Thames Anchoring

[med_nauticat42]

As a newcomer to the Thames but as an ex Med liveaboard it struck me that one solution to the shortage of overnight moorings would be to anchor.

Does anyone have experience of anchoring on the non tidal Thames?

Is this practical/possible/legal?

If so where are the best places and what are the pitfalls?

 

[Medskipper]

Its not very practical on most of the Thames, however I used to anchor on a regular basis when on the Thames at the cookham reach. There are some small islands there and I always anchored just downstream of one or two of the central islands. To stop the boat swinging and causing problems when there was passing traffic I always dropped mud weights at the stern port and starboard. When the man came round in his dinghy to collect the dues for boats moored he always looked at my boat but never asked for money!

Barry

 

[ms1]

in 8 years I have only even seen one boat at Anchor (at Pangbourne) . I believe that, provided your location is sensible and not a danger/obstruction to other users, you can pretty much anchor where you like on the non tidal Thames.

Most people of course want/expect to go ashore and few carry dinghies so this may explain why they look to their mooring pins rather than their anchor.

 

[Brayman]

Weir streams are good places to moor to avoid passing traffic, not so good for getting ashore though. One of the attractions of the thames is being able to visit a pub or two so anchoring is more of a novelty than the norm.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

ISTR that there is a right to anchor "out of the channel", lovely vague phrase, for up to 24 hours. I've seen boats at anchor, fishing, but never done it myself. As another poster says, near an island is pretty out of the way.

 

[TrueBlue]

Anchoring in the Thames - I'm glad to say (otherwise everyone will want to do it) - is not a popular activity, but EA bylaws say you can provided you don't obstruct the channel (as Martin101 says).

There are loads of places where you can anchor, but mostly upstream of (say) Windsor, some adjacent to islands, some in weir streams (downstream of -). We do it a lot in high season when all popular moorings are full of boats.

Wen the river is in flow (Reds or Yellows) - an increasing occurrence in past years, you should make sure that your anchor is large enough for the increased drag.

 

[Nat]

Many years ago I always used to anchor on the Thames close in to the islands. I think it was Cookham reach or Pangbourn cant remember for sure. there was also a red brick railway bridge just downstream. the pike fishing at these two spots was fantastic & I regularly stayed overnight & no one ever complained. however this was some 20 years ago.
Best mud anchor was a commercial vehicle flywheel, god did it hold practically impossible for two of us to break the suction. I can still remember the smell & sound of bacon cooking as a fine shroud of mist hovered over the river just after dawn.

 

[Cliveshep]

We prefer to moor away from people/other boats where possible and with moorings often crowded or, even worse 'cos we're tight-wads, chargeable, we habitually anchor all up and down the non-tidal Thames. We try to do this on the windward side so we don't get blown into trees, use our main anchor off the bow and a spare anchor off the stern so we don't swing about into the channel. Otherwise, we also anchor out of the channel so night passage-makers don't bump into us, generally in a wider section of river where possible, and sometimes only ten feet or so from the side. This also allows us to overnight in a scenic stretch of river which has banks too shallow to moor against, or full of trees etc.

We used to hang a parrafin hurricane lamp off the mast at night 'till it sprung a leak, I'm reluctant to turn on the masthead anchor light because the reflection is visible off the decks into the cabins and I worry about flattening my battery. Now we just lay close in in the dark!

Weir streams can be good as little traffic but often the stream runs hard and the main river is wide enough right up through Oxfordshire to anchoro out of the way. Go for it!

 

[pheran]

On the question of avoiding mooring charges (and ignoring the practical difficulties of collection) is it not true that the riparian owner could still demand payment even if you are anchored off? Any one care to comment?
Where charges are made, they still seem to want your money even if you are rafted out three deep!

 

[pheran]

Ever thought of using one of these solar garden light thinggies as your anchor light?
Saw one on a boat recently - clearly no threat to the battery!

 

[Cliveshep]

That's a cracking idea, I'll look out for one, thanks.

Pheran,

With regard to Riparian owners, if they stand on the bank and demand money for an anchored boat I suppose you could always tell them to jump in and come and get it!

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Riparian Anchoring

Either there was another thread on this topic a while ago and/or I consulted an EA navigation office, either way the considered opinion was "no", the owner couldn't charge. Quite frankly I don't understand the theoretical logic, but there may be a legal precedent in that one's anchor line is going through EA's water first(?illogical?)

In any event it's terribly academic, 'cos:-

Firstly,you're not likely to drop your hook off an established fee paying mooring and,

Secondly if you're anchoring it's probably because you can't get to the bankside to moor - therefore it's not likely that the aforesaid bank would be wanting to charge a fee...

The other matter that bothered me is whether or not one is bound to show a light when so moored. Methinks the bylaws say Nav lights... when underway. Even so has anyone seen an Inspector at night??

 

[boatone]

Re: Riparian Anchoring

[ QUOTE ]
Even so has anyone seen an Inspector at night??

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't often see 'em during the day.......

 

[Brayman]

Re: Riparian Anchoring

It's not so much an inspector at night but if someone collides with your vessel during the night and you aren't showing the correct lights, your insurance company wouldn't be too pleased with you.