THE UK’S 40 BEST ANCHORAGES
Stunning spots to cruise to this summer
Many cruisers dream of selling up and heading off into the blue yonder, to sail in exotic waters far from home. While we may dream of it, it doesn’t always happen. However, it’s easy to forget that some of the finest cruising in the world sits on our doorstep right here in the UK.
With Brexit uncertainty in the air, there has never been a better time to focus on the sailing to be done around our own shoreline for your cruising this summer.
Cruising offers us the historical romance of voyaging under sail, with freedom to choose how, when and where we travel. Modern life is beginning to curtail our options and tax these pleasures to some extent, but most restrictions and charges are encountered in port. By cruising from one anchorage to another, you can minimise costs and enjoy endless peaceful nights on the hook.
FINDING YOUR OWN SPOT
Here we have looked at four of the UK’S best-loved cruising areas and selected some of their best anchorages. But there is nothing to stop you heading out and finding your own. Besides, given wind and wave conditions, a good spot one week may well be unsuitable the next. Nothing beats heading out and finding your own place and making your own judgments as to how good the holding is, how much protection it will offer to the current (and coming) weather.
You want to look for an anchorage that provides reasonable shelter in the prevailing wind, tucked in the lee of a weather shore. A good spot will often be found tucked up inside a headland but take care here because although you are directly sheltered from the wind and sea, waves have a nasty habit of being refracted around a headland.
This means that the swell coming in with the wind can change direction, causing the swell to impinge on your ‘sheltered’ anchorage. You can also get this effect in the lee of an island when the swells come round each side.
If there is high ground immediately to windward of your anchorage you may get quite fierce down gusts rolling down off the mountains and hitting you. Thus what looks like a nice sheltered spot can in fact cause you grief with only the slightest wind increase or direction change.
Some parts of the country offer quieter and more remote anchorages than others but you don’t have to go to these more remote locations to find a quiet anchorage. Even on the busy South Coast there are quieter spots, but you may have to work harder to get to them,
Many cruisers tend to avoid those areas with a trickier entrance, but with diligent planning and a good pilot book you can find yourself in a peaceful spot, far from the crowds without the need to sail to some remote part of the country. Being sure of your depth and understanding tidal calculations are key factors.
Even in a busy anchorage, space can still be found with good seamanship. It can be surprising how many boats will not venture near the shore, even if there is little need – in terms of tide and wind changes – to remain further offshore.