Recommended ports of call

About Port Edgar

maxi77 said:
Years of neglect, lack of maintainance etc etc. The council finally got round to drawing up a redevelopment plan just in time for the credit crunch, so redevelopment has been put of again for the second time. It is really getting to the time where they need to admit they are not good at running such things and hand it over to the profesionals
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Port Edgar is run by Edinburgh Leisure, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, effectively a charity, providing leisure services on behalf of the council. Private ownership for profit might well show benefits in terms of investment but would drive the berthing costs up. Edinburgh Leisure is currently struggling with the burden of the white elephant which is the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, a private project 'rescued' by the council, and costing around £1m a year in subsidy. Without that Port Edgar (which is as I understand financially healthy in revenue terms) would almost certainly benefit from continued improvements and better maintenance. The staff who actually run PE are just as professional as the staff in other marinas I have known, they are however handicapped by a serious lack of investment and a form of planning blight. I'm not a big fan of Edinburgh Council but it's simplistic to imagine that another form of ownership is required.
 
lenseman said:
One harbour on the east coast which you might not stay at is Seacliff.

It is purported to be the smallest harbour in the UK:

http://www.ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=734

:D
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Hey, I have been in there with my boat! Would not fancy it with a beam greater than 7 feet.

Personally I would stop at Stonehaven rather than Peterhead, given the choice, but mostly because I would always stay at a harbour, rather than a marina, given the choice. ON the Moray Coast I stopped at Pennan, Fortrose, Portsoy, and Nairn. Also stopped at POrt Errol round the corner. All lovely places, but I doubt you would get into them with your big boat. Don't remember much about Lossie. We got into the company of a trawlerman called billy, who drank us under the table. He was matching us pint for pint, but managing a nip between each too, and still appeared to be sober as we staggered back to the boat.

In settled weather you should spend a night in the lea of the Isle of May, rather than rushing to get into a port. The Forth Yacht Club Association Pilot Book is out of print at the moment.

R
 
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Pembrokeshire stops.

When rounding Pembrokeshire if you want a really lovely place to spend a night or two between the Jack Sound and the Ramsey Sound then try Solva.

It is very small, has limited space and has limited boating facilities. The entrance is not easy, but there are really good places to eat and the shelter is good, with a 40ft cat you could probably dry out on the sand almost in the village.

There are also just one or two berths against the quay, but be warned the bottom shelves a little too quickly for my lifting keel, twin rudder Beneteau. To moor against the quay wall contact the Harbour Master I have his telephone number.

You might find this interesting, lovely photograph of the harbour.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...visits-Solva-haven-left-fortune-by-widow.html

You could also dry out on the sand up stream at Sandy Haven, on the north shore of the Milford Haven estuary. This is very quiet with loads of space, lots of wild life but the nearest place to eat or drink is a half mile walk. For further information pm me. Have a good trip, George.
 
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KenMcCulloch said:
Port Edgar is run by Edinburgh Leisure, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, effectively a charity, providing leisure services on behalf of the council. Private ownership for profit might well show benefits in terms of investment but would drive the berthing costs up. Edinburgh Leisure is currently struggling with the burden of the white elephant which is the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, a private project 'rescued' by the council, and costing around £1m a year in subsidy. Without that Port Edgar (which is as I understand financially healthy in revenue terms) would almost certainly benefit from continued improvements and better maintenance. The staff who actually run PE are just as professional as the staff in other marinas I have known, they are however handicapped by a serious lack of investment and a form of planning blight. I'm not a big fan of Edinburgh Council but it's simplistic to imagine that another form of ownership is required.
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Whilst this years rise will be a trifle more comfortable than the 10% slapped on in April this year, they view the rate being charged by Largs as their medium term target, though as yet one has to see how the services will improve sufficiently to justify this. How often have you fallen through the potoon decking? When was the last time the pontoon lighting where you berth worked, certainly not in the last 18 months.
 
snowleopard said:
What a depressing book! I now have a long list of dismal harbours not to visit. (And a profound sense of good fortune at not being married to Paul Heiney).
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I got the impression that Wales and Scotland as far as Skye-ish were good fun, but the rest was done out of a grim sense of duty - it really doesn't sound as if they had much fun along either the north or east coasts.
 
orbister said:
I got the impression that Wales and Scotland as far as Skye-ish were good fun, but the rest was done out of a grim sense of duty - it really doesn't sound as if they had much fun along either the north or east coasts.
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I wonder if that makes a case for going anticlockwise so the East Coast harbours are seen with fresh eyes rather than in contrast to the more impressive West.

A lot of her descriptions are heavily overlaid with the mood of the family so a perfectly nice place can be condemned by whining kids and a grumpy husband!

Having ablutions on board I wouldn't be so fixated on finding places to beg a bath.

I've just started on Coasting by Paul Raban but it has precious little in the way of descriptions of the coast. I've just read a section where he joined a flying picket during the miners' strike. Interesting reading but a guide book it's not.
 
grumpy people

I tend to take other people's grouses about harbours with a pinch of salt,everybody is looking for different things.

Itoo found ''One Summer's Grace'' to be a depressing story! So much so that I have never been tempted to read any other of the author's offerings, and would never recommend it to anyone trying to encourage a loved one to come sailing.
 
Ludd said:
Itoo found ''One Summer's Grace'' to be a depressing story! So much so that I have never been tempted to read any other of the author's offerings
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A shame because most of her fiction is good. Try Casting Off, a novel centred on sailing.

I agree with you about other people's opinions. I once offered advice about nice places to go in the Caribbean to a forumite. When he came back he had disliked pretty much all of my choices. I like P&Q and he wanted nightlife & restaurants. I've been wary of giving or receiving advice since. I just try to describe and let the recipient make up their own minds whether it will suit them.
 
East coast ports:

Been 'an dun it this year....Lowestoft now has a new marina opposite RSNYC, Whitby, despite the volume of visitors was pretty good and had the cheapest laundry of the lot, Hartlepool, just massive but very helpful & good value, Tyne a tad more expensive, Amble, pretty good, but pricey diesel, Eyemouth a stunning little working harbour with all facilities @ £20. for 12m, Arbroath, another good value port, Aberdeen, very limited facilities, but welcoming and the cheapest of the lot..£20.00 for 5 days, Peterhead, good value, a long way for stores! Whitehills, another super little harbour, could be tad small, Lossiemouth, really friendly, Seaport @ Inverness, helpful @g.v. Caledonian a great experience and really helpful, Barcaldine @ Loch creran pretty good, Oban has some new moorings off the S.C, Craobh, Ardfern, all good but not cheap, Some stunning moorings almost anywhere N of the Crinan... which I thought was total rip off compared to Caley, Tarbert, great place, Rothsay on Bute rained in for 3 day,s but good restuarent by visitors centre. Kip, Largs, standard type marina, Ardrossan pretty good, Lochgoilhead, Striven, Long, Holy Loch all able to anchor, Kyles of Bute Moorings/anchor....loads more, super trip, weather lousy, mainly wind & rain from 2nd week July/ 2nd wk Sept!!! but still enjoyed it...
 
snowleopard said:
I wonder if that makes a case for going anticlockwise so the East Coast harbours are seen with fresh eyes rather than in contrast to the more impressive West.
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I wondered that myself. The only thing that puts me off is that I am "short handed"
With a predominantly SW wind the run down from Ireland or Wales to the Scillies might be a punishing trip whereas sitting in Hangmans anchorage on the Scillies awaiting nice weather to pop up in the other direction might be easier. Coming South I fancy "going Dutch" and coming down the continental coast rather than England. I can never understand what those foreigners "op north" are saying!
 
It is a bit of a detour, but Ardrossan is really a must visit place. On the NE coast, I like Burghead ... cos I spent a bit of my youth on fishing boats there!
 
jimi said:
It is a bit of a detour, but Ardrossan is really a must visit place. On the NE coast, I like Burghead ... cos I spent a bit of my youth on fishing boats there!
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If only they would widen Crinan by a few feet. It would be nice to get up to Arran and the Kyles of Bute without a huge detour.
 
Sorry abou the drift.

maxi77 said:
Whilst this years rise will be a trifle more comfortable than the 10% slapped on in April this year, they view the rate being charged by Largs as their medium term target, though as yet one has to see how the services will improve sufficiently to justify this. How often have you fallen through the potoon decking? When was the last time the pontoon lighting where you berth worked, certainly not in the last 18 months.
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Some of what you say is certainly true (although the lighting and power supplies on my pontoon were fixed last summer - 08 - having been unreliable for some time) but it's not in my view anything to do with the professionalism or lack of same on the part of the local management, but wider issues.
 
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