Yarmouth outer bouys

[rhc21]

Hello,
We are planning a night out moored to the bouys at Yarmouth and not having done this before were wondering what conditions to avoid doing this in?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks.

Richard.

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[Robin]

No problems except in strong wind over tide conditions. Be careful in strong tides with a dinghy run ashore (outboard essential really) or use the water taxi. note the outer rows are laid more apart for bigger boats and if you can use the inner ones it may be slightly more sheltered and in less tide. Wash from some idiots entering the harbour through the moorings can occasionally irritate...

Look out for us we are headed there this afternoon and will be on one or other of the outer 2 rows!

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Wiggo]

Accordiong to the HM, the middle row offers the most comfy night. Inner row is limited to 30' LOA max.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/graham.wignall/boats/eulimene600x800.jpg>The old and the new</A>

 

[rhc21]

Thanks Robin,
Still working this afternoon sadly!! Hopefully tomorrow though.
Yes I can see an outboard would be required to get to shore especically with the tide running there.


Richard.

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[StugeronSteve]

Can be pretty uncomfortable in a fresh N/NE wind from what I remember. Infact the harbour can get a bit lumpy with a good breeze in the north, especially when on the piles in front of the office/lifeboat quay.

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[StephenW]

Agree with Robin about wind over tide.

We came in late one night last year from Alderney and experienced strong wind over tide in the middle of the night - boat was orientated bow to the outgoing tide (pointing towards Cowes) but the wind from the SW was pushing us past the buoy - result was heavy knocking/rubbing of the mooring buoy against our bows and this turned into an alrming banging (VERY strong) when previously mentioned idiots shot past the boat creating strong was.

Our remedy was to hang initially a large piece (3'x3')of long pile carpet from support ropes either side of its top edge - worked very well until the wind died down, the boat dropped back, wind piped up again and blew the other side of the bow against the buoy! Then used a flat fender which is less effective than carpet as carpet tends to stay in place when the lower edge gets saturated, the flat fender easily gets caught by the wind. Fenders just get rolled out of the way by the constantly moving buoy.

So.....don't forget to take two bits of shag pile!!!

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[brianhumber]

Strongish Wind blowing down the Solent from Cowes, in which case anchor in Totland Bay for free
Having an empty wallet (got charged £25 earlier this season which with Taxi fees and shower charges means it is not a cheap stop over any more. However I have anchored for free to the East, much quieter conditions)

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[jkim1]

If you dont draw much water you can anchor inside the bouys for free. Its deep enough for a leisure 27 blige keeler. They dont like it and take their time if you request a water taxi but it is free. I once took the family to Yarmouth 12 trips in the water taxi and showers made it an expensive overnight stay. The Folly is cheaper.

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[sabresailor]

agree - strong wind over strong tide can result in knocking / banging - have suffered recently in Cowes - perhaps lift the buoy out of the water a bit (if boat allows) / get into hbr.

I do hate these fibre glass (?) buoys with massive chain connections on top. Loads of folks must suffer.

Mike

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[rhc21]

Thanks for all the advice.

Richard

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[Robin]

We weren't there! We did pick up a buoy on Friday evening (well four different ones to be precise) and all had missing or damaged antichafe tubes on the strops and all were chafing badly on our anchor in the wind over tide, it was quite windy. We went inside and all the big boat pontoon areas were reserved for rallies, we tried one more outside buoy but ended up going to Lymington. We COULD have removed our anchor but it's heavy and difficult to manhandle inboard and anyway we are paying for a buoy which should come with suitable strop, staying would have risked going walkabout. Yarmouth need to maintain these a bit better IMO, the tubes appeared to be brittle from UV exposure and some of the exposed rope strops themselves were chafed as a result. If I sound a bit irritable it is because we arrived at 1730 and finally tied up in Lymington at 2000. we spent more time messing around than sailing from Poole!

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[l'escargot]

Perhaps all the strops were chaffed from rubbing on peoples anchors that they also couldn't be bothered to manhandle inboard!

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[Robin]

They were not chafed through they were mostly brittle and broken into small bits and on one there was signs of previous chafe on the rope. We can normally lie on buoy lines (and have regularly used Yarmouth's) without chafe but the strong wind over tide meant we were riding well over the buoy, the strop running diagonally across the bows and under the anchor on the 2nd roller. Removing the anchor is not something I felt like doing in the windy conditions and chop, I value my back too much, besides which if we are paying £18/night for it then it should be fit for the purpose!

Yarmouths strops are not very user friendly IMO, they are too short to take up on board and back to most foredeck cleats which are set back to clear anchor wells (or for high bows like on mobos), as a result you have to feed a separate 'extender' line though the eye and this makes the pick up more difficult than it need be even if you have an extra line ready which we do.

That said we like Yarmouth and like it out on the buoys normally, it is cooler, there is a nice view and we can run the BBQ!

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>