Woolverstone vs Levington?

shaunksb

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I'm looking at spending a month or three on the river Orwell.

I want to sell my little Jaguar 24 over the summer but want to sail it in a new area until she sells.

I have been on a mooring at Priors on the Crouch that was recommended to me by a fellow formite and it's been absolutely fine but as I only get chance to string a couple of days together and have a 400 mile round trip to the boat I haven't explored anywhere near enough of the surrounding area.

I'm thinking the Orwell will be much better placed for me to visit more places and I can get a train to Ipswich.

I like the "pay as you go" set up of Priors and as I wouldn't be able to give a club any commitment I was resigned to stumping up the monthly fee at a marina which led me to SYH.

However I've realised Woolverston offer a monthly mooring fee and I'll ask SYH if they might be able to offer the same.

Any pro's v con's of the two? Bear in mind i'll be arriving after a three hour trip after work so convenience is important. Dinghy storage/access/facilities too.

I've never been to this area before so any tip's would be gratefully received.

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PaulRainbow

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The Haven at Ipswich is obviously the closest, but Foxs isn't too far and they do have a good club house. Woolverstone is nice enough, but you'd need a taxi or bus to get there. Shotley is very convenient for the sea and both rivers, but not a good choice for your circumstances. SYH is the least convenient to get to from the station.

If it were me, i'd go to the Haven or Foxs.
 
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SYH has dinghy storage but you must have boats name on dinghy. Easy ramp to launch from in sheltered position.
Shower / toilet facilities good, chandlers on site which also sells some basic food stuffs.
Moorings seem very easy to get to by dinghy but can't be certain of that as berthed in marina.
As marinas go it seems very good. No complaints
 

matthewriches

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Levington would be slightly easier to get to but both of your 2 you mentioned are slightly "out of the way".

Need to choose somewhere for the summer as hoping to return back in the general Ipswich area once I've sorted last few bits and relaunched.
 

shaunksb

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If it were me, i'd go to the Haven or Foxs.

Never really thought about Fox’s and I assume from the website they only do marina berths. Their published visitor rates indicate over £600.00 a month compared with about £335.00 for SYH and about a hundred pounds more than that for a pontoon at Woolverston. However a mooring at Woolverstone would be just under £150.00.

One of my concerns is not being too far up a river so I don’t have a similar problem to the Crouch in taking a long time to get “out”. My 24’ er likes to take it steady.

At the moment I travel down roughly 50/50 car/train. I’m thinking a few quid more for an Uber won’t break the bank if I’m a bit further down the river?

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PaulRainbow

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Never really thought about Fox’s and I assume from the website they only do marina berths. Their published visitor rates indicate over £600.00 a month compared with about £335.00 for SYH and about a hundred pounds more than that for a pontoon at Woolverston. However a mooring at Woolverstone would be just under £150.00.

One of my concerns is not being too far up a river so I don’t have a similar problem to the Crouch in taking a long time to get “out”. My 24’ er likes to take it steady.

At the moment I travel down roughly 50/50 car/train. I’m thinking a few quid more for an Uber won’t break the bank if I’m a bit further down the river?

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Ah, if it's a mooring, forget the Haven.

If you want to be closer to the sea, then Woolverstone would be a good choice, SYH is OK too, a bit closer to the sea, but a bit further to travel from the station. You should also consider a mooring at Pin Mill, lovely location, bit closer to sea than Woolverstone and likely to be the cheaper option too. https://www.kingsboatyard.co.uk/swinging-moorings
 

pyrojames

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Ah, if it's a mooring, forget the Haven.

If you want to be closer to the sea, then Woolverstone would be a good choice, SYH is OK too, a bit closer to the sea, but a bit further to travel from the station. You should also consider a mooring at Pin Mill, lovely location, bit closer to sea than Woolverstone and likely to be the cheaper option too. https://www.kingsboatyard.co.uk/swinging-moorings

If I was doing public transport I’d go for Pin Mill. Lovely protected spot, but a pain if you have a car. Bus service up the road if you happen to be there when the’re running!
 

shaunksb

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Ah, if it's a mooring, forget the Haven.

If you want to be closer to the sea, then Woolverstone would be a good choice, SYH is OK too, a bit closer to the sea, but a bit further to travel from the station. You should also consider a mooring at Pin Mill, lovely location, bit closer to sea than Woolverstone and likely to be the cheaper option too. https://www.kingsboatyard.co.uk/swinging-moorings

Thanks for that a Paul and the other replies.

Doesn’t have to be a mooring but I think I really need to be a bit further down the river.

I got the impression from other threads Pin Mill was a bit basic (and a bit muddy?) but I see from your link they have shower facilities.

When I do use the train it’s great to be able to grab a shower before the journey back. I’m temporarily in Burnham Yacht Harbour and they have nice facilities. The thought of being able to get nice facilities and the benefit of a good value mooring is very appealing.

One final thing, the Crouch is fast flowing and seems to promote the most viscous fouling I’ve ever encountered. If I miss a few weeks I need to take the lawnmower to the hull. Tucked away out of the flow in BYH makes a huge difference. If I do opt for a pontoon berth has anybody got any observations on that because SYH also seems a bit more tucked away?

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PaulRainbow

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I got the impression from other threads Pin Mill was a bit basic (and a bit muddy?) but I see from your link they have shower facilities.

Facilities are basic in comparison to most marinas and it can a muddy walk to the waters edge. Lovely location though and the pub is good.

If I do opt for a pontoon berth has anybody got any observations on that because SYH also seems a bit more tucked away?

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If you do opt for a pontoon berth then Shotley is worth considering too. It's about the same distance from the station as SYH, but closer to the sea. Facilities are decent and the marina staff are first class.
 

Tradewinds

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Back in 2015 it cost me c£20 for a taxi from Ipswich station to SYH. Don't know if Uber is cheaper. Getting a bus means a fair old hike (uphill) from the marina.
 
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shaunksb

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Back in 2015 it cost me c£20 for a taxi from Ipswich station to SYH. Don't know if Uber is cheaper. Getting a bus means a fair old hike (uphill) from the marina.

Uber say £10-12 and £8-10 for Woolverstone which would be justifiable for me but yeah, £20 would be too much both ways.

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Bob@SYH

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Hi Shaun,

Whilst being fully appreciative of not 'advertising' ourselves on the forum, I hope it's ok to offer some advice and info.
I have to agree we're unfortunately not brilliantly served with regard stations near-by, but the bus service from Ipswich does run regularly (every half an hour or so) from the station I believe, past the top of our lane on its way to Felixstowe, then it's about a ten minute walk down the lane to the marina.
We do indeed offer monthly visitor rates for both marina berths and swinging moorings either of which may suit but please feel free to call us and we would be happy to let you know the various options and rates...

..and yes I'm afraid if a dinghy is left on site we do request it's clearly marked with the boat name, however a named tag cable tied to the painter ring would suffice so you wouldn't have to permanently name the tender.

You may of course have been in touch with someone here already so please accept my apologies if I'm telling you info you're already aware of.

best regards

Bob
 

shaunksb

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Hi Shaun,

Whilst being fully appreciative of not 'advertising' ourselves on the forum, I hope it's ok to offer some advice and info.
I have to agree we're unfortunately not brilliantly served with regard stations near-by, but the bus service from Ipswich does run regularly (every half an hour or so) from the station I believe, past the top of our lane on its way to Felixstowe, then it's about a ten minute walk down the lane to the marina.
We do indeed offer monthly visitor rates for both marina berths and swinging moorings either of which may suit but please feel free to call us and we would be happy to let you know the various options and rates...

..and yes I'm afraid if a dinghy is left on site we do request it's clearly marked with the boat name, however a named tag cable tied to the painter ring would suffice so you wouldn't have to permanently name the tender.

You may of course have been in touch with someone here already so please accept my apologies if I'm telling you info you're already aware of.

best regards

Bob

Thanks Bob for taking the time to reply I was going to ask about the moorings option. I'll phone up to get an idea of prices.

Also clarifying the Dinghy situation because I thought that might be a real problem.

Shaun


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Colvic Watson

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Why has no one mentioned Shotley? It's 4 minutes from the station and visiting yachts can moor for free in the lock on quiet days in July.
 
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