What is it like sailing from Langstone Harbour?

Zagato

Zagato

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I am considering a mooring in Langstone Harbour and just wondered what the "low down" is with the narrow entrance etc. Is it worth paying £400 more for Emsworth or Nutbourne channel when you are on a very tight budget?

Thanks in advance
Chris
 
Zagato said:
I am considering a mooring in Langstone Harbour and just wondered what the "low down" is with the narrow entrance etc. Is it worth paying £400 more for Emsworth or Nutbourne channel when you are on a very tight budget?

Thanks in advance
Chris
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I kept a boat at Southsea Marina many moons ago. Don't remember any special problems with the harbour entrance, except that the tidal stream is formidable on both the flood and the ebb. But as far as I remember you just make for Langstone Fairway, taking appropriate consideration of the submarine barrier/Winner Sands and then it was a straight and obvious run in from there for me until the channel that goes to the marina - which had a few wiggles in it but nothing too demanding.

I remember entering and leaving at night, on one memorable occastion going out for a blast when the wind was blowing about 38 kts (must have been mad in those days), getting in in fog, sometimes arriving back around low water (not over the marina cill though) and I'm still here to tell the tale, so the entrance can't have been too bad ;-). Apart from the need to get timing right to avoid being stopped by the tidal stream, not too much to worry about.

No idea what the different mooring areas are like though.
 
The entrance is adequately wide for a Folkboat .. small ships even. It's deeper than Chichester but the tide runs faster.

Chichester is a nicer place, I think. Nice enough to potter around for a weekend or even longer and no ships but big dinghy racing fleets in parts on weekends.

Both are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Chichester is also an Area of Outstanding Natural beauty.

On a tight budget save £400 by taking a mooring in Langstone. Visit Chichester as one of the nice places to go. ( No dues to pay if you are a paid up Langstone Harbour user)
 
Langstone mooring

Are you considering Southsea Marina with its tidal restrictions or a Harbour Board mooring? Sadly the latter have a track record of boats being vandalised by yobs from Pompey.
You have been warned!
 
Hi
It is not a very pretty place. The tide does really move in the channel but it is not so frightening as Chi at its worst, plenty of deep water and the entrance is a bit more sheltered than Chi. If you are not in the marina it may be a bit difficult finding somewhere to park and keep the dinghy etc. There is a flourishing club on the Pompey side of the entrance channel. It looks like a big harbour but when the tide is out there is an awful lot of mud.
 
Tom Price said:
Are you considering Southsea Marina with its tidal restrictions or a Harbour Board mooring? Sadly the latter have a track record of boats being vandalised by yobs from Pompey.
You have been warned!
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Thanks for the replies, Southsea Marina is to expensive for me so a harbour mooring is what I am looking at with roughly a mile to get to the boat. I would have to buy a bigger tender and outboard also. I am used to rowing to moorings in Falmouth with a little inflatable, the hassle of another engine and cost is putting me off.

If I get into Emsworth or Nutbourne I may be able to row hopefully!

I really don't want my boat to be vandalised either - thanks for the heads up on that! :eek:
 
Zagato said:
I am considering a mooring in Langstone Harbour and just wondered what the "low down" is with the narrow entrance etc. Is it worth paying £400 more for Emsworth or Nutbourne channel when you are on a very tight budget?

Thanks in advance
Chris
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On balance I would say yes it is worth the extra to go to Emsworth, unless you really can not find the extra £400. Vandalism has already been mentioned and is sadly definitely an issue, particularly if you are up the top near Havant and the ill omened Flea -sorry, Leigh Park estate. The entrance is straightforward but has a wicked tide through it, so you need a good powerful engine. Also you have to run the gauntlet of another set of yobs on PWCs who delight in 'swamping' passing yots.

Add to that the effluent from Havant sewage works, and the mix is altogether a bit unsavoury. Only £400 less than Emsworth doesnt sound like a worthwhile saving to me.
 
If I get into Emsworth or Nutbourne I may be able to row hopefully!
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I dont know where you would be looking at to keep a dinghy for access to the Nutbourne moorings. I think there is still an arrangement with Thornham marina. That would be about a mile to the nearest of the Nutbourne moorings, somewhat further to the higher, and more likely to be available, ones

Alternatively you could keep a dinghy on the chains by "the cuts". It would be nearer but still about a mile to the higher moorings. The downside is that you cannot get a car close to them and you have to pay for an annual licence to use them on top of the licence for the dinghy.
 
PWC Hell!

As with previous posters, don't underestimate a) the strength of the tide and b) what a pain in the arse the legions of PWCs that launch from the Ferry Boat Inn slipway can be.

I'm with others. IMO £400 a year is a small price to pay for a harbour where your boat and its contents are still likely to be there when you get to it, you can happily spend a whole weekend exploring without passing Eastoke PHM and best of all PWCs are banned!

Emsworth is great. We have a Sadler 26 fin (a bit like a modern Folkboat) on a 3/4 tide mooring up Emsworth Channel. She sits quite happily into her own hole in the soft mud most tides and even on big springs when she lays over a bit she always comes back up with no drama. I can't guarantee the same would happen with a Folkboat but it would most likely be fine.
 
I've nosed around there...

On the shore near the neck on Hayling, drove around a bit, walked a bit, and saw the locals. Ummm, not up to the rest of Chichester area in any way, to put it bluntly. Actually, it's ****. I wouldn't want my kids walking around there.

Emmsworth, on the other hand, is one of the nicer small town in the South Coast, with notable things for your other half and kids to do while you may be working on the boat. Quite a lot of them. And a lot safer.

Also, if you are thinking of a remote mooring, may I suggest an idea I read in a book or mag recently, about building yourself a checked-steel plated or aluminum-sheet washboard? Something a whole lot more sturdier and fearsome looking than the average wooden one which most yobs can kick in, cut, or pry? Combine that with a very solid bolt mount and high-security lock, and you may breathe easier. You can always leave the metal plated washboard in your tender (attached with a line in case it swamps!) at your mooring, and take the nice wooden ones sailing.

N.B. - with regards to Langston, the ONLY exception I would make is the Langston Sailing Club, right before the bridge to Hayling Island. If you can get a mooring near them and store your tender there, THAT part of Hayling is very nice. But the part near the mouth...ugh.
 
Sounds perfectly charming in Langstone. Perhaps a small gunship would be more appropriate and the thought of having to catch the surf out surrounded by turds is definitely a no,no! :eek:

Emsworth or Nutbourne it will be. ;)
 
Between PWCs and water skiers it is the noisiest bit of water on the South Coast. At least it has the virtue of concentrating most of them in the same place so the rest of us can get a little peace.
 
Zagato said:
Sounds perfectly charming in Langstone. Perhaps a small gunship would be more appropriate and the thought of having to catch the surf out surrounded by turds is definitely a no,no! :eek:

Emsworth or Nutbourne it will be. ;)
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Costs..........
I would be interested to know your expected/hoped-for outlay, for both winter lay-up and summer mooring.
 
chriscallender said:
Don't remember any special problems with the harbour entrance, except that the tidal stream is formidable on both the flood and the ebb.
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That would be my worry but at 4HP I don't have the engine punch to get me through the harbour entrance against the tide...

I'm assuming your mooring is going to be tidal - so to go anywhere you'll be against that flow both ways....
 
Fantasie 19 said:
That would be my worry but at 4HP I don't have the engine punch to get me through the harbour entrance against the tide...

I'm assuming your mooring is going to be tidal - so to go anywhere you'll be against that flow both ways....
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I'm starting a post on this on Scuttlebutt 'cos with a tidal mooring myself planning does give me the odd headache.
 
Scotty_Twister said:
Costs..........
I would be interested to know your expected/hoped-for outlay, for both winter lay-up and summer mooring.
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I have got winter storage down to £50 per month with the option to store longer for a year (12 months) for £600 in Chichester Harbour. The mooring I have got down to £681 in Langstone or £1050 through the conservancy in Chichester. Joining a club may lower that long term but the ones I have called don't have deep water moorings.
 
"many years ago it was...."

Places change and comments of how things were many years ago are not that helpful.

I had a berth in Southsea Marina for the last 12 months and many of the comments made are no longer valid in my experience. You do see PWCs around the harbour entrance but I have only ever seen half a dozen and then they have never bothered me. I certainly have never been "swamped" as one contributor puts it. The entrance always seems well patrolled by the harbour master.

Southsea marina no longer has a bar and hasn't done for a few years. It has a very highly regarded Indian Restaurant and a steak house.

Chichester Harbour is very nice but remember that Emsworth is probably an hour or more further away from the Solent than Langstone. Also the Chichester bar can be very dangerous in certain situations. Reeds says "Do not attempt entry in S'lt F6 or above. Bar is dredged to 1.5m, but after gales may vary +-0.75."

Hope this more useful than 10 year old comments and comments from those that are obviously prejudiced in favour of Chichester.

Incidentally I moved out of Southsea and am now in Portsmouth Harbour purely on economic grounds, otherwise I was happy in Langstone.
 
Zagato, depending on the type of boat you have, have you looked at http://www.tudorsailing.org.uk/TudorSailing/Homepage/Home1.php

They will accept bilge keel boats under 10mtrs and small fishing boats, but you may have to wait to gain a decent mooring?
I've been a member for the last 2 years and am very happy there.
Travel ffrom Worcester Park in Surrey, down the A3 and it takes about 1hr 10mins, but once Hindhead tunnel is finished, should be nearer an hour.
 
PS, as a fairly new person to sailing, I must say that some of the comments posted about Langstone here have been very negative. I have not had any issues with the PWC owners, the water ski boats or the fast flood/ebb tides in the harbour entrance.
OK, on a spring tide, you may have a bit of an issue getting in/out, but if you stay hard to the Portsmouth side of the channel, most of the tide washes around that area and creates a slack area which assists you in getting in and out. The Harbour patrola re always pleasant and helpful (unlike those in Portsmouth Harbour) and you don't have to do battle with ANY commercial shipping (with the exception of the odd dredger going in and out to Kendalls Wharf) like Pompey.
I've just had a fantastic day sail in the harbour on Saturday without any issues or problems, in fact we picked up a buoy near the harbour entrance for an hour or two for lunch and then sailed off along the channel, towards Hayling Yacht club, past the waterski pontoon. I think we saw 5 boats in the harbour all day and about a dozen dinghies!!
Or is it that everyone is dissing Langstone and keeping it quiet for themselves, in which case, no its horrible there, don't ever go there, you won't like it, etc, etc!!!
 
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