English South Coast Berth

[Alenka]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a berth for a 43ft monohull for the months of April and May anywhere along the south coast before we head off across Biscay. I appreciate there are plenty of spaces available in places like Port Solent but £850 pm is outside my budget.
(it seems April is now classed as summer here!).

I would consider northern France where I believe costs are much lower - or maybe this is an urban myth?

Any and all suggestions welcome. Maybe someone is interested in sub-letting a berth??

[atoll]

falmouth visitors marina should be a lot less,visitors mooring also at about £15 a night,or anchor in the bay if you are onboard.
otherwise in penryn up the river in a mud berth alongside on jubilee wharf or islington boat yard,,dries but about £60 a week

cobbs quay in poole,or the harbour commisiners pontoon,poole also have reasonable priced along side berths

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Alenka

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for a berth for a 43ft monohull for the months of April and May anywhere along the south coast before we head off across Biscay. I appreciate there are plenty of spaces available in places like Port Solent but £850 pm is outside my budget.
(it seems April is now classed as summer here!).

I would consider northern France where I believe costs are much lower - or maybe this is an urban myth?

Any and all suggestions welcome. Maybe someone is interested in sub-letting a berth??

France is cheaper but N Brittany and Normandy ports are mostly very remote and isolated and hard to get anywhere from. If you need to be near civilization in order to provision and refit before your big trip, then Cherbourg might do.

On the S Coast of England walk-on pontoon berths will be expensive everywhere. Cheapest will be non-commercial operations like Southampton; maybe you can find a sublet. Far cheaper will be a non-walk on arrangement like a mooring or a mid-river pontoon. Ironically, although the Hamble is the most expensive place in the UK to keep a boat, there are thousands of mid-river pontoon berths and hundreds come up for sublet when the mooring holders leave for their summer cruises. It's quite inexpensive compared to marina berths, but obviously you've got no electrical connection or water at your berth. But the Hamble is a terrifcally cool place to be; a whole separate kingdom of sailors and sailing; a whole floating nation. It's also a terrific place for any refitting you need to do -- every conceivable service or part available on the spot. And it's just a little over an hour from London by train (from Southampton Airport station) if you need civilization. All sublets are handled through the harbormasters; give them a call.

There are also hundreds of moorings in Portsmouth harbour; unlike the case on the Hamble where the harbourmaster manages them all, in Portsmouth there are a variety of private companies doing it. You have to call around systematically.

Another great place is Poole; a huge natural harbor with a large quantity of moorings managed variously by the harbourmaster (through the Yacht Haven), and various clubs and private companies. Poole is a nice place with everything available you might need, and good train connections should you need to go anyplace else. Theoretically you can anchor in Poole harbor, but nearly all the feasible spots are covered in moorings so I don't know; I've never been able to manage it. There is a beautiful anchorage at South Deep if you have the draft for it; I can't quite get in there.

There is a popular anchorage in Studland Bay South of Poole but it is not feasible for long-term residence, since there is no shelter to the E.

You could live for free (I think) at anchor in Portland Harbour, near Weymouth. You could pop into Weymouth from time to time for water and provisions. The former military harbor is completely enclosed by a huge breakwater and I suppose the shelter would be good except maybe in strong Easteries.

As Atoll said, you can anchor out at Falmouth as well. Falmouth is a very cool place; I would love to spend a couple of months there. But you pay the harbourmaster for every day anchored in the main harbor and it's not cheap. Besides that, the anchorage is quite crowded in the summer. Maybe you can anchor for free up the estuary somewhere outside of the main harbor; Atoll can probably tell you about that.

Here's a terrific resource for UK harbors: Free charts, tide tables and pilotage : from Visit My Harbour

Good luck.

[boatman61]

I used Brixham for a while found it cheaper than Poole.. same company but in what they call Zone 3... away from the maddening crowd... either that or some of the boatyards up the Hamble... or if you looking further west try upriver in Plymouth...

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Alenka

.

I would consider northern France where I believe costs are much lower - or maybe this is an urban myth?

Any and all suggestions welcome. Maybe someone is interested in sub-letting a berth??

Have you had a look at Brest? P o r t * * d e * * P l a i s a n c e * * d e * * B R E S T

Not sure about the closest airport but Paris is only about an hour on the train. Plenty local boat services and very helpful staff. Ideal jumping off point for Biscay. Costs prob less than half of Port Solent.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by conachair

Have you had a look at Brest? P o r t * * d e * * P l a i s a n c e * * d e * * B R E S T

Not sure about the closest airport but Paris is only about an hour on the train. Plenty local boat services and very helpful staff. Ideal jumping off point for Biscay. Costs prob less than half of Port Solent.

Or... Cherbourg where the marina is right next to the ferries to Portsmouth and Poole... 10 minute stroll... also half the UK costs..

[conachair]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Or... Cherbourg where the marina is right next to the ferries to Portsmouth and Poole... 10 minute stroll... also half the UK costs..

Except from there if you had any sense you would take a few months enjoying the delights of north Brittany instead of getting Biscay out of the way on route to Tierre De Tapas.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by conachair

Except from there if you had any sense you would take a few months enjoying the delights of north Brittany instead of getting Biscay out of the way on route to Tierre De Tapas.

LOL... not a Francophile.. from there its a dead run down to Ushant then the Bay and on to Viviero... truely the town of great tapa..

[Hydra]

Originally Posted by conachair

Have you had a look at Brest? P o r t * * d e * * P l a i s a n c e * * d e * * B R E S T

Not sure about the closest airport but Paris is only about an hour on the train. Plenty local boat services and very helpful staff. Ideal jumping off point for Biscay. Costs prob less than half of Port Solent.

There is an airport in Brest, with flights to Paris, London, Southampton, Birmingham and Dublin: Brest Bretagne airport − Homepage

But it's 4 hours from there to Paris by train.

Alain

[goboatingnow]

If I were provisioning, I would do so in France in a heartbeat. Cherbourg has a great Carrefour close to the centre of town. Good motorway connections now that the extensions are open.

Brest is good, nice marina , good facilities.

If its a choice between burgers and daube , I know where I'm going. !!!!

Dave

[atoll]

quote "dave"
If its a choice between burgers and daube , I know where I'm going. !!!!

Whaddaya mean! we have pasties,stingo and fresh oyster's in falmouth,and the locals speak the lingo after a fashion at Asda,my hansome...........

[Hydra]

Last summer, there was still no supermarket really close to Brest marinas.

The Intermarché is at least 1km from Moulin Blanc and delivers only in the morning.

The Monoprix downtown is 1km from Marina du Château, is rather expensive and offers less choice.

When victualling in Brest for a change of crew, I select crew with a car, if possible, and go to Leclerc in Coat-ar-Gueven, 2km from Marina du Château.

Alain

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

If I were provisioning, I would do so in France in a heartbeat. Cherbourg has a great Carrefour close to the centre of town. Good motorway connections now that the extensions are open.

Brest is good, nice marina , good facilities.

If its a choice between burgers and daube , I know where I'm going. !!!!

Dave

Amen to that!!

Cherbourg is awesome for provisioning. And the Carrefour allow you to take the shopping carts down to the marina!! How cool is that?

C-bourg is one of my favorite place, actually. The port is in the center of town; lots of things to do there. Beautiful countryside around. Perfect shelter within two nested huge breakwaters. Cool museums. Great restaurants; great wine shops; and the best provisioning in the whole Channel as far as I'm concerned.

But it is very hard to Paris from there, if you need a big city for anything, and the chandleries are not top notch in case you are doing repairs for your journey.

[Alenka]

Thanks everyone for really useful suggestions. I have been checking out some of your ideas. Port de Plaisance, Brest is by far one of the cheapest but I guess this has all got to be offset with the cost of getting around if there is a need to use taxis to get to supermarkets and the like. Cherbourg didn't offer much, if any, saving over the UK - Guess it's because it is a popular tourist destination. Still a lot cheaper than Port Solent at £850 for a month in April.

[Artif]

A bit further East but good for hopping across the Channel, Rye Harbour, lovely town and interesting area or Eastbourne Marina but its a Premier marina with prices to match, Dover is another possibility, but a bit busy