Chichester/Langstone Harbour

[roywebster]

Next Spring we are thinking about moving from Cambridgeshire to an area where I can get more use of my boat and my wife can comute daily into London.( I will be semi retired)

A couple of weeks ago we spent the weekend looking at the area around these two harbours. We liked parts of Hayling Island and Emsworth.

I would be very interested in hearing about the pros and cons of these two harbours as far as Ribs are concered and would be particularly interested in hearing about moorings and their availability.

Roy

[robin]

Hi Roy...Langstone harbour......10knt speed restriction.
Chichester harbour ......8knt speed restriction.

Chichester harbour is very pleasant for a slow bimble around. There are a couple of nice pubs accessible at the right tide states, at Bosham and Itchenor.
There is another pub at Dell quay i believe but i have never been there.

Best landing place is east head beach. It's even great at this time of year. Can get very crowded in the summer months though.

Access out of Chichester harbour (and indeed back in) if you are venturing out onto the solent is via Chichester bar. With the wind and tide in the right/wrong direction it can get emotional.

Langstone harbour...just somewhere i go through on my way out via Hayling bridge. Sometimes drag the kids through on a donut. Can't comment re the beaches/pubs in Langstone, never used em.

Here's a pic of Easthead from the day before yesterday. It was deserted. Lovely. Yes thats my rib waaaay on down there. It was very lumpy everywhere else but this spot is in the lee of some good sand dunes when the wind is in the south/west.

[Biggles]

I agree with Robin.

The Harbour Master in Chichester is a bit of a pain with regards the Speed Restrictions. At the end of the day its his job, but 8 knots in a RIB is boring. We were even spied on with a RADAR gun this summer with the Harbour master hiding behind another boat. He wasn't after us specifically but some Jet Skiers apparently, he even had the neck to wave at us as though we were friends when we passed him. Having said that every weekend I have been out I have been waved at by the Harbour Masters boat to slow down. A very tiring experience. And yet you see big Sports Cruiseres going faster and he does nothing and they themselves always break the speed limit. It would appear size does matter.

So far I have been very nice to the Harbour Masters crew. However if it carrys on I think he will end up in the sea.

You really need to just use Chichester Harbour as a transit route to the big wide sea off the south coast. In my view get an access point as near to the entrance as possible. Chichester Harbour is massive, and its very massive at 8 Knots.

Langstone Harbour is not as strictly patrolled and you can usually get some speed up, although its illegal. It just means you can get to the real sea quicker.

To sum it up both harbours are big, are very tidal, and if you are on a RIB are really only any good as access points to the south coast.

Also as Robin says, if the conditions are wrong both entrances can be very lively, but fun. Get to know the local sand banks and you will be okay.

Regards and hope to see you soon. I'm out every weekend in that area and usually do 40 miles each trip if you are interested. Usually on the high tide.


Also to be legal you should pay money to Chichester Harbour each year. I pay £15.50 but it may be different for your boat. Also Langstone is £37.00. You get a plaque and must display this.

Any enquiries contact the Chichester Harbour Masters office.

[Mark Halliday]

Roy

I live in Nutbourne at the head of the Prinstead Channel. All the above is true about Chi & Langstone.
It is a great place to live.
Hayling can be imposible during the summer. There is only the one bridge on and off, which promotes some spectacular traffic jams during the summer. Stick to the mainland if you can.

[Hightower]

Come Fareham way and your spoilt for choice with slips and mariners. In actual fact I know someone that is currently selling their house at Hill Head with a high water slip and boat house suitable for a 8-10 metre RIB.

[Nasher]

Hightower

Don't be so modest, we all know its your house at Hill Head!

Personally I think the east end of the Solent is a lot of fun. I launch at The Ferry Inn on the South West Tip of Hayling which gives me access to the Solent and the coast East of Hayling. Its also a good starting point for those longer trips to France and the Channel Islands that I've not tried myself yet.
The only problem is how busy it gets during the summer, great this time of year though, even the Harbour Master goes home about 4.30!

Nasher

[Matt]

On a number of occasions over the years I have observed the chi patrol boat being a complete idiot. (I used to sail every weekend in Chi) I have however always found the langstone guys to be very reasonable and even if you are being a bit naughty, as long as you are being responsible, they are cool. The patrol run by LHWSA also cannot 'do you' as such, but they can report you. But again, they're just normal people and as long as you don't take the pi55 they are pretty cool. There has fairly recently been a wet bike introduced in Langstone, and he looks like he might be a bit 'uniformed up', in fact the 1 time distant rumble has been in langstone, the patrol RIB waved and smiled at me and the wetbike decided he wanted to throw some rank, although admittedly I did get onto the plane a bit earlier than I should have exiting the harbour. I thought he wanted to jump my wake, honest!

[Alan Priddy]

You can also learn a lot about your boat (and yourself) on a South Westerly/Easterly blow especialy on a half ebb tide, Ask Tony Lee Elliot!!!!
Alan P

[Roy Smith]

Hi Roy
Try Langstone marina first left after the Hayling bridge.
Long concrete ramp and you can launch at any state of the tide,showers,cleaning area with hose pipes,etc.
two hours approx either side of high tide you can go under the Hayling Island bridge into Langstone Harbour or any other time follow the channel down to the entrance to Chichester harbour (about 20/25mins) As other people have said just be careful of the sand banks it realy can catch you out but once you know the channel markers its great.
Regards Roy

[roywebster]

Thank you for all your help and advice.

I wondered about the traffic on Hayling Island. Is it bad early morning getting to the station?

I have noted all the remarks about the Harbour Staff speed limits etc.

When we visited we looked at Ferry Point Slip and I judged it to be a good place to launch.

Has anybody got any info on moorings. It would be good to have the boat in the water for most of the time. I am not into big Marinas much prefer swinging mooring .

Thanks again everybody



Roy