Where to go Winter Sailing in the Solent
Winter Sailing in the Solent
You don’t have to be crazy to consider Winter Sailing. In our last article post we looked at 10 Reasons why Winter Sailing is awesome.
During winter, only the hardiest of sailors will spend the night at anchor, so if you have been tempted to try a winter sailing weekend, here is the Hamble Point Yacht charters guide to where to go:
East Cowes Marina
East Cowes Marina on the River Medina, Isle of Wight, offers good shelter from passing ferries, and offers stylish washrooms you’d expect in a luxury hotel with underfloor heating and hairdryers provided!
The Lifeboat is a large pub close to the marina serving a varied menu food all day, a popular Under 12s menu, free wifi and a homely décor. It’s a short hop via the ferry or a water taxi to the charming town of Cowes with a range of boutique shops and restaurants, or stop in to the Pier View, the sailors’ local.
Haslar Marina
Just inside Portsmouth Harbour, Dean & Reddyhoff’s Haslar Marina is large and friendly and has lots of space for that all-important boat handling practice. There are a number of nearby shore-based attractions which are worth a visit including Gunwharf Quays or the Historic Dockyards.
Head to the “Mary Mouse” (or the Lightship as it is also known) which is owned and run by a fellow sailor, who has just completed the Ostar transatlantic race, for quirky but modern showers and the Trinity Restaurant.
Yarmouth Harbour
The village of Yarmouth on the NW coast of the Isle of Wight is a lovely place to be at any time of year. But in Winter there is a great selection of cosy pubs including the magnificent George Hotel and the Kings Head which usually has a roaring fire.
In Winter, the showers at Yarmouth Harbour are free – an added bonus!
Berthon (Lymington)
Berthon is a lovely, deepwater marina and the showers even feature a warming box for your clothes!
It is a short walk to the Georgian market town of Lymington, right on the edge of the New Forest, to explore a wide choice of pubs, restaurants and hotels and pick up an original piece of contemporary sailing art from Stephen Lees.
If that has persuaded you to consider a winter sailing weekend, check out our latest short notice offers and Winter rates (yes – they are significantly discounted).
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Charted a Bavaria 36 for a weekend trip. Last minute booking and super impressed with how we managed to sort thing out so quickly and easily after just a couple of e-mails and phone calls. Arrived late Friday after office was closed but check in pack had been left for us to pick up and overnight onboard. Boat very nicely kitted out and left Sat morning to ride Westerly tide to Lymington. Great local knowledge given during the morning walk through about where to moor and get dinner. Nice sail back on Sunday. Weather turned foul but she handled really well under full sail. Everyone on board enjoyed themselves and it's exactly what I'd hoped for from the weekend. This was first time sailing from Hamble and it's a great location to get quickly into the Solent. Definitely will be back once weather warms up and days get longer to try some longer trips. Thank you Hamble Point Charters for a great weekend !
My family and I had a great charter experience recently thanks to Alex, Andy and the whole team. Well maintained boat, friendly service and advice. We plan to charter again next year with them.
Alex, Becca and the team could not have been more helpful considering we called them at 4:45 Tuesday for a boat on Wednesday, another charter company had let us down at the last minute. Check-out and back in was well organized and we had a great 3 days sailing.
As a family, including our 4 year old Labrador, we recently chartered a 'bareboat' yacht from Hamble Point Charters for 7 days to cruise the Solent. The company were fantastic from our first enquiry to handing back the boat. The yacht was clean and well presented. A great week and we will happily use them again!
We have just had another wonderful week on a yacht we chartered from Hamble Point Yacht Charters. We have sailed several of their boats, this time it was a lovely 35 foot Bavaria. Chartering from HPYC is always an easy choice for us: the boats are well maintained, support is excellent, and the staff are always super friendly and helpful. On top of that, Hamble Point is such an ideal starting location for sailing around the Solent.
This is truly a 5 * service. The team really looked after us both ashore on arrival and also while at sea. We were a relatively inexperienced crew but always felt the team ashore had our backs. Thoroughly recommended.
I just wanted to say Thank-you very much for the weekend charter. It was exactly what we were after (albeit cold!) plus Andy was an awesome teacher and great company. We’ll definitely be keen to book again soon!
We had a fabulous four days. Marina is ideally placed for the Solent, boat was in great condition, well equipped and a joy to sail. We were well briefed and the shore side team including the dog very friendly.
We charted one of the sailing yachts for a fantastic weekend cruise in the Solent. The boat was in superb condition and well equipped, the staff was very helpful explaining how things work on the yacht and there was also a video available with all the important information. 10/10 would recommend!
Had a fantastic week chartering Blue Otter, Alex was incredibly helpful and sent loads of information and date checking prior to booking. There was a handover video and both the handover and return were really smooth. The boat was lovely and well maintained and Lee was really helpful in recommending places to visit (and helping identify the steering issue as an autopilot takeover - doh!). Definitely will be back and would fully recommend!
Just back from a lovely week in the Solent. Great service from HPYC from first inquiry through to return handover. Very straightforward to deal with, and the yacht was in excellent condition. We've chartered from many companies in the UK and abroad and the attention to detail (and flawless inventory!) was second to none. Everything about the yacht and equipment had clearly been well looked after and was in immaculate condition. Great service, will use again.
Always very friendly service, and well-maintained yachts. Easy check-in and checkout. Will be back...
We had a great time and were very happy with everything. Your team were genuinely friendly and were very helpful when we needed it. Is a big contrast to many charter companies I have dealt with in the past.
Watching the sun go down with a glass of bubbly on the deck of a sparkling yacht was unbelievable. What a treat, and a much needed change of scenery in these troubled times. We will be back for sure
Fab service, nothing too much trouble, including my daft questions. I'll be a repeat customer for sure!