my Halberdier on a swinging mooring north of the bridge , without any problems. One of the regulations, not the club's, is that the moorings are checked every year, the cost of this is factored into the rental cost, which I consider to be reasonable, but just one thing the trot moorings north of the bridge are often difficult to use in adverse weather conditions, well they were for us when we had one!!!
The club is very friendly and the beer cheap! There is not a taxi service in this part of the river, don't know who controls the dingy park at the Green, but SSC does have one, where is the mooring you have been offered, how close to the bridge, as it can be very noisy there, we moor further up, takes about 10 mins to get to the boat, depending on tide/wind as it can get interesting when there is tide over wind!! so get a dingy with a 'V' bottom much safer.
PM me f you want more info.
Jon
 
...we used to have a mooring north of the bridge too, half a mile up. Whilst is was very quiet up there (idyllic, actually), the seagulls thought so too. The layers of guano left on deck were incredible. Also, as halb says, getting there can be "interesting" in the wrong weather conditions.
 
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