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Ryde Leisure Harbour

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Courtesy Flag

Flag, Red Ensign

Waypoint

Off Harbour Entrance (drying) 50:44'.00N 001:09'.30 W

Charts

Admiralty 2036, 2045, SC5600

Rules & Regulations

10 Knts in Channel, 5 Knts in Harbour, No Wash, Small craft only.

Hazards

Extensive Drying Areas in Approach, Harbour Dries Out

Tidal Data Times & Range

HW Dover +0015 MHWS 4.5m, MHWN 3.7m, MLWN 1.9m, MLWS 0.9m Tide tables:   (links)

This site is designed for slower, roaming broadband connections, like you would get at sea, so it needs JavaScript enabled to expand the text.

General Description

Ryde Harbour is a very small development lying to East of Ryde Pier (with its ferry terminal) and adjacent to the hovercraft landing ramp. The 150 berth harbour can handle up to 70 visitors, and is only really suitable for small craft able to take the ground. Boats of up to 1.5 m draft can be handled at neap tides, slightly more at Springs. 

The harbour has substantial breakwaters and is well protected within, with bilge keelers lying to wooden pontoons and long keeled boats drying against the wall. Charges were modest when this harbour was run by the Isle of Wight Council.

It changed hands at the end of March 2022 and has been taken over by the Ryde Town Council.
The IOW Council HM who was in charge is no longer in cha
rge and in recent years it has been allowed to silt up despite his requests for dredging. There is suspicion about the Town Council's plans for the harbour and on the 1st April the published telephone number was not working.


For craft able to take the ground, especially with families on board this harbour had much to offer with good clean beaches virtually on top of it and plenty of activities for children and youngsters in general. Couple this with the holidaymaker type facilities of the largest town in the Isle of Wight, Ryde harbour was definitely a worthwhile stop. It can get crowded in the summer.

This is not a place for doing major repair works, facilities for the boat being a bit thin on the ground. Watering up and major provisioning could be accomplished with ease.

Regrettably Tony Richardson who used to run a Ryde Harbour website has ceased to do so which is a shame because it was very good

The Isle of Wight Council website which is nowhere near as useful is linked to below:


https://www.iwight.com/Visitors/Where-to-go/Harbours1/RydeHarbour/Ryde-Harbour1

Approach

It is assumed you have done your tidal calculations for crossing the sands and entering harbour, as whole area dries out completely. This channel is a favourite parking slot for boats approaching Ryde so best come in on a rising tide an hour before HW though the harbour is saying access is two hours either side  The soundings on the Navionics chart are not sourced from an Admiralty survey.  We recommend that every caution is taken on depth;  work out how much water there should be and then add a bit on for Mother

If approaching from the East the extent of Ryde Sands should not be underestimated. The aerial photo shows the extent very clearly, so to be sure strangers should sail north of No Man's Land Fort to avoid an unpleasant grounding. Read on for pilotage directions:

Approaches from other directions are straightforward enough, with the end of the pier being in constant use by fast cat ferries, and hovercraft roaring up the beach on the eastern side of the pier.

These can be used as a guide to home in on Ryde town which itself is very conspicuous with the church spire.

The best approach whichever direction you arrive from is from a point well offshore and to the NE of Ryde Pier head, ie with Ryde Pier head bearing SW from your position. Begin the approach with the pier head at least half mile away bearing SW. This keeps you out of the way of the Sands and ferries. Locate the very conspicuous spire of the Holy Trinity Church set back a little way in the town and make your approach with this landmark bearing 190°T, and Ryde Pier open on your starboard side ( Holy Trinity Church is the left hand of the two church spires you may spot, see the approach chart) Hold to the West of the buoyed channel until about their No 3 buoy and then head for the harbour entrance.

The buoyed channel does not mark a deep water channel as such, they are there to keep yachts away from the hovercraft manoeuvring area. Once in the buoyed channel they have to keep away from you, and you won't be interfering with their operation. There can be quite a tidal cross set in the approach so make sure you don't get swept out of the channel.
 

Upon reaching the north-west facing entrance of the harbour a hard swing to port will be necessary to enter.

There is a 10 kn speed limit in the approach channel and a maximum of 5 kn inside with no wash.

The best plan is to contact the new harbour master, Shaun, regarding berthing availability etc.  Before making the trek across the drying sands. Call "Ryde HARBOUR" on VHF channel 80 .

Night entry is possible, but not advised for strangers.

Berthing, Mooring & Anchoring

Berth where directed by the harbour master with bilge keelers able to sit upright tying up on the pontoons,...

and long keelers drying out alongside the walls. The walls have wooden piling and the harbour may provide fenderboards. The bottom is firm sand, but depths are not even throughout the harbour and advice should be sought from the HM. Nothing is known about the tasiffs under the Town Council

Being a drying harbour the use of marine toilets and bilge pumping is totally banned.

Facilities

In the harbour freshwater is available together with toilets, showers and rubbish disposal. No electricity is available on the pontoons.

Fuel is not available alongside, a long hike with Jerry cans will be necessary and is best avoided if possible, furthermore there are no Marine specialists of any kind here. No doubt in an emergency someone could be induced to come out from Cowes.

In no way can this be considered a yachting town, but by IOW standards it's big, with around 35,000 inhabitants (as opposed to Newport the capital with around 20,000). All normal day-to-day needs can be met here, and the place is very much geared to the summertime invasion of tourists.

Provisioning is straightforward enough with Sommerfield's perhaps the closest supermarket. There is a huge Tesco's superstore just outside of Ryde, and it's open 24 hours a day, but a cab ride will be necessary. All other kinds of shops will also be found in Ryde.... stocking up the boat will be no problem. Hurst's, the Island's ironmongers, have a decent hardware shop and may well stock Calor gas (but not camping gas). Folding readies are doled out from the cash machines attached to the many banks and building societies in the town.

A cab rank is very close by, as is the bus station with Southern Vectis buses to Newport and islandwide. A funny little railway operates from the pier head (with a stop virtually outside the harbour) and only goes as far as Shanklin. What appear to be Bakerloo line trains circa 1950s trundle happily back and forth. For railway enthusiasts this line connects with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. A journey on this really is a timewarp back to the 50s.

Wightlink catamarans sail regularly to Portsmouth Harbour and link with mainline rail services to London and elsewhere. The hovercraft runs to Southsea, which is not so well connected.

History

Ryde is a British seaside town, and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast.

The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower Ryde in the 19th century. The influence of this era is still strongly visible in the town's central and sea facing architecture.

As a resort, the town is noted for its expansive sands that occur at low tide, making its pier necessary on the wide beach for a regular passenger service. Ryde Pier is a listed structure which is the fourth longest pier in the United Kingdom, and also one of the oldest.

History
 
In 1782 numerous bodies of men, women and children from HMS Royal George, which sank suddenly at Spithead, were washed ashore at Ryde. Many were buried on land that is now occupied by The Esplanade. A memorial to them was erected in June 2004.


Transportation and amenities

The hovercraft to Southsea operates from The Esplanade close to Ryde Esplanade railway station and the bus station. A catamaran service run by Wightlink operates from Ryde Pier to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with both Island Line trains and mainland trains to London Waterloo. The Island Line train service runs from Ryde Pier Head via Ryde Esplanade to Shanklin, a distance of 8½ miles - Britain's smallest railway franchise. A major bus interchange is situated between Ryde Pier and the Hover Terminal on the Esplanade with frequent departures and arrivals from all the island's main towns and villages, run by Southern Vectis. The main service is route 9 to Newport, running every 10 minutes in the daytime. Other main routes include service 2, 3, 4, and 14.  An open top bus tour called "The Downs Tour" is also run in the summer.

At one time Ryde had two separate piers; the other being the Victoria Pier, no longer in existence. Ryde has its own inshore rescue service which mostly has to deal with people becoming stranded on sandbanks as the incoming tide cuts them off from the shore. The pier is also a feature of the 67-mile Isle of Wight Coastal Path, which is marked with blue signs with a white seagull.

Ryde has a small marina located to the east of Ryde Pier. It is tidal and dries out at low water hence it is more suitable for smaller sailing (bilge keel) and motor cruisers. It has provision for up to 200 boats, either on floating pontoons or leaning against the harbour wall. It has a full time harbourmaster who posts useful snippets of information on the noticeboard outside the harbour office including weather information, tide times, cruise liner movements and events that occurred on this day in history.


Churches
 
The twin church spires clearly visible from the sea belong to All Saints' (the taller) and Holy Trinity churches. All Saints' Church is located in Queens Road on a road junction known as Five Ways. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1872. The spire is 177 feet tall. Holy Trinity Church is in Dover Street. It was designed by Thomas Hellyer and completed in 1845.

The town’s Roman Catholic church, St Mary’s, is located in High Street. It was built in 1846 at a cost of £18,000. This was provided by Elizabeth, Countess of Clare. The church was designed by Joseph Hansom inventor of the hansom cab.

See also St. James' Church, Ryde and Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Swanmore, Ryde.


Entertainment
Sited on The Esplanade is an ice rink and a pavilion, converted to house a nightclub and bowling alley feature on the Esplanade, the former being the home of the Isle of Wight's ice-hockey team, the "Wightlink Raiders".  Many bars, pubs and restaurants can be found on the Esplanade and on the town's main shopping street, Union Street[4].

The town's local football team was for many years Ryde Sports F.C., now replaced by Ryde Saints F.C. & Ryde FC SUNDAY.

Speedway is staged in the town. The Isle of Wight Islanders started as members of the Conference League before moving up to the Premier League.


Carnival
Ryde is noted for its carnivals. There are five throughout the year - an Arts Parade in June; Children's, Main and Illuminated processions at the end of August and a Lantern Parade in December.  The Carnival at Ryde is the oldest in England, although its popularity had been decreasing until the millennium.

In 2001 a London carnival group called Kinetika was brought to the island to teach carnival skills to adults and young people in community workshops. Since Kinetika's input the carnival has been expanding, with its effects felt throughout the island's other carnivals.

Ryde Carnival remains the island's largest carnival, with local crowds and mainland visitors totalling in excess of 50,000 spectators. Performers consist of community groups, schools, multiple samba and brass bands, stilt walkers and family groups, with over 2,000 performers taking part in August 2006.

Eating, Drinking & Entertainment

Children and teenagers are well catered for in Ryde, the beautiful sandy beaches right next door to the harbour always popular with younger ones.

A heated swimming pool, bowling alley and an ice rink together with kiddies fairground rides are all close by. A small canoeing lake and a mini golf course again are close by, and a "Wally Train" drives up and down the Esplanade if you can't be bothered to walk.

There is absolutely no shortage of places to eat and drink in Ryde, from a big breakfast to a sophisticated dinner. Virtually on top of the harbour there is a thumping nightclub open very late so younger crewmembers can go and let their hair down and not have far to stumble home. A recce ashore will find several other similar establishments.


From member Gary Flashman:


King Lud
Tel 01983 562942
Overlooking the front, this traditional pub has an emphasis on music – they close early when the Festival is on so people (in particular the owners, one suspects) can join in.  While not a pub for food, it’s fun.

Wetherspoons
Tel 01983 812112

At the top of the main drag, the S Fowler & Co is a converted department store as you might guess from the name.  It’s not one of Spoon’s best, but it offers the usual value for money.

Links

Your Ratings & Comments

10 comments
Depth Approaching Ryde
Written by Tom N | 1st Jul 2024
Went into Ryde for the first time 29-30 June in a 35' foot bilge keel drawing 1.2m. There was less water available than I expected. Following the centre of the channel with a smooth turn through the last pair of buoys I went over patches that I reckon were +2.8m over datum. Approaching the harbour entrance you must keep over to the port side close to the red posts, a sand bar extends at least a third of the way across the entrance from the green posts. Inside I found enough depth to turn easily and come alongside the western side of the first pontoon. Dried out comfortably on relatively flat sand (there were a few holes that I missed by luck rather than judgement). Very pleasant marina team to welcome us and enjoyed the stay. I suspect the sand and channel shifts regularly here so I strongly suggest calling the marina team before heading in for the first time.
1 of 1 people found this helpful
Shallow
Written by Ianknx | 17th Aug 2023
Apologies High Water should read 3.35Mts not 1.9 which was low wate.r
Shallow
Written by Ianknx | 16th Aug 2023
Visited 11th August 2023 on a1.9 Meter tide at1 hour before high tide.

On approach to the harbour entrane a small orange bouy was sighted in the cente of the port and starboard entrance marker post , keeping the buoy to port we entered and touched bottom.

Our boat has a keel depth of 1.1 metres and afer several attempts we managed to clear the entrance and make it alongside the visitors pontoon (£24 per night for 9.9Mtr boat) a very uncomfortable night as the boat nose dived and pitched away from the pontoon due to the ground underneath.

Upon leaving the next day around 1 hour before high tide again we struck bottom and after several attempts to leave the harbour master appeared in a small boat to assist in towing us out of the harbour, other visitors were extremely worried about their ability to leave.

Update April2022
Written by Don Thomson 3 | 1st Apr 2022
I reviewed these notes in April 2022. There is uncertainty about the future of Ryde Harbour. The Island Council has relinquished it to the Ryde Town Council who took charge at the beginning of this month. They are incommunicado at the moment. We know that it is badly silted up and there are rumours of turning it into a car park but those are unsubstantiated so we wait with baited breath.
0 of 1 people found this helpful
A ticket to Ryde?
Written by Tyro Sailor | 4th Sep 2021
I've heard from two independent soures that Ryde Harbour has silted up and is closed, and the various councils are arguing about whose responsibility it is to dredge it. Probably best visited by hovercraft or catamaran ferry.

Editors Note: It's still open and being used, and has a new HM. It needs dredging.
Update May 2018
Written by JefHig | 10th May 2018
The fire damaged pontoon has been replaced.
Due to flood relied work which is currently taking place on the beach the harbour wall does not provide access to the shore, it's fenced off. You can still tie up to the wall.
UPDATE SPRING 2018
Written by Don Thomson | 22nd Mar 2018
I have talked to the HM here and he agrees with our member below that dog legging in as he has described is a good idea. I've altered the text to reflect this. The fire damaged pontoon has been sourced and will go in just after Easter (2018) I've updated the prices and the chart.
1 of 1 people found this helpful
Ryde Harbour Update
Written by Robert1962 | 31st Aug 2017
Two issues have arisen this year to give visitors a problem when using Ryde Harbour. The first is that a sand bar has built over the bouyed entrance and vessels would be advised to navigate alongside the pier (to the west of the entrance till they are adjacent to No:3 bouy and then head towards the harbour entrance. At high tide (neaps) I was showing 1.2 on the sounder when I passed over the bar. Also a boat fire has caused serious damage to the visitors pontoon, severely restricting the amount of visiting craft able to get a berth. Call the Harbour Master prior to your visit to get an update on the situation - 31/08/17
1 of 1 people found this helpful
Update April 2014
Written by dononshytalk | 3rd Apr 2014
These notes were reviewed April 2014. There are no changes and the 2013 prices are being held for 2014
1 of 1 people found this helpful
Word from the HM
Written by Bryant | 11th Apr 2011
Fuel is not available alongside, the nearest garage is 1.2 miles away which means a taxi ride or walk there is a pub half way. Visitors who need marine repairs contact harbour staff for local information.

Provisioning is straightforward enough with The Coop perhaps the closest supermarket with local shops across the road.

There is a huge Tesco's superstore just outside of Ryde , and its open 24 hours a day (except Sundays) a taxi or bus ride may be necessary. "
2 of 2 people found this helpful
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