Thinking of moving to the East Coast...

Auntie Helen

Auntie Helen

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Howdy and apols for sticking my nose in here when I'm Sovereign Harbour based!

HWMBO and I are planning to move house to North Essex in the fairly near future and I've been investigating places to move our boat to on the East Coast (from Walton Backwaters to the Orwell, no lower or higher due to distance to boat issues). As we have a Cat we've found there isn't a lot of choice of places that might have space for us - one confirmed space, one reasonably possible, one not very possible and three 'no chance's.

So... those who have boats here, what do you think about Neptune Marina in Ipswich? Good place to hang out? Lots to see? Good sailing opportunities? Efficient and helpful marina staff (seem so from phone conversations so far). Bear in mind we're currently at Sovereign and I like the lively marina feel with bars, restaurants, shops nearby (Titchmarsh loses out badly on this to my mind, and that's the second option).

HWMBO is more interested in the sailing than the marina but is very experienced in the East Coast so I think doesn't mind either.

Does anyone have any experience/advice for me (apart from 'go and visit' which we're doing this Wed).

Many thanks!

MrsChellers
 
There's no need to apologise - this is a friendly place and we are always pleased to hear of people coming to their senses and moving to the east coast /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

There will someone along who has more than my visitors experience of Neptune. We didn't like the loos and showers being across the public road which particularly at night was not pleasant. You have to go out of the secure gate and in another secure gate. Whilst it is alongside the road where there are pubs and bars it is not in the same league as Sovereign (which I have only visited once) and to be honest most east coast places are quieter. If you thought Titchmarsh was quiet then you haven't been to Bradwell!

Good advice will follow from the Orwell contingent. Hope it works out.
 
Was in Neptune for 2 seasons....

pros:

-As you have spotted, very friendly staff
-Superb location for getting into Ipswich
-Very secure parking
-Quite attractive charges
-Very large lock, ensure very little chance of delays, and I guess, would make locking through in a cat a lot easier
-Very modern and clean washroom facilities
-Many excellent restaurants and pubs nearby

cons:

-A long way up the river, can take 1.5hrs from the sea
-Occasional larger stuff using the lock means that the pontoons are sometimes removed, leaving awkward chains to tie up to
-The biggy for me, it can sometimes get a bit noisy on a warm Sat night with the drunks going home..... but now the new building is under way, might not be so bad
-Is the building work completed?... if not, then dust/mess might be an issue
-Often rubbish collects in the water in the Neptune corner.... can get a bit unpleasant, with things floating in the water that you'd rather not be seeing...
-As Roger points out above, the facilities mean leaving the secure marina to cross the road
-Restricted time ashore... if you want to lift for the winter, then you'll need to go elsewhere....

Overall, we enjoyed Neptune... it wasn't quite for us, but its not a bad place to be...
 
Thanks for these two comments chaps, all helpful food for thought.

The 1.5 hours from the sea, is this sailing up rather than motoring up? I thought it was 45 mins to 1 hour to the sea, but that might be under engine.

Any more comments or anything else to look out for when we trot up there on Wednesday (I note the dust and building site situation)?

MrsChellers
 
Depends upon the quality/power of your engine..... its about 8nm from open water to the wet dock lock, so with the tide against you (best planned against, but hey... the best layed plans......./forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) it can be 1.5hr.... in fairness, we've also had lovely warm summer evenings, with 10kts of wind, where we've thoroughly enjoyed the gentle sail back up the river.... the Orwell is exceptionally pretty....
and in contrast, at 2 o'clock in the morning, in the pouring rain after a long north sea crossing, its less than appealing..../forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Yep, no room for a fat cat like ours! We'll probably look at that one on Wednesday as well just in case appearing in person makes a berth more likely.

We visited Suffolk Yacht Harbour a few years ago for an overnight visit and rather liked it - but they have a 5 year waiting list and even then said they didn't think they'd have room for a cat /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Wherever we go may well be a stop-gap for a year as we'll get on other waiting lists if other places seem more appealing, but we thought that about Sovereign Harbour and really liked it so chose to stay when the original plan was to move to Chatham.
 
Might be worth checking Shotley - there's certainly one Prout 34 there, so the precedent has been set... The advantage here is that you are a lot closer to the sea than up the Orwell. If the weather is a bit iffy, you can stay and play in the rivers - turn left for the Orwell, right for the Stour.

The lock is a lot smaller than that into the Ipswich wet dock, so you might find yourselves breathing in as you enter. Also, at busy times (e.g. 4.00pm - 6.00pm Sundays) there can be a queue for the lock, maybe up to an hour depending on the state of the tide and therefore the lock cycling time.

Showers etc are good (plus baths if you fancy one!). The onsite eating at the Shipwreck is OK (but improving , I think). A couple of hundred yards away is the Bristol Arms, which has played host to East Coast Scuttlebutters on a number of occasions, and serves fine food and ales. A more rural location than the urban surrounds of the Wet Dock, with consequent benefits of security, noise etc.

As you might deduce, Stargazer is based there, as is the good ship Morgana.
If you want any more info, ask either of us.
 
Dear MrsChellers,
Try the Haven Marina, we have a grand bunch of people here, talk to HM John Baldry about his time in the RN, he is a good bloke, appears gruff to start but soon lightens up. We have a yacht club just started, a high class resturaunt, excellent showers, laundret, chandlry and boat sales, travel hoist to 70 tons, hard standing and just a short walk from town. Security is questionable in Neptune but OK in Haven with 24hr security patrols and many livaboards.
You will certainly notice the mooring fees are less, I think. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi Stargazer,

Thanks for your suggestion but unfortunately Shotley have no room at the moment. Our previous boat Tante Helena moved to there and we've visited her at Shotley and liked it. Although the fact that they charge 1.5 times length for a Cat, and others don't, also makes Shotley less appealing, even if they did have a space for us! We may try for their waiting list and arguing that we should be charged single rate if they can fit us in a shallow/awkward spot that wouldn't work for a monohull but I don't hold out that much hope!
 
Hi BoyBlue49

We'll probably trot over to The Haven marina on Wednesday when we visit Neptune. Unfortunately they don't have any space at the moment although they charge the same as monohulls for cats so their prices are fine.

I suppose what I'm really wondering is how likely it is that spaces will come up in these places with no slots at present. Our contract at Sovereign doesn't finish until early June. If I thought it likely we'd get a space at The Haven or somewhere else nicer (Shotley, but without the price mark-up!) I'd be happy to wait for them; but if it's unlikely and the space at Neptune is gone by then we might be a bit stuck. If anyone wants to hazard a guess at how likely boats are to leave and free up spaces, I'd love to hear it!
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
they charge 1.5 times length for a Cat

[/ QUOTE ]

You could always get rid of the half of your boat that you don't really need /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]As you'll see from the avatar the engine nacelle is almost like a third hull... so if I got rid of that bit I'd be down to a twin hull. Purrfect!
 
We're in Neptune for the winter - can echo all that others have said - good staff and friendly - all tide access (not always the case on the East Coast although in a cat you're probably not deep drafted). Would recommend it.

Simon
 
It has been very dusty at Neptune this year. The building at Neptune is due to be complete by June (students moving in then). The large car park on the East side has had it's planning permission turned down apparently as the regs have changed since the recent risk of flooding. So shouldn't be as dirty this year from June.

The staff are great, but it is a lonnnng treck to the sea. Although I find both the industrial side and then the whole Orwell such an interesting and nice river that I usually don't mind. If I want to go further afield I usually head down and moor near SYH for the night before my trip.

Whilst there are bars and restaurants, they are not "boaty" so there is no "club" like atmosphere. (Coffee shop at Neptune is very friendly)

I find the lock ranges from very frustrating to amazingly accommodating. eg. I have waited as long as 30 mins to enter the lock, where as just before Christmas, the lock keeper asked when we would be back as no one else was out so he would make sure it was all ready for us! Great service /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Do you suffer from rowdies chucking bottles at your boat, as I understand can happen? And do you really have to cross a road to use the loo?

Is there any cross-yachtiness with people at Ipswich Haven or does each person keep to their own side of the dock?

Thanks again folks for all the comments, keep 'em coming!
 
[ QUOTE ]

We visited Suffolk Yacht Harbour a few years ago for an overnight visit and rather liked it - but they have a 5 year waiting list and even then said they didn't think they'd have room for a cat /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Getting a pontoon berth at SYH for the summer is not easy.
Moorings, however...

We do summer on a mooring, winter pontoon berth - and they've always been able to put us up.
 
Yes you do have to cross the road. Look at their home page http://www.neptune-marina.com/ - the loos and showers are in the yard next to the tall building on the right of the photo and the road runs in between. Also see here
layout-new.gif


Oops sorry that was a bit larger than I thought /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
That's helpful, thankyou, Mr Sabre. We were playing with Google Maps trying to work out what a toilet block looks like from overhead and not doing very well. We had that plan but it just has arrows for the loos which don't tell you how far away they are. Well we have a holding tank so it's not the end of the world - but do they have pump out???
 
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