England:Alnmouth
From Skipper2Skipper
| Where Am I? | |
|---|---|
| Northern Europe -> United Kingdom -> North East | |
This harbour is tricky, but worth it!
The entrance channel changes constantly. The picture above is already quite out of date in respect of the outer channel. The local sailing club mark the channel in the spring, but before winter, when the marks are removed, they will not be showing the best water. The marks are unconventional, being 1 or 2 black plastic cans (unlit).
My latest visit (November 2008) showed that the black buoy is removed. The channel has moved again. Best and safest thing must be to anchor off at LW and survey yourself by dinghy. Once at the entrance narrows stick to centre for best depth.
Of course, if there is swell of any size it will cause dangerous surf over the entrance, making the harbour a definite no no!
Anchorages
Anchor off the Entrance (as shown) on clean sand whilst wating for the tide. Once inside there is one deep hole known as Pan Leazes where fin keelers will remain afloat throughout the tide; continue through the moorings to where the channel turns W-E to the NW of the village.
Yachts able to take the ground may anchor in between the moorings on firm sand or even in the creek to S sheltered by Church Hill just inside the entrance. Carefully run onto the gently shelving shore against the hill. There you will find perfect shelter.
Facilities
Alnmouth offers no facilities, no charges, several pubs, pub food, an interesting Victorian resort and an old sailing ship port to explore.
Invest some effort to survey the entrance and enjoy Alnmouth.
Happy sailing, Ed.
