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Yarmouth Harbour
Courtesy Flag
Flag, Red EnsignWaypoint
Harbour Entrance 50:42'.42N 001:30'.05WCharts
Admiralty 2021, 2035, SC5600Rules & Regulations
6 Knts in the approach, 4Knts insideHazards
Ferries, Shallows either side of the run in.Tidal Data Times & Range
2 hour stand at HW Neaps, Double HW at Springs, HW Springs Approx -0050 Dover, MHWS 3.1m MHWN 2.5m MLWN 1.5m MLWS 0.8mThis site is designed for slower, roaming broadband connections, like you would get at sea, so it needs JavaScript enabled to expand the text. Click here to show the fully expanded version
General Description
Yarmouth lies in a strategic position on the edge of the Western approaches to the Solent, and is a very useful port of call not only for passage making sailors but also for those simply cruising the sheltered Solent waters. It must be remembered however that this is a very busy ferry port.
The compact town is virtually set up for sailors, and the harbour offers all weather and all tide access. There is no marina here as such, but the harbour office itself offers facilities that many marinas would be hard pushed to match. ... read more
Approach
For the visiting yachtsman or motorboater the approach to Yarmouth is straightforwards but there is a strong tidal cross set at times on the flood and the ebb, and this needs to be taken into account in your approach to avoid being swept past and having to struggle back against the considerable tide.
For a good clue as to the strength and direction of the cross set, keep a close eye on the Lymington/Yarmouth ferries as they approach. You will see that in the stronger tidal conditions they approach in a crab wise fashion, and there lies your clue. Full pilotage directions now follow:
If approaching from the West attention needs to be paid to the green conical Black Rock buoy, (Fl.G.5s), which marks a rocky patch, and needs to be left well to starboard. In summer the mooring buoys laid outside the harbour should also be left to starboard, and your run in made from the vicinity of the pier head. Do not be tempted to cut through these moorings and make direct for the end of the breakwater, as you could well come a cropper on the extensive shoal radiating out from the breakwater in a northerly direction. ... read more
Berthing, Mooring & Anchoring
Anchoring is not allowed anywhere in the harbour or the approach. There are other rules and regulations, probably the most important being the speed limits of 6 Knts in the approach and 4 Knts in the harbour, check the Yarmouth Harbour website for the full list.
Over the past few years more and more pontoon berthing has replaced berthing fore and aft to piling. Recently some of this pontooning has reached and become connected with the shore, (instead of being isolated, which required the water taxi or a dinghy mission to reach the shore). Suffice to say that outside of Bank Holidays, getting moored up is not a probem. Further information (including visitors' mooring prices) is now provided:
The latest chart displayed on this site shows the new pontoons clearly. So the berthing options available include walk ashore pontoons with electricity and water, isolated pontoons, mooring to piles, or alongside the Town Quay which can be a bit lumpy and frenetic. All of these options may well involve some rafting out in busy conditions. ... read more
Find local marine businessesYour Ratings & Comments
We do price check on a regular basis and we believe our pricing is in line with many of the other destinations in the Solent. We do still have a wide choice of berths, outer buoys, piles, pontoons, Town Quay, walk ashore pontoons and individual finger walk ashore pontoons, so if price is the main consideration you should choose a cheaper berth. However at least 80% of our visitors ask for a walk ashore berth, hence the recent development of the harbour to provide more walk ashore pontoons.
Please also consider our midweek discounts, so £4 off for vessels up to and including 9 metres and £8 discount for vessels over 9 metres.
We do charge extra for electric hook up, £3-50, but that is a one off charge whether you use electricity for two hours or a week.
We do also charge extra for showers. Our showers are used by the public, not necessarily harbour users, and people who berth their boats with boatyards in the harbour. Our shower facilities are said to be some of the best on the south coast and over the last three years we've spent about £150k refurbishing all of them. We also spend £20k per year keeping them clean. So we've taken the view that there's a cost to providing some of the best facilities on the south coast, and some 18,000 visitors use the showers each year.
Unusually for harbours and marinas we have people on the water to meet and greet and if necessary to help boats on and off berths, and we pride ourselves on our service.
So to round up my answer to some comments on the site, yes Yarmouth can be expensive if you choose to take all the services and the top end berth, but we still strive to be the destination of choice for boaters not just in the Solent but also in the whole south coast of the UK. The comparison with Ryanair seems alittle harsh !
