The Westcountry Anchoring Campaign

Charlestown and Goran Haven.

dougmarke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:27:49 +0000

These and a bunch of others have been contributed by JP.. Thanks John!

Charlestown;

50⁰ 19`.50N 04⁰ 45`.18W

I have not anchored here but at Whitsun I saw a large fishing boat to the west of the harbour entrance. Recommendation is to anchor East of entrance in sand.

Plenty of pubs etc as it is a well known film set. Home to 3 square riggers.

Sheltered in Northerlies and probably the West.

Goran Haven;

50⁰ 14`.30N 04⁰ 47`.1W

North of Dodman Point. Sand.

2 village beaches plus shop and a pub, The LLawnroc Inn. Anchorage is a little way offshore. 15^th Century Church.

Sheltered from North West to South West.

Polkerris

dougmarke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:24:01 +0000

From JP!

50⁰ 20`.15N 04⁰ 41`W

West and North of Gribben Head. Sand.

Line of buoys prevents you anchoring close in but shallow anyway.

Sand.

Pub, the Rashleigh Arms and a beach shop.

Sheltered from North to East.

Close by is Menabilly used as Mandalay by Daphne Du Maurier in ‘Rebecca’

Two walks to Fowey. One round Gribben following the coast path past Menabilly. The other is across country following rights of way and part of the |Saints Way. We sometimes go from Fowey.

Rame.

dougmarke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:13:17 +0000

From JP;

50⁰ 19`.24N 04⁰ 13`.29W

North of Rame Head off Polhawn Fort.

Sand. One isolated rock to avoid especially coming from West.

Can be busy during the day with dive boats from nearby James Egan Lane and the Scylla.

No facilities except a beach at low water.

Sheltered from North to East.

Good lunch spot on way from Fowey to Plymouth or Yealm.

Hope Cove.

dougmarke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:12:30 +0000

Another recomendation from JP.

50⁰ 14`.38N 03⁰ 51`.46W

North of Bolt Tail.

Sand and rock. One isolated rock to avoid off Outer Hope roughly

South West of the old lifeboat house. Clear to see on Google Earth.

Pub, hotels and restaurants and a shop.

Sheltered from North to South East but some swell in South Easterlies.

Well known family holiday spot with good beaches and rock pools.

Blackpool Sands

dougmarke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:10:50 +0000

From JP!

50⁰ 19`07N 03⁰ 36`.3W

South of Dartmouth for those that do not want peace and quiet!

Award winning private beach with café and shop.

Busy especially on weekends when Dartmouth residents pop out for a quick sail.

I do not know if they allow dinghies to land but no motorised boats can be launched within the swimming area.

Sheltered from West.

From Doug; If it looks a bit much straight off the beach, to the west there are a couple of nice pebbly beaches which also have some good anchoring off… a bit further west is the nudist beach as well….. These are a bit more open but a nice day visit.

Cadgwith

tiggertooplymouth — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:22:19 +0000

Probably one of the southernmost anchorages of mainland UK. A very secluded cove on the Lizard Peninsula, open to the S – SE. The anchorage is in sand just off the rocks in the middle of the bay. Not much room, but I imagine it is seldom crowded. We visited on a day of flat calm, although it looks as though it would be quite protected from SW-NE winds and swell. The local fishing boats get hauled up on the very narrow shingle beach; presumably well away from the encroaching seas. The village is post-card picturesque but quite crowded at peak times in sunny weather. Pubs, ice-cream and other delights are available for the day tripper. I am not sure about much else.

There are spectacular coastal walks along the steep cliffs: the Devil’s Frying Pan (Natural Trust) just a few minutes climb from the village: imagine it must be quite a sight at high water in an Easterly gale… although I am certain no sane yachtsman will anchor off Cadgwith in those conditions! On the day we visited the photos we took make it seem like something out of the Med…. or tropical (see below).

No charge for anchoring or landing!

Lantic Bay

tiggertooplymouth — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:55:33 +0000

In settled weather with no swell and winds from NW to NE, this is a great anchorage. Holding is good, but you are unlikely to want to put it to a test in a real blow: you’d be heading somewhere else if that were the case. A few day trippers (mostly mobos) from Fowey might temporarily spoil the peace and quiet, and you may have to share the huge shingle/sandy beach with walkers from Polruan and surrounding villages. But the water is brilliant turquoise and the beach is ideal to run around and play with the kids. The rocks at either ends of the beach are fun to scramble up and around. Just watch out the mounting swell and breakers: they can make landing and launching a tender rather exciting. Be prepared for a dip in to the steep shingle shore.

The view is spectacular, especially at sunset. I am not sure I’d recommend it for an overnight stay unless I was absolutely shore of the forecast. A rapid exit and repair to nearby Fowey is always a possibility, but you’ll pay harbour dues there, unless you can sail up to the higher reaches of Golant where the Fowey harbour master does not often motor up to collect dues.

Jennycliff Bay (From Tiggertoo)

dougmarke — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:16:02 +0000

Jennycliff Bay
If the winds are from the East and you Kingsand /Cawsand are unteanable, consider Jennycliff. This is an excellent anchorage out of the way of the big ships, but still close enough to make a dinghy trip into Plymouth a proposition. Holding is good. Trip to the shore leads to a beach with lots of dog walkers, but absolutely fantastic rock pools for the kids to amuse themselves and delve into the Sound’s wildlife (spotted some interesting pipefish last time). I suppose that a walk to Turnchapel over the hill will bring you to a pub – I but I have tried to do so.

No charge levied yet here. Good old fashioned harbour anchorage with great views on the Sound and its traffic through the narrows around Drake’s Island

Kingsand and Cawsand (From Tiggertoo)

dougmarke — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:14:34 +0000

Kingsand and Cawsand

Wide bay facing East just inside Plymouth Sound. It is an ideal place to stop over on passage, short weekend trip for the locals, or for an early start, when there is no wind from the East. It is quite large and the holding is variable: sometimes sand (good) sometime shingle (less good).
If there is swell (can be a problem if there is sea running in from the S), it pays to tuck in close to the S-side of the bay where the holding is quite good. Best places get taken up fast in these conditions.
Beware of the rocky shore on the N-side of the bay, there have been some celebrity unintended dry-outs there!
It can be crowded in good weather because of the day trippers, but usually gets quiet in the evenings and there is plenty of space to go around. Some private moorings for small boats close inshore but nothing that interferes with free anchoring. No charges levied (yet!), and I am sure that many of the visitors staying here spend some of their hard earned cash in the local establishments. There are many very friendly places to stock up (including small convenience stores), to eat out (Moran’s Bistro is delicious), or just buy and ice-cream/pasty…
Excellent walks across to Mt Edgecumbe or round the corner to Rame Head.

Lets Go Anchoring!

dougmarke — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:36:21 +0000

Lying to your own anchor is one of boatings most sublime pleasures, but nowadays we are expected to bounce from one mooring or pontoon or marina to the next, and the West Country is no exception.

The Westcountry Anchoring Campaign aims to promote the joy of anchoring, and encourage you to use that lump of metal on the front of your boat for what nature intended. Hopefully, acting together, we can spread the message that anchoring is fun, encourage the establishment of anchorages were there are none, and the preservation of those that we already enjoy.