<MrAkcio@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:8c4f2dcf-b415-4866-8918-e6b6974374cf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
live in London near Canary Wharf and I'm interested in getting more
into sailing, but I'm finding it difficult to identify somewhere
within easy reach to do this.
In people's experience, what's the best way to do regular sailing from
London? I'm thinking about buying a small boat (e.g. 20 - 26ft) to
build up experience in, but again I have no real idea where to keep
it.
I've looked into the option of sailing on the Thames, and the
Greenwich Yacht Club is nearby, but from what I've heard the tide flow
around central London is extremely strong and not great for sailing.
However the location would mean it was very feasible for me to get out
at will on weekends. I'm not sure what costs are like for this
(mooring, club fees, thames river registration, etc). Also nearby
there are a range of marinas (Limehose, Surrey Quays, Poplar, St
Katherines) but these all seem somewhat expensive (c. £3,000 p.a.) and
are more geared at either short-term stays or liveaboard barges /
houseboats.
As I don't have a car, anywhere outside of London needs to be readily
accessible by public trans****t. Up to 90 minutes journey time would
by okay, but really the shorter the better.
My experience is fairly limited, I have an RYA Day Skipper
certification with about 10 days of experience, as well as some
experience of Dinghy sailing in lakes / docks. Specifically I'm
interested in getting more yacht / keel boat experience rather than
dinghy sailing. I occasionaly visit the Docklands Sailing and
Waters****ts Centre which is nearby, but this is somewhat limited in
scope (a small dock on which dinghy's can be sailed round in circles).
Any suggestions / thoughts / comments would be very welcome.
Regards,
GC
The Thames downstream of London has erratic winds partly due to the
topography effects of buildings and river, the water is subject to the
effect of river current flow, tidal streams and wash from large
vessels. There are obvious disadvantages but also benefits. The
water is sheltered enough to permit sailing in all but the most severe
weather, there is little fetch so wave height is limited, if there is
little or no wind you can make significant progress under sail by the
intelligent use of tidal flow which generates enough relative wind to
steer a reasonably responsive boat around downtide hazards with a
little forethought. There are always lots of interesting things to
see and places to stop and visit making even a modest trip enjoyable.
Regarding moorings and sailing base I personally feel from what you
say that your best bet would be to go along to Greenwich YC and talk
to them about member****p and moorings. It is a few years since I used
to visit them regularly but they were always very welcoming, friendly
and helpful. It would also present an op****tunity, maybe, to do some
casual crewing for members to get to know the water better before
committing to purchase of your own boat. Further downstream is Erith
YC on the South bank who have a very active member****p and Thurrock
YC, a friendly club with good facilites, on the North bank just
upstream of TIlbury and a short walk from Grays railway station.
Chris
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