Portishead Marina - views?

Not really southcoast . Its near Bristol !! Bloody awful sailing area why anyone would want to keep a boat there is beyond me . /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Do you have to be in a marina? Our club on Southampton water has trot moorings at very reasonable prices provided you are less than 32ft LOA. Good dinghy storage and only a short row to the boat.
PM me if you would like details
 
I think portishead is quite posh and therefore if you are concerned about cost, not the best place. in southampton, try Kemps marina, not exactly smart, but friendly and down to earth. It's also about half the price of the more upmarket place in soton. also Quayside marina might be worth investigating, they're next door to kemps.
 
I used Portishead marina this summer to launch my boat. My boat had been at Stourport on Severn, and I wanted to get her to a mooring at Lawrenny yacht station(Milford Haven). I wanted to keep the road transport cost as low as possible, and maximise the sailing.

So the transporter recomended Portishead as it was close with good access, also they could accomodate us on the day we wanted. The staff were very helpfull, and the launch went very smoothly. Also they were very patient with me when I put up the mast, as this was the first time I had done it myself, previously the boat yard had done it.

I kept the boat in the marina for most of the week while I completed the recomissioning, the boat had been out of the water for 3 years. I identified a problem with my cooling water trap and they advised me to speak to Ray Williams who ran the Marine engine workshop. He ordered me a replacement Vetus trap which came over night, faultless service.

The marina is new and very smart, I very seriously considered using it as base. However once we left the marina I changed my mind, I know we had just suffered dreadfull flooding on the Severn, even so the trip down the Bristol Channel was more like a walk in the forest. We motored down on the tide to Steep Holm, dodging around numerous trees that had branches sticking up 6 ft, I dread to think what was below the surface, needless to say we steered a wide course around them. The water was the colour of the mud, so much so that when we came out of the lock it was difficult to see where the water finished and the mud bank started.

So my verdict is the marina is good, but as I want to cruise around south and west Ireland, I have decided to stick to my first choise of milford Haven.
 
I know Milford Haven is a very long way from the Solent, but if you want a Marina berth their charges are £168 per metre per year inc VAT. Eat your heart out south coasters.
PS I used to have a swinging mooring in Portsmouth by Pewit Island. Cost, just under £600 per annum. If you are interested contact Quay Lane Boatyard, Gosport. I can recommend then very nice people, really helpfull. I had 3 great years there, only left so I could cruise Ireland.
 
I lived in portishead for many years, but moved away at about the time the marina was built. i did a lot of dinghy sailing from Portishead, with the sailing club there. i concur with the previous contributors opinion of the colour of the water, its not attractive. The main difficulty of sailing there is the tide; 2nd highest in Europe, 5kts plus, so the sailing club could only sail for two hours before high tide. There is an eddy in the bay which meant that our courses were always in a clockwise direction.

There is a club for yotties at Pill, Portishead Cruising Club, and i believe several of their members keep their boats in the marina.

Access into and out of the marina is dependent on the tide, prob only an hour or two either side of high tide, and the lock can get pretty busy.
 
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