Ventnor Marina

[richardabeattie]

Their website shows a tiny drying harbour with rugged rocks right round it and a picture of great waves crashing throught he entrance. The latest post I can find on this forum seems to be over 5 years old. So what is the current stuation? Has it been expanded and made more practical or is it still a place to avoid?

 

[catalac08]

I had a look at this from the shore last year (when having a tour around the botanical gardens) with a view to a visit sometime- yes it is very small, pretty unprotected from anything with south in it and chock full of local day/fishing motor boats last summer. You would be very pushed to get a yacht of any size over about 20ft in there in there, if that was a typical day there.

 

[RobBrown]

I think they have recently put some visitors' mooring buoys in though, a little outside the harbour itself, so may be ok for a short stop in settled weather.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Their website shows a tiny drying harbour with rugged rocks right round it and a picture of great waves crashing throught he entrance. The latest post I can find on this forum seems to be over 5 years old. So what is the current stuation? Has it been expanded and made more practical or is it still a place to avoid?

Service Description: Ventnor Haven is a small fair weather haven situated on the seafront at Ventnor. There are a small number visitors moorings within the haven and currently 4 offshore moorings situated in deep water (during the summer months only). The best way to find out about the availability of moorings, inside the haven as well as outside is to contact our Supervising Harbourmaster on 07976 009260.

http://www.iwight.com/council/publicservices/serviceDetail.aspx?servID=1896​

VISITOR’S MOORINGS
Only limited space is available within the Haven on a first come first serve basis.

The Haven dries at low tide so it is most suited to Ribs and small craft . It is not suitable for yachts or bigger craft which cannot dry out.

http://www.oceanbluequay.co.uk/haven/view/haven_facilities/​

 

[l'escargot]

Their website shows a tiny drying harbour with rugged rocks right round it and a picture of great waves crashing throught he entrance. The latest post I can find on this forum seems to be over 5 years old. So what is the current stuation? Has it been expanded and made more practical or is it still a place to avoid?

Don't bother. There is even less room in their now than there was 5 years ago - it is almost totally occupied by a fish processing facility which has been extended out into the middle of the harbour on a jetty along with a pontoon for the associated fishing boats which have even rendered the slipway of little use. The cynical may say that it was never intended for use by pleasure boats and was provide for the almost exclusive use of the local fisherman dynasty.

 

[bob26]

Don't bother. There is even less room in their now than there was 5 years ago - it is almost totally occupied by a fish processing facility which has been extended out into the middle of the harbour on a jetty along with a pontoon for the associated fishing boats which have even rendered the slipway of little use. The cynical may say that it was never intended for use by pleasure boats and was provide for the almost exclusive use of the local fisherman dynasty.

I don't think you need to be all that cynical to say this....it seems that was the main point of it according to the website:

"One of the original criteria of the Haven was to provide a safe haven from which the local shellfish industry could operate from. Prior to the completion of the Haven, fishing vessels worked from Ventnor Beach.

Fishing was limited, not by the boats capability to withstand big seas, but by the ability to launch each day from a surf beach. During winter swells, fishing would grind to a halt as boats were stuck on the beach for weeks.

Ventnor Haven improved the efficiency of the local shellfish industry with the construction of the Fish Pier in 2007. Tonnage of fish landed at Ventnor now far exceeds many other ports and harbours on the south coast of England. ..."

 

[l'escargot]

I don't think you need to be all that cynical to say this....it seems that was the main point of it according to the website:

"One of the original criteria of the Haven was to provide a safe haven from which the local shellfish industry could operate from. Prior to the completion of the Haven, fishing vessels worked from Ventnor Beach.

Fishing was limited, not by the boats capability to withstand big seas, but by the ability to launch each day from a surf beach. During winter swells, fishing would grind to a halt as boats were stuck on the beach for weeks.

Ventnor Haven improved the efficiency of the local shellfish industry with the construction of the Fish Pier in 2007. Tonnage of fish landed at Ventnor now far exceeds many other ports and harbours on the south coast of England. ..."

Note "One of...". The basis of the EU money was that it also served pleasure craft. It has now effectively been handed over to the fishermen on a rent that is shall we say lower than one would expect for such a commercial exercise. The website is a commercial one connected to the current operators so probably reflects a certain view as well. If you were in any way familiar with Isle of Wight politics and various family inter connections I think you would be equally cynical.

 

[bob26]

Note "One of...". The basis of the EU money was that it also served pleasure craft. It has now effectively been handed over to the fishermen on a rent that is shall we say lower than one would expect for such a commercial exercise. The website is a commercial one connected to the current operators so probably reflects a certain view as well. If you were in any way familiar with Isle of Wight politics and various family inter connections I think you would be equally cynical.

I see....

 

[JackFrobisher]

Ventnor Haven

The last time we went there the deep water buoys had not been relaid because the council did not have enough money to pay for them. This was last August. We have stayed in the haven a couple of times (twin keel) and it's good as a quick overnight stop on the way south as long as the tides are right (it dries, soft sandy bottom). It also smells - I think it is built round a little stream and there's a lot of decaying organic matter in the sand.

It's worth a look but it would be as well to check with the Harbour Master before you try it. The last time we spoke to him he said that " ... anchoring in Sandown Bay is very nice".

 

[fireball]

Note "One of...". The basis of the EU money was that it also served pleasure craft. It has now effectively been handed over to the fishermen on a rent that is shall we say lower than one would expect for such a commercial exercise. The website is a commercial one connected to the current operators so probably reflects a certain view as well. If you were in any way familiar with Isle of Wight politics and various family inter connections I think you would be equally cynical.

Whilst I can see your cynicism - I can't help but think that it is actually a good thing that there is a 'haven' primarily there for commercial fishing that seems to have been funded (at least partly) by the EU - in the UK we seem to expect companies to be able to pay for everything plus a bit more - where as at least some need 'our' support in order for them to remain in business - whether the Ventor fishermen fall into that category I don't know - but there are plenty of business in the UK that have either gone to the wall or sold out for want of a little bit of central support.

Btw - if Venor haven smells then you can keep it - I can get that from my own mooring at low water!

 

[l'escargot]

Whilst I can see your cynicism - I can't help but think that it is actually a good thing that there is a 'haven' primarily there for commercial fishing that seems to have been funded (at least partly) by the EU - in the UK we seem to expect companies to be able to pay for everything plus a bit more - where as at least some need 'our' support in order for them to remain in business - whether the Ventor fishermen fall into that category I don't know - but there are plenty of business in the UK that have either gone to the wall or sold out for want of a little bit of central support.

Btw - if Venor haven smells then you can keep it - I can get that from my own mooring at low water!

But what a missed opportunity - many businesses could have benefited if the haven had been made large enough to accommodate a significant number of pleasure boats. How many more people would have a sail around the island with an overnight stop half way round? How many would use it as a starting or stop off point for a x channel? There is nothing else along the back of the island anticlockwise between Yarmouth and Bembridge (or if you miss the tide - Cowes) Ventnor is a pleasant town but past it's best, it could have provided a new venue for the weekend boater and given the town a new lease of life.

 

[Mark-1]

Whilst I can see your cynicism - I can't help but think that it is actually a good thing that there is a 'haven' primarily there for commercial fishing that seems to have been funded (at least partly) by the EU

+1.

 

[rjcoles]

When I was there last week they were digging it out (bucket & shovel) it was that silted...

 

[Pleiades]

Ventnor

Had a look at Ventnor in April. Certainly not a port of call for larger yachts but worth a visit in fair weather for ribs and small craft. I was there on a falling tide so didn't get in any further than this:-

Could anchor off and pop in by dingy for an ice cream but fast tides mean that a good outboard would be necessary to get you back safely to the mothership.
No yacht masts visible - and no visitor bouys!

Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5

 

[Boo2]

Their website shows a tiny drying harbour with rugged rocks right round it and a picture of great waves crashing throught he entrance.

Where ?

Boo2

 

[VicS]

Where ?

All the info HERE

 

[l'escargot]

This was taken in 2005 before the fish processing plant was built in the middle and before it silted up - it wasn't even low tide and the seagulls could walk across the entrance:

 

[Greenheart]

Sound idea, only half-done.

I was always very fond of Ventnor and glad when any port proposed offering a stopping place on the island's south side. From there to Barfleur (east of Cherbourg) is barely 60 miles, practically due south...within the adventurous dinghy sailor's daylight range, assuming an early start and staying clear of ferries!

Wasn't the haven built on the remains of the old Victorian iron pier? I remember the repeated attempts to demolish it, back in the 'eighties...each time the smoke of the explosion cleared, it was still there! Nice town with a good pub and supermarket, and very nice little places for meals along the front. I had my breakfast outside, there, every day of a week's stay in mid-November, in 1996. Average temperature was 17 celsius!

Great shame if the scale of the harbour development, and the town's fortunes (which might thereby improve greatly), have been limited by lack of funding. A decent, dredged, deep-water 'outer' section with pontoons, could be a big hit, and the vicinity holds no competitors at all.

I wonder whether those whopping great rocks have shifted since being banked-up against the waves? If the mode of construction is reliable, a much bigger build-on could presumably offer safety to deep keelers...though some overlap in the barrage, to prevent big swells coming in, would seem an obvious step. Did the planners suppose the wind never blows from the east?

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Ventnor Haven

Good advice in previous threads for those wanting to go there.

We go to Ventnor almost every week by land. I wouldn't ever consider taking anything apart from a shallow draft twin keel or a rib in there.

Whatever the history, I like the place. Best fresh fish shop on the isle of Wight, and they are unique in that they not only catch the stuff but will also fry it for you and serve it with chips - all on site!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Ventnor would have been better served (IMO) by reopening the railway