Time to stop Lurking

[Brucey]

Having been a lurker for a while it's time to sail. Borrowing a small yacht from Sparks Marina for the weekend and I'm looking for good moorings and places to visit around Chichester and Langstone Harbour
Help and be kind, I might post again

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[wooslehunter]

Here's some info on Chichester.

If you stay in the harbour, there are two routes from Sparkes: Emsworth channel & Ichenor Channel. To sail in the harbour you need to be 2-3 hours either side of high water otherwise the channels get a bit narrow. Not too much of a problem if you watch your depth but you can easily end up short tacking. Make sure you use a chart until you're used to where the mud-banks are.

Emsworth is nice - I would say that, it's where my mooring is & where I live. There's a visitors pontoon you have to pay for but can stay over-night. Sid on vhf ch14 is "Emsworth Mobile" and is very helpful. If you use the pontoon then he drives a ferry to take you in. There's also a small pontoon on the sea wall by the mill-pond where you can stay for 2hrs max and also get water. Blue Bell pub is just 50m up the street.

If you bear west just before the moorings start at Emsworth you get to Northney. Northney Marina has unlimitted access. Depends how much your boat draws but opposite Northney at Langstone is The Ship. Nice pub & you can just about moor on the wall there if the tide is high, you don't draw much and you don't stay too long. Take a look at the mud at low water & you'll see where the best channel is. There's also the Royal Oak 100m walk from The Ship.

The Ichenor channel can get very crowded but just across from HISC is East Point (East something anyway). This is a good anchorage with a nice beach but it does get very crowded. Further up is Ichenor village with the harbour office. I'm not too sure of the achoring regs here but there were lots of boats acnchored on the south side of the channel last weekend. I think anchoring on the north side of the channel is prohibitted. You can always get help from "Chichester Harbour Patrol" on vhf ch14. After Ichenor the channel is narrow and full of moorings but you can get up to Bosham & Chichester Marina. Haven't sailed up to Bosham yet but there's a nice pub on the foreshore. Again high water is a must.

I seem to have navigated around the pubs - I wouldn't advocate lots of beer though. Watch out for the mud & the the tide can be quite strong in places especially in the harbour entrance (very strong here). Weekday evenings are great.

If you go from Chi to Langstone be careful of the sand bands ouside the harbour entrances.

Lanstone is far less developed. There are a few visitor mooring in the entrance but the tide is VERY strong here. On the Hayling side is The Ferry pub and the Portsmouth side is Southsea Marine. Access is limitted.

Hope this is helpful.

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[tcm]

Hi Bruce

The anchorage is nice off the beach at West Wittering (er or is it east wittering? oneor the other) - popular spot but nice nonetheless. But of course yerl need a dinghy. With the fine weather you could then have beachified BBQ till late in the evening.

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[Viking]

I think you are talking about 'East head' the beach by the large lit Starboard marker? Yes excellant spot to anchor or run ashore (bilge or lifting keel - or cat of course) at high tide and leave at the next, should the tides "suit you sir!".

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[wooslehunter]

That's what I was referring to: East Head, not East Point.

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[Brucey]

Thanks very much for all your help so far. Haven't had chance to look at tides yet but will probably stay in the habour unless they (and the weather) prove very favourable.

Anymore info would be greatly received.

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[tome]

Try http://www.chimet.co.uk/default.shtm

For forecast try
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.meto.gov.uk/datafiles/offshore.html>http://www.meto.gov.uk/datafiles/offshore.html</A>

 

[oldharry]

...and if East Head is desperately crowded (it usually is), or it comes on to blow a bit and get uncomfortably lumpy, go across to the Thorney Channel, and anchor under Pilsey Island. Put down plenty of chain as the tide runs a bit, and the bottom is fairly soft, but you are much more sure of a quiet night there. Except thats the problem - there is nothing there but Pilsey island which is a bird sanctuary, and of course the army on Thorney Island a bit further up, where you are likely to be escorted away by a couple of armed squaddies for a session in the guardhouse, rather than to the pub!

You could also try going up to Bosham Quay if your boat will dry out safely alongside (bilge keelers only unless you know what you are doing), but well worth it for good watering holes, and 'Sussex at its best' - Bosham church and village being the centrepiece of the 'classic' view of Chi Harbour. (i.e. in all the guidebooks...)

Have fun. Chichester is a superb place - if alittle crowded!


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[Brucey]

A huge amount of helpfull info in those replies, ta. Not going until the 29th - 31st August which puts us on spring tides. Does that make crossing the Bar at Chichester a no go area or is it's reputation worse than the facts?

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[oldharry]

Only dodgy if there is an onshore wind of around F3+ against the ebb, when it can kick up nasty, and by the time its up to F6 downright dangerous. If conditions are at all lumpy then entry and exit on the flood before HW is really the only safe option on a spring tide although it can run at 3-4 knots (I once was swept backwards logging 5.5knots on the ebb with a lot of floodwater coming down - not a problem just now though!) There is an excellent 'live' web site at www.chimet.co.uk, which gives real time conditions on the bar, including wave height, current wind and gust speeds, and is really useful - as long as you have access to the internet on your boat! Dont try to cross near Low water, except in reasonably calm conditions, as there is only about 6 feet of water at LWS - enough to cause you to hit the bottom in the troughs.

Yes Chi Bar does have a bad reputation, and rightly so, having claimed a number of lives and boats over the years, but in normal conditions many hundreds of boats cross it each day at this time of year without any problem. Stand off and watch the boats coming and going for 10 - 15 minutes if you are unsure, and you will soon be able to decide whether you can handle it!

Oh, and don't try to cut inside north of the Beacons when approaching from the West - thats only safe if you know what you are doing, as there is very little water for the most part! Similarly some of us know how to cut across directly to East Head from the Beacon. There IS an unmarked channel (unmarked because it shifts frequently), but again its quite dodgy unless you know where the water is. Follow the marked channel in past Hayling and the Yacht Club.



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[Brucey]

Looking forward to a good weekend, taking SWMBO sailing for the first time so I hope it goes well. Anyone in the area that weekend?

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[iangrant]

Brucey,
There is plenty of places to go in Chichester, From Sparkes you can see East Head, it gets very crowded but the trick is to get there 3 hours before HW on a Saturday/Sunday as the Chichesater/Emsworth boats are still in the mud..
A good nights sleep can be had at the Visitors Moorings at Itchenor - the HM will always find somewhere for you to park but you'll need a dinghy from the swinging moorings as the water taxi stops at 1800 hrs..The ship pub a few yards up does great food but book early or take your chances eating on an outside table.
Enjoy the time in the harbour sail up to Emsworth pontoon then back to East head and up to Thorney and then back to Itchenor.
An alternative is a hop over to Bembridge if you want to "put to sea".

Ian

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