SOUTH WEST ANCHORAGE
Britain’s south-western home waters – the coast from the Solent to Scilly plus the Channel Islands – have dozens of bays and inlets that make good temporary havens. There are far too many to cover in a single article but I’ll try to illustrate their different qualities by describing 10 good examples, beginning with passage anchorages. For a family yacht heading towards a holiday cruising ground, probably in a series of day sails, the quickest way to get there is by choosing overnight stops that are close to the direct track, rather than making diversions to estuary marinas.
In westerly winds,
11 SWANAGE BAY is ideal for a pause on passage and also serves as a perfect departure point for long legs towards west or south. When bound west, setting off with the first of the Channel ebb should boost the boat right around the tidal gates of St Albans Head and Portland Bill, and well into Lyme Bay. When bound south, the Channel crossing to Alderney is only 55 miles, which can be encouraging when fair weather is only coming in brief spells. If it is necessary to wait at Swanage for a wind shift, the bay has good holding in most areas and all the facilities of a small town, with showers available at the friendly sailing club.
Further west, Plymouth Sound’s most popular anchorage is Cawsand Bay but swell sometimes enters in strong SW winds and there is a quieter alternative in 12 BARN POOL, immediately north of the Bridge reef, which stretches between Drake’s Island and the Cornish shore. Care is required when anchoring, as parts of the sea bed slope steeply into very deep water, but there is good holding towards the northern end of the beach. On shore, the Mount Edgecumbe Country Park has splendid walking trails and there are two eateries: the Edgecumbe Arms and The Orangery in the park.
Continuing westward, let’s assume we have an east wind and need another anchorage but with full shore facilities for re-stocking our stores. 13 ST MAWES will be perfect, with lots of swinging room, shelter from all directions except south-west, a Co-op store and a real butcher, showers at the sailing club and – most important – pasties sold on the harbour wall. The town is known for some classy hotels but the views from an anchored yacht are just as good.
That fine east wind is driving us on, towards the Isles of Scilly, but we want another overnight stop before tackling the crossing. How about 14 ST MICHAEL’S MOUNT? On its north-west side, between the Mount and the Great Hogus Rocks, there is a nice strip of sandy sea bed with good holding and the crew can get ashore by taking the tender into the drying harbour.
Next: out to the islands, where anchoring skills are essential because some visitors’ moorings may be fully occupied and all of them are poorly protected in certain wind directions. If arriving late in the day, particularly if the trip has turned into a slog from the mainland against a westerly wind, I would NOT head for Hugh Town Harbour, which will be busy and agitated, but would aim to anchor somewhere straightforward and sheltered, such as off 15 WATERMILL COVE on the NE side of St Mary’s.
After a good night’s sleep and with a full day ahead, exploring within the archipelago will be much less stressful; the pilotage is complex but distances are short and there is no need to hurry. A good anchorage for a prolonged stay is 16 OLD GRIMSBY, on the NE flank of Tresco, which has craggy scenery, perfect beaches and water taps on the shore, with pub, shop and even a laundry within easy walking distance.
In east winds, Old Grimsby can feel exposed but there is an equally attractive spot on the other side of Tresco, where New Grimsby Sound is often congested but
17 APPLETREE BAY has room for all – and another gorgeous beach. The only snag is that the bay is very shallow at Low Water
Springs, which demonstrates one general rule of Scilly cruising: for the best choice of anchorages, go there during neap tides, especially if your boat cannot take the ground.
Now, let’s rewind and assume that from Swanage we sailed south rather than west. Atlantic swell tends to swing around the Channel Islands, so in westerly winds some of the nominally sheltered anchorages become rather uncomfortable. Under these conditions, visitors to Guernsey often anchor in Havelet Bay, immediately outside St Peter Port, but I fancy that 18 FERMAIN BAY, a little further south, is likely to be more peaceful.
Jersey’s most popular anchorages are on its south coast but in winds from the SW quadrant the only one with flat water will be on the drying sands outside St Aubin Harbour. For yachts that need to stay afloat, by far the best shelter is in the remarkably under-used
19 ST CATHERINE BAY, north of Gorey on the island’s east coast. There is ample space for anchoring, with good depths fairly close inshore during neaps. A café at the root of the long breakwater provides refreshments, although for provisions and water it is necessary to go to Gorey.
For a final treat, it is only a short hop from St Catherine Bay to 20 LES ECREHOU, one of the Channel Islands’ most entertaining destinations. At high water there is a scattering of tiny islets, some of them bearing huts that serve as holiday homes, but as the tide falls it uncovers a vast reef that protects a couple of anchorages. Knowledgeable locals, many of them from Carteret, arrive during the ebb and spend the low tide period exploring or fishing. To a stranger, all those rocks may look intimidating but once the natural breakwaters are exposed the water within the reef becomes flat, allowing boats to lie in quiet pools or nose on to the sandy patches. That’s what competent anchoring is all about: having an adventure, safely.