Ramsgate?

[Gwylan]

Anyone got any objective and constructive comments about the choice of Ramsgate as a base.
Dire warnings too, if appropriate
Or somewhere better in the vicinity
10m bilge keeler
I do not have a dog!

 

[Medskipper]

Well it can often cut up quite rough in the area! then of course there is the goodwin sands! The area outside the lock heaves about quite a bit at high tide, so its better within the locked marina. Personally I keep my boat at Chatham just around the corner! this allows me to still get out to sea quickly but when we have friends on board that are non boaty, we have the safe confines of the river Medway to have fun in!

Good Luck with your choices
Barry

 

[pvb]

Based on my experiences as a visitor, I'd say that Ramsgate offers a variety of rich experiences. The West Marina is perfectly placed to get a ringside seat for the fighting couples on the pier. The staff are very subtle, indeed sometimes difficult to find. The town has many popular taverns, whose customers often continue their revelries in the surrounding streets. And it's truly cosmopolitan; there are many Eastern European gentlemen in ill-fitting leather jackets who have found asylum in Ramsgate's welcoming arms. On the other hand, it does have a Waitrose...

 

[boatbuilder]

If you have a dog forget it, dogs not allowed, as has been covered on here before.

 

[tjbrace]

I found the entrance to the old harbour and the harbour itself badly silted this summer. Had to delay departure on advice of the harbour control. Only 1 mtere depth but the chart says dredged to 3 metres.

 

[pvb]

[ QUOTE ]
If you have a dog forget it, dogs not allowed, as has been covered on here before.

[/ QUOTE ]I wonder why he took the trouble of writing "I do not have a dog!"?

 

[boatbuilder]

But he may be thinking of getting one, forewarned is forearmed.
Or I didn't read the post properly. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Koeketiene]

Not bad - feel Ramsgate's an acquired taste. I like it, others don't - sometimes for the same reasons.

Rates quite reasonable - council owned. Money grabbing [--word removed--] of the MDL ilk have yet to arrive.
Facilities more than adequate.
Staff OK - once you get to know them.
If you're over 70 - there's the RTYC
Major drawback - to me at least - there's not really anywhere to go for a daysail. Maybe Dover, offering more of the same, but only worse.

 

[tillergirl]

It always strikes me as gloomy in the late afternoon/evening as the sun disappears over the town.

 

[Cantata]

It ain't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but the price probably reflects that.
Ramsgate is a working harbour and is not a squeaky-clean place by any means. The staff are fine, if sometimes elusive. The inner marina is a better bet for long-term berthing (and it's cheaper) if you can cope with the inconvenience of the gate, which is usually open on free-flow about HW +/- 2 hrs or a bit less.
Town has its fair share of idiots, chavs etc although not sure it's really any worse than any other seaside town these days.
The silting is becoming a real problem, the council doesn't seem to want to pay for dredging any more but they will have to do something soon!
On a historical note, the place silted from the day it was built, so the inner harbour cross-wall was added to retain the water until LW, when sluices would be opened to blast the silt away. Needless to say they can't really do that any more.....

 

[Eeyore]

It seems I am not the only one who found staff indifferent! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif For what it's worth, my web link is......

http://www.yachtrhumbdo.co.uk/best_'n'_rest.htm

 

[samwise]

Great fish and chips. Staff ( in our experience) friendly and helpful. Silting a bit of a worry, seems to be getting worse each year. Good loos and showers. Good security.

 

[tarik]

Ramsgate is one of the best places for setting off to the Continent, Dover can be very hectic - ferries etc. The staff are very helpful, good facilities for ship's stores, very clean showers etc, outer berths can be a bit lumpy, moorings with water and electricity, the town which is in walking distance of the moorings has good shops. Can get lively at night in the summer .

Any further info please pm me - I have a berth in the inner harbour

David

 

[ADLS]

We use ramsgate as a stageing port for cross channel hops and the ADLS Dunkirk returns. These call ins can sometime last longer than intended when it blows up in the channel. So if your going to make it your home port, you must consider the weather against the type of boat you have and the type of sailing you like.
towns fine for provisions, plenty of eating places and bars. If you call a taxi dont say marina office if you want it in by the toilet block, there are now three marina offices!!!!!!!

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Surprised only one post refers to the marina cutting up rough...

If you end up in the outer harbour to avoid the restrictions of the gate to the inner basin, then a very nasty swell can come in under certain wind directions...

Earlier this year I had a line part as the swell inside had got so bad. It can be really quite unpleasant. It wasn't a one off either.... we've been in there in less than pleasant swell on more than one occasion.

The staff are 'functional' as detailed above. I haven't found them rude as might have been implied above, but they won't 'go that extra mile' to help either...

Ramsgate as a town is no better or worse than any other location along that coast though.

For me the biggest downside (apart from the swell entering the harbour) is that there simply isn't anywhere to sail to...... I'd get bored of the location very quickly.... For us, Ramsgate is a staging post to the continent and nothing more.

FWIW, we went into Dover this year for the first time in a very long while, and while it only has the same 'glamour' as Ramsgate, the staff are superb... a totally different ball game from Ramsgate.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

>>>
If you're over 70 - there's the RTYC
>>>

Presumably because, in 26 years time, when I am over 70, one of the staff will have attended a course in cellarmanship and how to clean the lines.

I have never had a decent pint of draught bitter there.

 

[Mudhook]

Well the Shepherd Neame Spitfire was in absolutely perfect condition in there on Thursday night last!

I'd also add that in an east or northeast wind it seems to really blow up as you close the shore. It was howling when I left 8am Friday morning, yet reduced to about a 4 a mile offshore and to a 3 once round the corner on the way to Sheerness.

Regards, Mudhook.

 

[PeterGibbs]

PVB,

How eloquent - you capture the pathos that is Ramsgate. Standing anywhere you can see its buried charm, the once proud archtitecture; from its battlements you can still appreciate its sea views. But the marina and front are controlled by the Council who are morons and have successfully buried their town in rubbish for years. 3 years ago when approaching the heads we were met by a sign, saying "cleaning in progress" - at 8 in morning! Some French matelots stood there, towels aflap, locked out politely wondering je ne said qu.. That's Ramsgate Council..!

Anywhere on the Continent, Ramsgate would have been invested in bigtime (loads of EC money anywhere you look)
The difference lies in the pathetic quality and ambitionless trolls who manage Ramsgate. Nothing else.

There is one highlight - the Churchill Tavern, high on the cliff with a great view over the bay to the South Foreland. Good food and excellent beers. From time to time we all have to pull into Ramsgate. Go there and feel for Ramsgate.

PWG