plymouth recommendations

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owen

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we will be coming to plymouth for a few days on our summer cruise. i have never sailed there before. any personal recommendations for marinas anchorages etc, we draw 1.4 metres. i have read mark fishwicks book but was looking for recent experiences. thanks in advance
 
The Dandy Hole on the St Germans river is superb- in fact all the Tamar is good and Mark Fishwick's pilot is excellent. Have a great time.
 
Dandy Hole seconded.
In settled weather, or winds with nothing in the East, Kingsand/Cawsand are an excellent base to get into and go out of just outside the Breakwater. It can get a little crowded on peak days but there is usually lots of space. A short row ashore and there are two pretty coastal villages to roam through with plenty of pubs, cafes and small shops for provisions or the usual holiday shopping: very picturesque.
 
If you want to visit the city try the MDL marina at Queen Anne's Battery, or get locked into Sutton Harbour, although it can be noisy.
Or probably easier to get into, Plymouth Yacht Haven just a little way into Cattewater. A ferry every 30 minutes runs from Mount Batten to the City.
In addition, there's visitors buoys off Mount Batten and on the north side of Drakes Island.
If there's north in the wind, Jennycliff, tucked into the NE of the Sound is a good anchorage, watch out for the green buoy, it marks a wreck.
I agree with other posters, there's also lots of places to stop off the Tamar and Lynher

There's free fireworks on the evenings of August 15th and 16th from Mount Batten breakwater.
 
We alway use Plymouth Yacht Haven when we are in the area.
Very good showers.
Well sheltered.
Not cheap /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Quite.
No shops near by.
Ferry to Plymouth is very resonable.

If you are in the area for the fireworks PYH is the place to be.
The disply is let off fromthe breakwater just the other side ofthe Mount Battern headland.
The noise is formidable.

We hope to be there tonight wind and tide permitting.
 
Anchorages from seaward northward:

Cawsand Bay- big bay well sheltered from SSE to N, good holding, two pretty villages, excellent

Bovisand Bay - small anchorage OK in NE winds but not highly recommended

Jennycliff Bay - good shelter from NNW to SE, pretty and you can dinghy ashore to Mount Batten, though it is a fair distance. Anchor S of green buoy to avoid wreck, good holding. No facilities in the bay.

Barn Pool under Mont Edgecumbe. All round shelter but beware wash from passing warships and general traffic. Holding poor and bottom foul with old chain and a wreck towards the southern end. Sound in carefully in the middle and buoy your anchor. Not as crowded as it used to be (why...!)

North of Drakes Island - interesting spot reasonably well sheltered all round but see Barn Pool for wash. One to try when you've done the others

Entrace to Millbrook Lake - good shelter in most winds, very flat mud bottom, goodish holding, sound in to suitable depth clear of moorings and enjoy the peace.

Dandy Hole - at the head of the all-tide-navigable Lynher River, an absolute gem in a rural setting between a wooded bank and fields. Avoid summer weekends. Good holding, fully sheltered. Take a dinghy trip to St German's Quay and Upper Lynher. Other anchorages in the Lynher include Ince Point and west of Henn Point at the junction with the Tamar

Kingsmill Lake, just south of Weir Point and Cargreen - sound in to suitable depth on mud - sheltered and good holding, despite apparent openness to east. Very peaceful

Weir Point - find a suitable spot clear of moorings, but it's better to go on a cable to...

The Crooked Spaniard Inn moorings - four yellow buoys off Cargreen, good food and guest ales with Chez JJ just across the road

Weir Quay - some visitors moorings or anchor clear of moorings. The bottom can be foul here.

Cotehele - one visitor's mooring or anchor on the side of the channel (very narrow here). Lovely spot with museum, Tudor house (National Trust), walks etc

Calstock - avoid anchoring below the viaduct but go on past the town quay and anchor in a pool above (2m LAT). Pretty with good pubs but noisy when the tripper boats are in. This the the head of all-tide navigation but dinghy up with the tide to Gunnislake - rural and pretty with cows and birds
 
Weather must be improving down there then, Clive - hope you get to Plymouth. Would second your view on PYH being better than the others (altho not visited Mayflower by boat) - we hate QAB - hot, crowded and v expensive. Had huge "fun" playing shunt boats about to get someone out of a 4-boat raft up. Cawsand is a great favourite - picturesque, quiet, great walk out to Penlee Point and if you get there early the bakery between Cawsand and Kingsand does great croissant !
 
[ QUOTE ]
The Crooked Spaniard Inn moorings

[/ QUOTE ] It's sill open then!

It's agood few years since i was down that way but I seem to remember the tide runs past those moorings at a fair old lick. I also rember that there was some alongside, but drying, berthing. (Only just constructed when we were there) What sort of boat would that be suitable for and would it be suitable for an overnight stop.
 
The Spaniard is on the up at the moment with good managers and good food. The tide can run quite fast at springs but it's not a problem. Mooring alongisde the Quay is OK for around two hours either side of HW (max). It's not a good idea to dry out as the bottom is rocky and uneven so not an overnight stop. Fortunately spring highs are around 1800 at springs so plenty of time for a couple of pints before heading back down river or picking up a mooring for teh night. In the days following the top of the spring, you can have a meal as well.
 
My tuppence worth now.....

Mayflower is a fairly good marina, if thats what you want. Its probably the cheapest of the Plymouth marinas and is a bit further from the city if you prefer it a bit quieter.... saying that, you can walk into the city in about 10-15 mins if you want to. Staff are very friendly and helpful... a good atmosphere.

Dandy Hole is a nice place to anchor... very peaceful. If you do go up there though, make sure you are in the hole and get the high water times right and stick to departure time.... you will regret it if you don't as it is deffinitely not "all-tide-navigable" believe me, I know!

If you dare (no its not that bad once you know the area), you can moor up under the Tamar bridge at Saltash for free. Provides a pontoon with access to the shore.... a very much 'locals' pub a couple of hundred yards away.

The buoys at Cargreen are fine, and the pub is a very welcoming place for the night with, as previously said, good food and drink.... be prepared to talk tractors, well at least the time I was in there the topic of discussion was the farmer just bought a new tractor.

There are plenty of places to stay, it just depends on your likes really.... are you planning on going any further afield when down this way?
 
Re: plymouth recommendations jmkent

thanks jonathon
we will probably make plymouth /newton ferrers the eastern limit. we are coming down from milford haven so will be stopping of at various points along the coast up to plymouth. will try and time it to avoid falmouth and fowey during their regatta weeks . usually we stay at anchorages/buoys with a few marinas to keep evryone happy and with my boat refusing to obey any reverse commands marinas can be stressful
 
Re: plymouth recommendations jmkent

Well Falmouth week starts tomorrow for 10 days and then Fowey regatta the week after.

Lots of places to stay on the way up to Plymouth... have a search on the forums for other threads - there have been 2 or 3 recently with good recommendations.

Have a good trip.
 
James, (I know you're prejudiced!) you should have been in there a couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday evening, when the skipper of a boat using one of the Spaniard's moorings was having a rant because they refused to serve him food as he'd not booked a table. It also took 20 minutes to get to the bar just to get a drink. It's a fine place to stop from October to April but the rest of the time I'd give it a miss.
 
I agree their summer staffing is not very clever. Also I know the incident of which you speak, at least I think I do. It was most unfortunate and I have sympathy with the guy though in a sense he only had himself to blame. He had been in the bar for some time and could have ordered much earlier but when he came to do so the kitchen was fully committed for the night. It was very unfortunate and the bar staff were quite upset. On summer Saturday evenings they are always fully booked and casual customers have to take their chances - is this not so with most restaurants - Debbie and Brendan are trying to find ways of improving the situation but without building a bitgger kitchen it's not easy to see what they can do.
 
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