Watchet IS OPEN to visiting boats

[ribdriver]

Just got back from having a sneaky beer with the guys from Watchet marina, and they mentioned they had a phone call today from someone in Portishead who had heard a rumour that due to silting, Watchet is currently closed to visiting boats.

Said I'd put a post up here, confirming that Watchet is most definately open to anyone and everyone. Yes they do have a silting problem that is worse than previous years due to winter weather and there are some areas (but not much) that currently dries at low tide/when the gate is shut, but they have not closed the marina. Far from it, they are welcoming visiting boats as per usual.

They have the dredging company in during mid May - earliest they can get them as apparently they are not the only marina in the UK in this position, and in the meantime and in the future they are trying to shift what they can in other ways, although again the weather seems to be against them somewhat.

So don't stay away! The more income they get, the more they can pour back into dredging?! (and I mean pour - I found out what they are roughly having to spend each year, and it's a tad frightening!)

 

[Mymobo]

Just don't enter just after the gate opens. Wait atleast an hour. On springs enter near high tide.

 

[Morpheous]

I confess!

The caller from Portishead was me! Our plan was to head down this morning, I mentioned this to a well respected member of the motor boating community at Portishead and he advised that I should call first. So I did. And it's fine.

The weather is not looking that favourable so we are currently reviewing the situation. The evening gate opening won't be much fun from Portishead - taking a big spring on the nose so we are thinking we will head over to Cardiff at lunchtime and then if the wind drops as forecast we may head to Watchet to get there for 8 ish. This should be roughly an hour after the gate opens. I have been in before so have the currents!

 

[graham]

Just don't enter just after the gate opens. Wait atleast an hour. On springs enter near high tide.

I agree not to go in immediately but have entered several times only waiting about 15 or 20 minutes and its been OK.

You need to keep enough way on to have good steerage.I think the problem occurs when people try to go through too slow and the cross current catches them.

 

[kds]

The only problem I had when entering on the green light, was meeting a stream of motor boats leaving against their red light for a quick trip back to Cardiff. They would have been more nervous if they knew how unpredictable my yacht is in reverse !!

 

[PCUK]

We certainly get some thickos who think the lights are just there for decoration. A costly exercise if you smash someones boat while going through against the lights!

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Went to Watchet this weekend. Yes it is open but boy is it silted up.No more than an hour an a half after high water ( neap tide) a bilge keeler ran aground half way up the pontoon B.

As a fin ( only 6 ft) we had to move to B hammerhead at 0330 to be sure we could get out 1 3/4 hrs before HW the following after noon.

So if you are going down river - no problem. If going back up river bear this in mind when deciding on a berth to use.

Dredging scheduled for a months time I believe.

 

[Cardiffcruiser]

I was there last week and the had started dredging. Looks like a big job though!

 

[Bosun Higgs]

What you are thinking of Cardiff Cruiser, is the little digger / barge they have. Apparently it wont touch the main job for which they have to pay serious money and bring in a big contractor once he's finished off a similar job at Portishead.

Its truly amazing the amount of silt that is carried in on the tide. At low water, half the marina area had dried.

 

[Cardiffcruiser]

What you are thinking of Cardiff Cruiser, is the little digger / barge they have. Apparently it wont touch the main job for which they have to pay serious money and bring in a big contractor once he's finished off a similar job at Portishead.

Its truly amazing the amount of silt that is carried in on the tide. At low water, half the marina area had dried.

Yeah it was a barge with a digger onboard - though it would have an up hill struggle with all that mud!

 

[Morpheous]

Although we got in and out alright we did notice we pretty stable in the water - a suprising lack of rolling considering the wind. Sure enough bow on the bottom. Very soft, no problems except seacocks full of mud - next time we flushed the toilet all we got through was mud. Took ages to clean out.

 

[PCUK]

Best not to use toilets in the marina!!!
The long term solution to the silting problem is a training wall outside the harbour entrance but management don't seem to understand the concept! Probably get an EU
grant as well - be nice get something back from that Belgian tw*t!

 

[Morpheous]

Naturally one doesn't the toilet in a marina (not for anything serious anyway). However we frequently flush it to stop the water going stale and smelly. Life is a learning experience as they say, and the lesson learned here is that if there is any danger of settling in mud, make sure the seacocks are closed.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

The long term solution to the silting problem is a training wall outside the harbour entrance

Cant see how that would make any difference since the mud is clearly being carried into the marina in suspension with the tide and gradually dropping out of suspension thereafter. The answer would have been locking but the cost would have made it impractical

Makes you wonder what might happen at Cardiff bay though. OK the mud doesnt come in from the sea but it is washed down the rivers. And yopu cant get a serious dredger into the bay.

 

[Morpheous]

Apparently there had been a suggestion that the river should have run out through the harbour but for some reason this was not done.

 

[Mymobo]

Although we got in and out alright we did notice we pretty stable in the water - a suprising lack of rolling considering the wind. Sure enough bow on the bottom. Very soft, no problems except seacocks full of mud - next time we flushed the toilet all we got through was mud. Took ages to clean out.

Where was your berth? Don't fancy running out of water under the hull.

 

[Morpheous]

We were about half way down the visitor section on C. We weren't fully aground, I think the bow section was just in the mud, my seacocks are quite forward. It is pretty much liquid. Won't put me off going back. I was given the option of staying on the hammerhead of B, but he didn't think there was a spare socket there for us.

 

[Madhatter]

Always been a problem, always will be, more so since the conversion to a marina !!
Will say no more.

 

[Mymobo]

We were about half way down the visitor section on C. We weren't fully aground, I think the bow section was just in the mud, my seacocks are quite forward. It is pretty much liquid. Won't put me off going back. I was given the option of staying on the hammerhead of B, but he didn't think there was a spare socket there for us.

Thanks for the heads up I am sure we will pop in soon. We have been before as
you know but will make sure we can stay afloat.

 

[Allan]

I went to a marina in France that had previously had a silting problem. They cured the problem with a series of airpipes dropped into the mud, these had jets spaced along their length and produced what looked like a lomg thin hot tub. The action of the bubbles is used to put the silt back into suspension while the tide is dropping, thus taking it out the way it came in. Not sure if this would work in Watchet but they need something. A yacht from CYC was stuck on the pontoon A hammerhead last week.
Allan