Swanage

[Judders]

What is the holding and shelter like?

I've just had a meeting about a case there and it got me thinking it might make a nice port of call?

 

[shmoo]

We spent 4 or 5 days there in what passed for summer last year. We were east of most of the moorings and several folks came and anchored inside us so we were quite a way out. Reasonable shelter getting out of the dingy around the slipways. Wind never went above 4 so can't speak for holding.

 

[jamesjermain]

Holding OK but not brilliant. Shelter good from SW to NW BUT...

Don't anchor there if there is any danger of winds from N through to S, and particularly NE to SE, of more than F4.

We ignored this advice on my first ever cruise with our eldest daughter, Katie, then aged six months, and spent one of the worst night of my life in an easterly F6

 

[Robin]

[ QUOTE ]
We ignored this advice on my first ever cruise with our eldest daughter, Katie, then aged six months, and spent one of the worst night of my life in an easterly F6

[/ QUOTE ]

Just shows how good the holding is if you sat out an easterly F6 there!

We only anchor there overnight in winds with west in them. The holding is good enough in hard sand if the anchor is dug in properly and isn't just hooked on that bit of eel grass with the seahorse hidden behind it. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[jamesjermain]

I didn't say we didn't drag. As I recall, we had to reset the anchor twice but it was nearly 40 years ago.

 

[tom52]

Like almost everywhere else on the south coast anchoring possibilities now severely limited by proliferating swing moorings.

 

[fantasia7628]

In an easterly, you can always pop around the corner to anchor in Chapmans Pool. One of our favourite spots, with a great cliff walk up to the Square and Compasses at Worth Matravers. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[mollyoxford]

We stayed 2 nights in June. It was very light from W/NW and we 'parked up' a bit off from the moorings - took me a while to row ashore to the slip/steps. Seemed OK to leave the dinghy - at least ours was still there when we got back!

I liked the place a lot! Lovely proper seaside town and pretty good for getting everything we needed to cure some engine probs). There's a Tesco's in town for supplies/beers. And some rather good seafood

 

[ribrage]

A friend of mine on Salt Dragon spent the entire summer living there at anchor, only upped the hook when the wind swung to the East.

Weve spent a few nights there with the wind from the "wrong direction" due to un expected wind shift, fortunately being a paranoid anchor er /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Id already emptied the change locker, unfortunately some others hadnt and were up in the early hours of the morning doing an anchor reset exercise so the holding isnt perfect.

There is quite a lot of Kelp/weed that you can see (and avoid ) on the sea bed, it can get quite busy ashore on the nice days,there is also the armada of beat up old hire boats that insist on buzzing around the anchored yachts.

But it still has some old charm