Small sailboats visiting Portsmouth Harbour

Nicholas123 said:
Seajet;I did'nt say I tacked backwards & forwards across the entrance & I made no mention of an engine.
I used to tack backwards & forwards across the main body of water upstream from the Gosport ferry & to within a hundred yards or so of the various Navel vessels moored up there often with the Police keeping a close eye on me but no problem.
I'm sure it is not beyond the wit of man to get to that hard which I believe is the one we are talking about along side the Warrior?Never have I used a radio nore am I aware it is compulsory.
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Nicholas123,

not wishing to diminish the Christmas spirit, but I'll have a go anyway !

By the 'main body of water upstream from the ferry' - I take it by your description of being near Naval vessels this is North of the Balllast buoy ( where in old days a sailing ship would dump her stabilising ballast stones ) since the attack on the USS Cole people have been a bit twitchy about small boats approaching warships, and I don't blame them !

One has to be aware of the overall situation, be it politics in Med' ports or keeping clear of sub's in Plymouth.
 
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Seajet said:
Nicholas123,

not wishing to diminish the Christmas spirit, but I'll have a go anyway !

By the 'main body of water upstream from the ferry' - I take it by your description of being near Naval vessels this is North of the Balllast buoy ( where in old days a sailing ship would dump her stabilising ballast stones ) since the attack on the USS Cole people have been a bit twitchy about small boats approaching warships, and I don't blame them !

One has to be aware of the overall situation, be it politics in Med' ports or keeping clear of sub's in Plymouth.
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Again this is explained by QHM Notices To Mariners; I think our chum here 'Giblets' has been involved and can offer direct advice.
 
Seajet said:
Nicholas123,

not wishing to diminish the Christmas spirit, but I'll have a go anyway !

By the 'main body of water upstream from the ferry' - I take it by your description of being near Naval vessels this is North of the Balllast buoy ( where in old days a sailing ship would dump her stabilising ballast stones ) since the attack on the USS Cole people have been a bit twitchy about small boats approaching warships, and I don't blame them !

One has to be aware of the overall situation, be it politics in Med' ports or keeping clear of sub's in Plymouth.
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Seajet;Not sure where the ballast buoy is.Like I said down to about the Gosport Ferry.
One is aware of the situation Seajet & one does not need to be patronized.:cool:
 
Have you considered Bursledon on the Hamble River. Fall out of train; roll down hill into the Jolly Sailor pub; free mooring at pub if you are there to drink/eat; stagger on board then back to sea!
 
If sailing in Pompey harbour engine should be running if fitted, calling QHM to cross from Ballast buoy if you have the means otherwise use your noggin' - no fees to pay at the hard in question but beware of the bottom and leave someone onboard to move boat if on falling tide. Camber no more than 15 minute walk - cut thru' gunwharf, across sealink carpark, thru' the fish dock side of Camber and around to Bridge Inn for pick-up. I believe you're allowed a picking up spell (possibly 1/2 hour) and then charged £12 ish for 4 hours more for o/nighting.
 
Nicholas123 said:
Seajet;Not sure where the ballast buoy is.Like I said down to about the Gosport Ferry.
One is aware of the situation Seajet & one does not need to be patronized.:cool:
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The ballast buoy is at the old Camper and Nicholson marina end of the SMALL CRAFT CHANNEL.

As you seem not to know the buoyage or the channel to keep to and mention tacking across the harbour entrance, I'm afraid you are a ripe target for patronizing gits like me, which is nothing compared to the treatment you'd get from QHM and the Modplod !

The small craft channel is about 100 yards wide, on the Western side of the entrance.

Vessels with engines are expected to use them, as it says on the outer buoy; I forget the buoy number but it's about a quarter of a mile outside Portsmouth entrance.

On the way in one leaves the big ship red can buoys close to starboard.

Any further to the West at this point risks running onto the Hamilton Bank shoal which runs parallel to the big ship entrance channel.

You then keep reasonably close to the Western shore heading North - going alongside the apartments which used to be the HMS Dolphin submarine base - in a straight line all the way to the big red can buoy inside the harbour named 'Ballast'.

Nowadays going across the harbour to have a closer look at any warships may result in the seasons' greetings in the form of depleted uranium or other pointy things.

http://www.qhm.mod.uk/portsmouth/regulations/small-boat
 
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Seajet said:
The ballast buoy is at the old Camper and Nicholson marina end of the SMALL CRAFT CHANNEL...

...in a straight line all the way to the big red can buoy inside the harbour named 'Ballast'....

http://www.qhm.mod.uk/portsmouth/regulations/small-boat
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I think you will find that Ballast Buoy got change to a post, Ballast Beacon, some years ago - your link actually refers to Ballast Beacon not Buoy as well.
 
ripvan1 said:
"On the way in one leaves the big ship red can buoys close to starboard."


You sure? I've always left them to port
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On the way in there is plenty of water for at least 20m west of the red cans.
The car ferries often cross just outside the harbour taking up the whole channel.
 
On the way in one leaves the big ship red can buoys close to starboard.

Any further to the West at this point risks running onto the Hamilton Bank shoal which runs parallel to the big ship entrance channel.





On the way in there is plenty of water for at least 20m west of the red cans.
The car ferries often cross just outside the harbour taking up the whole channel.


Yes you are correct and I know what seajet meant but it might be confusing to others being advised to leave red buoys to starboard. Taking fair sized boats into Pompey I stay the correct side of buoys whether the ferries are farting about or not.

I'll stay as far out from inner Haslar wall as is appropriate (in a larger boat) 'cos negotiating exiting and entering vessels using SBC can be somewhat interesting.
 
ripvan1 said:
...Yes you are correct and I know what seajet meant but it might be confusing to others being advised to leave red buoys to starboard. Taking fair sized boats into Pompey I stay the correct side of buoys whether the ferries are farting about or not...
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The correct place for small boats (<20m) is the small boat channel with the red cans to starboard. If a boat is too big to use the small boat channel, then the correct place is over the other side of the channel with the green cones to starboard, but there's not many leisure boats that need to do that.
 
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l'escargot said:
The correct place for small boats (<20m) is the small boat channel with the red cans to starboard. If a boat is too big to use the small boat channel, then the correct place is over the other side of the channel with the green cones to starboard, but there's not many leisure boats that need to do that.
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I stand corrected - thankyou :o

Small Boat Channel

The Small Boat Channel is shown on Admiralty charts. Its northern and southern extremities are at Ballast Beacon and No 4 Bar Buoys respectively. A tide pole is fitted to Beacon BC4. Small Boats are reminded that they are extremely difficult to see and the harbour entrance is a blind bend to larger vessels. The following rules apply:
Small Boats must enter and leave the harbour through the Small Boat Channel.

All craft fitted with engines, when navigating in the Approach Channel to Portsmouth Harbour,are to proceed under power between No 4 Bar Buoy and the Ballast Beacon.

The Small Boat Channel may only be entered or exited by vessels approaching from the east at its northern or southern extremities.

A traffic pattern is established around Ballast Beacon; Small Boats entering the harbour are to pass close to the east of Ballast Beacon and those exiting close to the west.

Small Boats crossing the harbour entrance may only do so to the north of Ballast Beacon or to the south of No 4 Bar Buoy.

Small Boats, save those listed below, are not to loiter in the Small Boat Channel.

Small Boats should remain on the Starboard side of the Small Boat Channel and should adjust their speed to remain within the Small Boat Channel rather than overtake and be forced into the main channel.
 
I know what you mean though about negotiating the entrancing exiting vessels being interesting - especially trying to head in on the ebb and meeting boats coming out 4 abreast with 2 others trying to overtake you...:)
 
Lots of interesting, illuminating points here. Thinking ahead, any boat of mine will be small enough to need to stay firmly in the small boat channel. It'll be so humble in fact, that I have to ask whether a becalmed sailing boat taking to her oars, will be regarded as being 'under engine'?

The Hamble railway suggestion was a good thought - I know the river there from a few visits in recent years. Only trouble is, the railway is a small branch line there, whereas Pompey is the terminus for fast trains from the capital, where my likely crew will be coming from.

ripvan1 said:
Camber no more than 15 minute walk - cut thru' gunwharf, across sealink carpark, thru' the fish dock side of Camber and around to Bridge Inn for pick-up. I believe you're allowed a picking up spell (possibly 1/2 hour) and then charged £12 ish for 4 hours more for o/nighting.
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I reckon that's just about exactly what I needed to know, cheers!

Thanks to all for your replies. :)
 
dancrane said:
Lots of interesting, illuminating points here. Thinking ahead, any boat of mine will be small enough to need to stay firmly in the small boat channel. It'll be so humble in fact, that I have to ask whether a becalmed sailing boat taking to her oars, will be regarded as being 'under engine'?

The Hamble railway suggestion was a good thought - I know the river there from a few visits in recent years. Only trouble is, the railway is a small branch line there, whereas Pompey is the terminus for fast trains from the capital, where my likely crew will be coming from.



I reckon that's just about exactly what I needed to know, cheers!

Thanks to all for your replies. :)
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Dan,

there are a couple of cafe's and if it suits pubs serving food by the Camber too, the 'Still And West' ( last sight of England for many a sailor ) has views over the entrance to gloat over the poor sods trying to get in against the ebb !

Bursledon might be another option, the railway station - another backwater line though - is handy, the Elephant Boat Yard used to take visitors - though not geared up for it - but I haven't been there for years so don't know how that is now; it's a long trek to the Solent, but on the plus side there's the barge selling secondhand old boat stuff, I could spend days in there...
 
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It's possible, perhaps even probable, that Gunwarf wouldn't mind you picking someone up with a dinghy, but where would you anchor? There's a prohibition on the Dockyard side; it's a naval base and they're twitchy about security due to terrorist threats. There's nowhere over that side I'd want to anchor up prior to a swift visit shoreside by Rubby-Dub, whereas you can tie up in Camber for a short while often without charge.

I've never seen anyone anchor in Haslar Creek, although there are places on the Gosport side, past C&N where you could drop the hook for a short while relatively unmolested. If you were planning a raid by dinghy on the ferry pontoon, you might be able to drop the hook in the space between Haslar Marina and the pontoon itself. The LSP used to keep their vessels moored there so it's deep enough at all states of the tide.

The RNSA have moorings inside the RFA fuel pontoon (cold harbour?) that might be "borrowed" for a short time, if vacant. Not strictly "polite" it's true. I've not been in Royal Clarence Yard since it became a Marina and speaking from memory, all the other access in the outer reaches of Forton Lake are bespoke by clubs (the CSSA, Gosport Cruising Club and the RA Yacht club?) all of whom have some sort of security.

Have you tried contacting Gunwarf and asking if they'd allow you to pick up from there? They might be OK with it. At least you'd know.
 
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