Ryde Harbour

[Stemar]

Any recent experience of it? We used to go quite often, but tried two or three years ago and chickened out with less than a foot under our keels at high water and a good way to go.

VisitMyHarbour has this:
I reviewed these notes in April 2022. There is uncertainty about the future of Ryde Harbour. The Island Council has relinquished it to the Ryde Town Council who took charge at the beginning of this month. They are incommunicado at the moment. We know that it is badly silted up and there are rumours of turning it into a car park but those are unsubstantiated so we wait with baited breath.
Not very encouraging!

 

[chubby]

The new setup is much more actively promoting the harbour and working on facilities and active on social media so seem to want to keep it as a harbour but the issue is depth, we used to visit over the top of the tide at 1.4 m draft but I ran aground in the entrance at HW-1 : the HM came out to investigate and the advice is to keep well to starboard entering: I was too close to port and a shelf of sand builds up there. Go on a transit in line with the end of the pier towards the starboard side of the entrance. The port and stab buoys are more to keep boats away from the hovercraft approach than to mark deep water. having said all that I bailed out once afloat and haven`t tried the entrance since!

 

[Stemar]

Thanks.

I think I'll stay chicken for now, but keep an eye on things in the hope it improves and gets a bit of investment. I'd be sorry to see it go, I quite like Ryde as a short run destination from Portsmouth.

 

[Dunx]

We walk past it regularly and it is very silted up and badly needs maintaining, I would avoid unless a rib shallow draft mobo or a shallow bilge keeper.

 

[mickywillis]

Members of our club have got into Ryde but only on HW Springs recently. One member tried at HW -1 and couldnt get in, went aground but managed to ease themselves off the sandbar. That was with a 3' 10" bilge Keel boat last weekend. Theres a new Harbourmaster who is trying to get things sorted, but its going to be a while. The wheels of Ryde Council (new owners) will turn very slowly getting this sorted, its going to be expensive to rectify!

 

[TheBomber]

An update here for anybody heading this way - a panorama shot that shows that the deepest water approach is nowhere near the buoyed channel. When leaving the harbour the direction is near parallel to the beach as far as that rock ballasting - there is a hut on the pier that you can aim for.

Photo taken 17 July 2022: