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Thames 2, London (Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge)

Thames and Estuary

This article deals with the facilities available to yachtsmen and motorboaters in the stretch of the River Thames from the Thames Barrier up to Tower Bridge. Once past the Thames Barrier (the details of handling this are dealt with in the Thames 1 article), you will really begin to feel that you are in the city. The the Millennium Dome, the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, the skyscrapers of the Canary Wharf, and finally the unmistakable skyline of the City of London with its "gherkin" building all heave into view one after another.

Progress is then blocked for masted vessels at Tower Bridge.

There is considerable River traffic, including heavy barge trains and fast tripper boats. A sharp eye needs to be kept also for drifting debris which could foul a prop, or even bend the shaft.

There are three marinas that can cope with visitors, all of them entered via locks. They can get busy and full therefore it is best to book your berth in advance... ... read more

Welcome to visitMyHarbour.com, the gateway to explore UK harbours online

This site is an online pilotage guide, here to provide timely and detailed information about the various ports, harbours, estuaries, rivers and inlets around the coasts of the UK. Each harbour has pilotage details, free large scale charts, Quick links to all our nautical charts , and photo galleries. It is designed to be of maximum use to all harbour users and specifically skippers of small craft, power or sail. ***Tip: When viewing charts, press F11 for a "Full screen" viewing experience, and press Prt Sc to copy to your clipboard !***

Now working, all of the Harbour Pages are viewable fully expanded in plain old HTML, for those with mobile devices or old browsers Access ALL the harbours in plain HTML or access this feature from the individual page.

Area Pages now online...We've already covered many harbours, so the area pages are designed to help you move around between them. They include the coastal charts required, plus all the pilotage details you will need, including the NP Tidal Flow Charts to enable you to plan your passage and work with the tides. Click below to view area coverage:

Wales and North West England
Bristol Channel
Channel West, Scilly Isles to the Solent
Solent
Channel East, (North Foreland to The Solent)
North Kent, Swale and Medway
Thames and Estuary
East Coast (Great Yarmouth to R.Roach)
North East England (St Abbs Head to the Wash)

The site provides a general description of each harbour, discusses the tactics involved in an approach from sea, where to get moored up (with all options considered and prices covered), the facilities you will find for the boat and crew, and finally a brief run down of eating and drinking places ashore. Naturally local weather forecasts and tides are covered, and even local launching places for trailer sailers are included. If you're visiting new UK harbours shortly, or thinking about the next season, why not check them out online first... you really will find all the details you need here...

For completeness we are now including links kindly provided by www.ports.org.uk for coverage of smaller or commercial harbours that we havn't covered for one reason or another. Although not a pilotage guide, the links provide useful background and historical details, plus harbour authority contacts. Access these via the area coverage pages.

In short if you're a boat owner or have a love of the sea you're sure to find plenty of interest here. We have literally thousands of links to anyone and everyone connected with the sea, harbours, boats, yachts, marine products and services... not forgetting sea angling and dive charter boats. Check out...The Visit My Harbour Marine Business Directory ...it lists almost 4000 marine businesses, search by area, harbour, category, or any mixture of these. The articles section is also proving popular, with many subjects covered, and it is here you will find tide tables for many harbours too.

By the time you get back afloat again we will have many more harbours and marine businesses covered, we're working on W.Scotland and Northern Ireland right now. We hope to encourage you to discover new and interesting cruising grounds next season. Right now, we've got all the new tide tables up for the whole of 2010 and into 2011, so if you need to do a bit of forward planning check them out.

Click here to see 2010 tide tables

All tranquil in Spain...we think NOT.

If your mind is turning towards Med cruising again, in spite of the warnings given in our last article on the subject, this will make you think twice about living onboard in Spain !  The Spanish, with their ecomomy on the ropes, are looking for an easy target to get some money and it could cost you your boat if you don't know the rules. They are starting to vigourously enforce an EU law that has been virtually ignored there till lately. It could involve impounding your boat, collecting taxes and "fines", and selling it if you don't pay. It's all perfectly legal, and is likely to drive liveaboards away in droves...

Overstay your welcome and loose your boat in Spain

This is the latest in a series of article published here that are proving rather popular. If you're considering moving on board and sailing the Med there's plenty of information in our Living on board   section based on real experience, having removed the rose tinted specs !

Also popular is our series of articles on The art of anchoring, again based on plenty of experience. The series of article about Coastal Cruising has some good information about on board weather forecasting based on local observations, while the Links Section has got some really great links to YouTube videos we've sorted out for you.