About Us

About Visit My Harbour

Visit My Harbour is run by Trevor Spink, website developer and sailor.

The site has recently been rebuilt from the keel up to be modern, responsive and fast, whether you are viewing it on a desktop ashore or using a low‑bandwidth connection afloat. The aim has stayed the same: to provide useful, practical harbour information for people who actually go boating, not just read about it.

This new chapter builds on the wonderful work done by Steve Bryant, who created and developed Visit My Harbour over many years. Steve is now working with us to provide his excellent digital charting products, and his experience and knowledge remain an important part of the site’s continuing development.

We do not claim to be professional writers, nor armchair experts. Most of what you see here comes from time spent afloat, turning up tired, hungry, short of water or fuel, and wanting to know simple things quickly. Where can I get diesel? Is there water on the pontoon? Can I exchange a gas bottle? Is this harbour straightforward in a crosswind? Those are the questions that matter at the end of a long day.

We tend to be far more interested in easy provisioning, shelter, water, gas and diesel than in exclusive restaurants, designer sailing wear, or the latest gadgets. That does not make those things wrong, just less relevant when you are living with the boat rather than visiting it.

Experience afloat, not from a desk

We do not navigate at our desks. We go sailing.

That simple fact shapes the site more than anything else. It gives us an eye for the sort of information that a roving mariner actually finds useful, especially when conditions are less than perfect or time is short. The information here is intended to support good decision‑making and enjoyment of the water, not to replace official charts, publications or sound seamanship.

A word that still rings true

The following quotation is from Sterling Hayden; sailor, adventurer and actor. Written many years ago, it still feels uncomfortably relevant today:

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest…

Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in…

What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in, and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment…

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”

Hayden was writing about voyaging, but with a small change it applies equally well to building things that matter:

Visit My Harbour has always grown out of necessity rather than comfort, and that tends to encourage useful ideas. Having once started a successful business from scratch with no capital, the same principle applies here: do what is needed, make it work, and improve it steadily.

Built for use afloat

The internet is now part of life on board. We have been online afloat since 2004, and the rebuilt Visit My Harbour reflects that reality.

The site is deliberately:

• Optimised for fast loading on slow connections
• Clear of external advertising networks
• Free from social media tracking buttons
• Focused on clarity rather than clutter

That makes it just as usable at anchor or alongside as it is in an office.

A shared resource

Visit My Harbour works best when it is shared and contributed to. Harbours change, facilities move, pontoons are rebuilt, and local knowledge is invaluable. Contributions from fellow sailors are welcome, and we hope the site continues to grow in the spirit of mutual help and good seamanship.

Not as experts talking down, but as brothers and sisters of the sea, comparing notes.

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