Round Britain Phantom 48

[Who]

We plan to take a Fairline phantom 48 from Bristol anti-clockwise around the Britain ending up back in Portishead Bristol by late August/September.
We brought her from Portishead via lands end and onwards to Weymouth last year.
To complete the trip this summer by navigating the east coast and going through the Caledonian Canal and back to her home in Portishead Bristol.
My question is, do any forum members have recommendations for decent stops along the east coast.
Ie good marinas where we can leave the boat for a couple of weeks until the next weather window appears. (We can both go back to the boat at a days notice to complete another leg or more).
It’s not an area we are familiar with and won’t have a car. So need marinas that have some facilities and transport links etc.
Any suggestions and info much appreciated.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

East Coast Marinas with facilities and handy for transport... the latter is less easy. Starter for 10.

Ramsgate / Dover hardly E coast)
St Kaths for London
Neptune (Ipswich) or Levington a cab ride away
Wells next the Sea (at a pinch)
Hull
Hartlepool
Royal Quays (N Shields)
Port Edgar (Edinburgh, S Queensferry really)

 

[Greg2]

East Coast Marinas with facilities and handy for transport... the latter is less easy. Starter for 10.

Ramsgate / Dover hardly E coast)
St Kaths for London
Neptune (Ipswich) or Levington a cab ride away
Wells next the Sea (at a pinch)
Hull
Hartlepool
Royal Quays (N Shields)
Port Edgar (Edinburgh, S Queensferry really)

Some good suggestions.
Whitby also has a marina as far as I am aware
Wells-next-the -sea is tidally restricted (hence the comment ‘at a pinch’ I guess so not a first choice and transport links are poor)
Lowestoft - choice of Haven Marina or Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club. Rail links to Ipswich and on to London
Orwewell also has Shotley, Woolverstone and two marinas in Ipswich - good rail connection to London
Chatham
Ramsgate
If London is on the cards there are others apart from St Kats, although that is the best. Galleons Point and Limehouse spring to mind.

 

[TwoHooter]

I would say that gated pontoons and 24hour staffing are vital if you are leaving your boat anywhere.. Our experience goes no further north than Lowestoft, but based on what we have seen, and starting after the Solent

• Eastbourne - very good
• Ramsgate - OK but take great care with mooring, the harbour is open to swell
• Dover - we left our boat in the marina that's behind a gate for a while, quite good really
• Gillingham (on the Medway) is a possibility (we left our boat there for a fortnight once)
• Nothing much in Essex that I would want to recommend
• Shotley and Ipswich (not Foxes) are well protected (behind locks), we thought Wolverstone was a bit exposed, but of course people do keep boats there
• Aldeburgh and Southwold are great places to stop - unmissable really - but not suitable for leaving the boat
• Lowestoft - I know people do leave boats in the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk but I felt exposed there. If you can get a berth further into the docks or through the lock that would be more sheltered
• Great Yarmouth is a non-starter but if you can get into the Broads there are some options

The East Coast forum is perhaps a better bet. There are some motor boaters on there.

 

[nfluester]

if you haven't watched it already you might want to check out John Boyle's round Britian series he did for Motor Boat and yachting where he took a Sealine S34 round Britain and did the caledonian canal

The Great Motorboat Tour: UK - Youtube

he also did one up the Irish sea here:

Celtic Crusade - Youtube

very jealous I would love to do it if i had the time

 

[Who]

Thank you for the replies

Currently thinking the following:
Weymouth start point.
Portsmouth free berthing.
Ramsgate (fuel only maybe)
London st kaths
Neptune (fuel only)
Hull
Royal quays marina we get free berthing here
Port Edgar (Edinburgh)
Peterhead fuel only
Inverness

 

[pks1702]

Thank you for the replies

Currently thinking the following:
Weymouth start point.
Portsmouth free berthing.
Ramsgate (fuel only maybe)
London st kaths
Neptune (fuel only)
Hull
Royal quays marina we get free berthing here
Port Edgar (Edinburgh)
Peterhead fuel only
Inverness

If you mean Neptune Ipswich unless you are planning to stay at Ipswich, Shotley would be a better bet for fuel as the trip up the Orwell locking in and out of Ipswich lock is going to put the best part of 3 hours on your trip - if you just want fuel.

 

[Momac]

Although the town of Grimsby is aptly named the HCA marina is fine and you would get a useful saving in time not travelling the extra distance to Hull. Not to mention a head start for the onward journey. I use Grimsby as a one night stop and refuelling point rather than a destination.
:: HCA GRIMSBY ::
Grimsby does have a railway station .

Hull is quite a nice city and well worth a visit and certainly the preferred place to stay a few days compared to Grimsby.

In would be a shame to omit a visit to Wells Next the Sea from your tour . A very picturesque spot.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Hull is quite a nice city and well worth a visit and certainly the preferred place to stay a few days compared to Grimsby.
...

I really like Hull. I speak as a southerner who spent the first 7 years of his working life at Blackburns (BAe Brough) and I lived in Hull. 78-85. It was the better for knowing to be sure, but I'd definitely recommend it.

 

[Portofino]

Tides run fast up to Hull , the marina lock gate used to open 2 hrs either side of HW .
I only takes an extra hr or so on the flood to go from Grimsby to hull in a sail boat never mind a mobo .
You can anchor just inside Spurn point near the lifeboat to wait for the tide to turn .
I would wait if it’s your first time as long as you can and go up in good visibility and try and reach Hull as near to HW as you can get .Just makes it easy entering the outer basin .New charts used to be produced and the buoys moved every 2 weeks .

We had a couple of yachts there in the 90 ,s before the kids arrived .
Hull trains do London KK in about 2 hrs 10 mins . Station about a 10 min walk
As others have said City is nice and recently adjacent to the marina the fruit market has just completed a refurb and has many nice restaurants / bars .

 

[MoodySabre]

Coming south under sail there didn't seem anything worthwhile from Whitby to Lowestoft. That was about 24 hours (we missed the tide round the top of Norfolk). Grimsby is quite a diversion.

Look at a train map of Britain. Whitby has a rail connection but it a slow single track to the mainline at Middlesborough.

 

[mcanderson]

We used to keep our first boat in Port Edgar (Edinburgh) before moving her to the South of France.

Port Edgar to Edinburgh airport is easiest done via taxi.
For trains just a simple walk to South Queensferry station where you can get a train to Edinburgh for further connections.

 

[Croftie]

Tides run fast up to Hull , the marina lock gate used to open 2 hrs either side of HW .

I think it has always been 3 hours either side HW