What is the worst marina/ harbour you have ever been to?

Torre del Greco in the bay of Naples in the nineties. Rec by St Rod but he'd obviously never been there!
The "ormegiatori" wore scruffy shorts and a gold necklace with a captains hat. After waving us in to a posn where local boats closed behind us, he asked me for so many lire I had trouble calculating it came to £60. There were zero facilities, in fact the mafiosi's "office" was a disused toilet!!
As he saw me hesitating, he said "at this price your boat will not be damaged sir"!! And indeed the local youths on the pier end threw stones at boats all night, but not one landed on AB. I had to stay "cos I had crew arriving. They reported that their taxi driver from Naples airport crossed himself on being asked to drive there, and insisted on dropping them at the gates!
We did not stay to visit Herculaneum!
Read all about it in "Tyrrhenian Tour 94".
 
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Gwylan said:
The stakes are rising. Fishguard, what a joy of a place. Lower Fishguard sets the bar very high, but Briton Ferry prevails.
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What's wrong with Lower Fishguard, I've only ever driven through, but the harbour looks nice:

the-harbour-at-lower.jpg
 
The most dire mooring,

Rheims, where we tied up to a traffic light! that must have been piccadilly circus.

Most smelly

Bruges in the 70s Black water that smelt if it was the content of the town septic tanks. (probably was).

Port solent.

20 quid for a couple of hours alongside!!!! Talk about rip off.

Granville dock dover in the 80s was grim as well
 
Patras- surrounded by Bars which play loud music until 05.00hrs at which time traffic to the docks starts
 
jerrytug said:
Ramsgate has got plenty of British character, I always look forward to visiting.

Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne is a terrifying post-apocalyptic nightmare from a J.G.Ballard novel, a meaningless money-farm surrounded and overlooked by vile tower-blocks, and staffed by plastic shiny-toothed zombies whose hands whip out with the speed of a lizard's tongue catching a fly when the presence of a credit card is sensed.

What are those "bunkerbuster" bombs called again?
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I could not have described Eastbourne any better. In fact I couldnt have described it as well. But it is rivalled by a number of french marinas and beaten by one - Bourgenay. Or you might like to include Newlyn for its squalid shower.
 
JFowler said:
Patras- surrounded by Bars which play loud music until 05.00hrs at which time traffic to the docks starts
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Yes awful place - met the only horrible Greek I've ever met here before I'd even stopped the boat, turds floating everywhere and generally a right moody armpit of a place. Rod Heickel does make me wonder if he visits the places in his book.....

Ramsgate is a one of my favourite destinations and don't you lot start the Queenborough bashing!
 
Ours has got to be Halcon Marine on Canvey Island where we picked up our last boat in about 2005. Access for about 30 seconds either side of a HW spring, the worse bogs I have ever seen in my life, (I worked in property management and construction for 45 years so I've seen the lot!) and best of all, shore power was a metal clad 13a socket on a pole that was only just above the HWM.
 
Lazy Kipper said:
Another vote for dire Eastbourne. Very friendly staff but endless drunks having parties in the apartments kept us awake most of the night. Slow lock, fixed lock times, no room but still they cram in. Plus in the middle of nowhere. Ramsgate to the east, Brighton to the west.
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There have been several times when i have been glad of the option to break a trip westwards at Eastboune when faced with the alternative prospect of pushing on for several more hours in order to get to Brighton.

It should win get a nomination for the most changed Marina as when I first visited there in 1998 the only buildings standing were the marina office just by the lock and the boat yard shed.
 
Hadenough said:
Ours has got to be Halcon Marine on Canvey Island where we picked up our last boat in about 2005. Access for about 30 seconds either side of a HW spring, the worse bogs I have ever seen in my life, (I worked in property management and construction for 45 years so I've seen the lot!) and best of all, shore power was a metal clad 13a socket on a pole that was only just above the HWM.
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Their website is entertaining ... the most recent "News" mentions the chancellor, Gordon Brown.
 
JumbleDuck said:
What's wrong with Lower Fishguard, I've only ever driven through, but the harbour looks nice:

the-harbour-at-lower.jpg
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Fine picture, but it flatters to deceive. Arrived in the dark, exhausted from Bristol Channel, chugged around trying to find a place to stop. Everywhere is up from there.

Someone called the police, "because we were using lights".
Interrogated at distance and under suspicion. Then one of the coppers recognised the boat as an Achilles and wanted to know everything about it.
 
howard easton said:
Or you might like to include Newlyn for its squalid shower.
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Actually I quite like Newlyn! It is what it is; a fishing harbour, very busy but all the staff and most of the fishermen are welcoming. They are attempting to accommodate yachties but do not have much money to spend on the luxuries. I have even been given fish for supper by friendly fishermen.

If you don't like it then you have the alternative of Penzance. Once again - a working harbour but with staff who go out of the way to be helpful. One morning I woke to see the sky through the deck head hatch moving rather more quickly than I expected. I leapt on deck to find the harbour launch moving us to a new berth. The crew apologised for waking me - they needed me to move but didn't want to disturb us at 7:00 am.

To me having the opportunity to berth with working seamen, receive their hospitality and be treated as an equal by them is worth any minor discomfort. And the price is good.

For my worst I am afraid Exemouth wins. It is a couple of years since I was there but that is because we decided never to go back - grossly over price, security gates not working, toilets and showers closed. It may have improved.

If you do go there entry with an incoming tide is spectacular. Tide across the narrow entrance at up to four knots with vessels tied up just inside: ferry glide into entrance. current drops to zero so you are now doing four knots and headed straight at harbour wall about two yards ahead of you.
 
KevO said:
Cambletoon...
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Oh, another painful memory. Us, a 24 foot, came roaring in with a gale up our arse and passed the lifeboat on his way out. Spent the rest of the day watching and listening to much bigger boats being towed in.

Moved to the hotel (?) up the high street for several hot baths and a bed that didn't bounce about.
 
Newlyn?

pugwash94 said:
Actually I quite like Newlyn! ur, very busy but all the staff and most of the fishermen are welcoming. They are attempting to accommodate yachties but do not have much money to spend on the luxuries. I have even been given fish for supper by friendly
.
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Our experience was much worse. Before the luxury pontoons were added.
Arrived late, instructed to raft up. Ninth boat out, next to rusting hulks.

Small hours we are awoken by noise and lots of water. Our immediate neighbour was going fishing, running his engine for the necessary 3 hours before departure and pumping his bilges over the side and onto us.

Then he cast us off so he could leave! Not a nice man!
 
Gwylan said:
Oh, another painful memory. Us, a 24 foot, came roaring in with a gale up our arse and passed the lifeboat on his way out. Spent the rest of the day watching and listening to much bigger boats being towed in.

Moved to the hotel (?) up the high street for several hot baths and a bed that didn't bounce about.
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Arrived piss-wet through on a Service Sadler 34 on a January evening having been battered stupid all the way round the mull. Heading for a shoreside shower and drink in the Royal Hotel, I stepped off onto the pontoon in the dark and slid right off the other side on a thick slimy layer of seagull ****. Made it out of the water with no fresh clean clothes left and only one deckshoe. Dragged some 'less' smelly clothes out of the dobey bag and managed to get to the hotel in one piece. The lift broke down on the way to what I think was the 4th floor, stuck for nearly an hour. Slipped over in the bath while showering and broke 2 ribs on the bath-side. Stumbled to a series of nearby pubs (in the pissing rain) where my "nutter magnet" was stuck on full-power. 8 pints, 4 fights, 3 or 4 drams and a bag o' chips later.... back to the boat...

Slipped over on the pontoon for the second time... covered in sticky, stinky shite from head to toe again.

I bloody hate Cambletoon... :mad:
 
KevO said:
Arrived piss-wet through on a Service Sadler 34 on a January evening having been battered stupid all the way round the mull. Heading for a shoreside shower and drink in the Royal Hotel, I stepped off onto the pontoon in the dark and slid right off the other side on a thick slimy layer of seagull ****. Made it out of the water with no fresh clean clothes left and only one deckshoe. Dragged some 'less' smelly clothes out of the dobey bag and managed to get to the hotel in one piece. The lift broke down on the way to what I think was the 4th floor, stuck for nearly an hour. Slipped over in the bath while showering and broke 2 ribs on the bath-side. Stumbled to a series of nearby pubs (in the pissing rain) where my "nutter magnet" was stuck on full-power. 8 pints, 4 fights, 3 or 4 drams and a bag o' chips later.... back to the boat...

Slipped over on the pontoon for the second time... covered in sticky, stinky shite from head to toe again.

I bloody hate Cambletoon... :mad:
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'Nutter magnet set on full power...'


:)
 
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