Stops between Ipswich and Southampton

tudorsailor

tudorsailor

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I am taking the yacht from Fox's marina to Southampton. I am going to day sail. I thought first stop would be Ramsgate. I then would like to stop overnight between Ramsgate and Brighton and would be grateful for suggestions for somewhere that can take my 2.1m draft

Foodie recommendations for Ramsgate, stop inbetween and Brighton would be great!

Thanks

TudorSailor
 
We've done Harwich to Ramsgate; the Ramsgate to Eastbourne(but we do tend to get into Eastbourne in the middle of the night!) then Eastbourne to Brighton or the Solent. Lots of places to eat at Ramsgate, in Eastbourne we ate on board as it was late and we were knackered.
 
Eastbourne, vast marina, if you get in early enough I would reccomend the Indian restaurant at the back of the marina, good showers, only been there once on the opposite journey to you.
 
Done this twice

Ipswich to Brighton was a long trip, arriving in the middle of the night.

Shotley to Brighton, stopping in Ramsgate and Eastbourne is doable, just two of us on board, except:
- we got caught in a foul tide off North Foreland which wasnt fun, so make sure you allow good time.
- Ramsgate was yucky, we ended up on on the ponton with the fishermen's boats, then just a pizza, so dont have a very good impression of the place.

Eastbourne was good, well sheltered, Asda within walking distance, and a restaurant on the marina.

Brighton to Southampton is doable in a day, depending on conditions. Think about stopping overnight somewhere in Chichester, if necessary.
 
Well it's Dover. About as salubrious as Ramsgate, but a reasonable day sail from Ramsgate and a reasonable (longer) day sail on from there to Brighton.

Dover (Granville) marina has very helpful staff. Locks in so no good for low water, but it's never been a problem for me getting round on the tide between London and Southampton.
 
Well I did the reverse, Lymington to SYH Levington, all in day sails in the depth of winter (February), so it should be easy this time of year when the days are so much longer.

My route: Lymington - Folly Inn (near Cowes) - Brighton - Dover - Levington.

It was early evening and dark when I arrived at Levington , I'll admit, as the tide was against me that day along the Kent coast, and not enough daylight hours to do otherwise. I did motor much of the way (at about 4.5 knots), as being winter I'd waited for settled weather, then it turned out so settled there was little wind (and it was perishing cold - ice on deck most days!).
 
cheapskate

Do Eastbourne still do a short stay rate?
I am sure in the past we stopped over for about 6 hours doing the Solent to Orwell trip to miss a foul tide and have a bit of sleep.
 
Don't forget Newhaven as an alternative to Eastbourne or Brighton. May not be a culinary paradise but perfectly acceptable as an overnight. The entrance is less challenging than the other two can be in bad weather, as well. On my last few Channel passages I've gone there by preference. But then I'm no admirer of marinas.
 
Ipswich to the Solent is always a dreary passage. If you've got the kit and the pluck, I'd do it in one and get it over with.
 
tudorsailor said:
I am taking the yacht from Fox's marina to Southampton. I am going to day sail. I thought first stop would be Ramsgate. I then would like to stop overnight between Ramsgate and Brighton and would be grateful for suggestions for somewhere that can take my 2.1m draft

Foodie recommendations for Ramsgate, stop inbetween and Brighton would be great!

Thanks

TudorSailor
Click to expand...

Ramsgate - watch you arrive off N Foreland in time to save 5M slog into harbour against ebb tide. Eat at Churchill on the top terrace.

Dover: nice canter along the coast. Weatherspoon is probabaly your best bet for eats and drinks. If nice weather go direct from Ramsgate to Eastbourne.

Eastbourne: go if you are sure you'll pass Dungeness with favourable conditions -very uncomfortable to pass against W over F5. Eating in Sovereign marina - all types, pretty good.

Brighton: approach harbour entrance with care in any kind of sea. Do not hang about in the offing - refracted waves can really upset your day. Chose the moment and head in fast down the centre. Loads of eating in the marina.

Cowes for a slice of the other: otherwise direct to destination.

I'll be down that way shortly - I'll check that you were a model sailor maintaining the pristine reputation of E coast sailors !!! Oh....

PWG
 
Here's an alternative, a detour on the way to Dover/Ramsgate:

We have the same type of shellfish as you do, picked it up at Fox's in 2009, and enjoyed some stops along the way on our maiden cruise -

Walton Backwaters -- just around the corner from the Orwell, from the book Secret Waters and all that, anchor in Hamford water, circumnavigate the island by dinghy, seals all around, nice lunch at the Walton & Frinton YC -- magical and yet as South Coast sailors never likely to do it again, so might as well do it now. And we did it in March!

Medway -- Chatham Marina (Premier), not far from the Historic Docks, well worth a visit, then nice anchorage down the river, at

London -- St Katharine Dock, unique location, yes it's a long way up the river, but on one tide, London, and you may never do that again either.

If you have the time, I recommend it -- a couple of seasons later, and we still have fine cruising memories of all three places.

The rest is all as recommended by others . . .
 
Just returned to Shotley using Southea, Brighton and Eastbourne which are all part of Premier Marinas.

Interestingly, you can buy 7 nights via their website for the price of 5 to use at all their marinas except Falmouth. Worth it is you are going each way past these points. Southsea also very good value as compared to other solent places (probably due to the cill entrance) but really nice and helpful staff. Southsea marina also has an excellent Indian restaurant on-site.
 
johnphilip said:
Do Eastbourne still do a short stay rate?
I am sure in the past we stopped over for about 6 hours doing the Solent to Orwell trip to miss a foul tide and have a bit of sleep.
Click to expand...

Not when I was last there, they tried to charge me a full day, for arriving around 0100, and departing at 0900. However, I bought fuel, and ended up only having to pay for that.
 
Food in Ramsgate

I'm a sucker for Ramsgate harbour and the architecture in the town so would stop there.

There is an excellent and well known (in Kent) Thai - Surin - which also sells pots of its own sauce which beat supermarket Thais sauces anytime.

There is also a newish but good fish restaurant overlooking the harbour, but the best food for many miles around is Bon Appetit up the ramp from the marina towards Nelson Crescent - always worth a visit.

Can't bear Dover though it has an okay-ish fish place by the marina, you won't get into Folkestone or (such a pity) Rye, so next is dull but safe Eastbourne Marina and Newhaven which I visit a lot but is more run down every year. Brighton is the only obvious stop for food and night life before the Solent, I think.
 
We are based in the Orwell so do this route most years with just the 2 of us. Be at Landguard buoy at HW+2, stay close to the coast until Spitway (I think). It's faster than plugging the tide later around N. Foreland.
Ramsgate, La Magnolia, one of the best Italian restaurants we've ever eaten in. Also the Royal Temple Yacht club is very civilized. Dover, nice yacht club 5 min walk from marina and a fair curry in a place behind the dock road.
Then Eastbourne, the tides mean arriving late and leaving early. Brighton, long way from town.
 
Just done it! Ramsgate is the last bastion of unreconstructed municipal jobsworths with the rudest and most unhelpful marina staff between Ipswich and the Solent. I like town itself- a gem of Georgian and early Victorian architecture with some good places to eat and drink. If it was in France it would be a very chic destination for the Parisian middle class. Brighton has very helpful staff, excellent showers and a supermarket within a few minutes walk of the marina. Loads of great places to eat in the town and some excellent pubs selling Harveys, better even than Adnams! It's a slog from Ramsgate to Brighton but it's always satisfying to get round Beachy Head so I tend not to stop in Eastbourne.

Chichester has a good anchorage just inside the entrance. the Solent is lovely machine but completely insane at weekends- Cowes is like a washing machine! And it's bloody expensive!
 
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