Minehead
At a Glance
Contacts
Harbour Master tel 07799 456128
There has been a harbour here at Minehead for centuries but it
has not always been as it is today. The original harbour was half
way along the beach towards the present Butlin's holiday camp and,
at one time there was a pier which projected out from the front
opposite the end of the present pierhead.
What we have now is a stone pier which acts as a breakwater to the
Bristol Channel and, along with the high ground to the south of it,
provides good shelter from all directions apart from the NE to E
when there will be quite a swell inside. The harbour dries, as
does every harbour on this coast (standfast Watchet) so to make use
of its shelter you need to be able to take the ground.
You could lean on the wall but that has a fairly steep tumble home
so you'd probably be listing against it.
The town itself is a very busy holiday destination in the summer;
there is a popular Holiday Camp at the Eastern end of the beach and
it is also the terminus of the West Somerset Railway. From a
sailing point of view there is not normally much competition for a
visitors berth, tide being the normal problem; if you are
travelling East you arrive at HW ok but need to depart at LW to use
the whole tide for onwards transit - and of course, if you are
travelling West you arrive at LW and will have to anchor off to
await water to get in.
On the other hand, for a weekend stop as a Bristol Channel "local"
you'll be used to this and will quite happily juggle the tides with
your social agenda and have a great Saturday night! Alternatively
all the harbours along this coast are within a half tide of each
other so you can utilize the three or fours hours either side of HW
to hop along the coast (they all have extremely salubrious
hostelries close by their harbours!!)
There is an anchorage off Minehead opposite the "White Mark" on the
chart (a rock painted white above the HW line) and the holding here
is good enough for normal conditions even on spring tides (do your
sums or you'll end up aground) but, if you have a snubbing line for
your anchor, use it because it is a very noisy bottom. Oh, and the
other thing is that the White Mark is not lit at night so anchor
bearings are hard to come by!! (this can be disconcerting because
the bottom is so noisy you may worry that your anchor is dragging
when it isn't) It is best to plan your departure for slack water
unless you have a power windlass (or crew) for your anchor
cable.
Minehead
Approach
In most boats approach to this harbour will only be possible about two hours either side of HW.
The approach is complicated by that sewage outfall pipe which lies on the bottom to the East of the pierhead. It's not a problem from the West as you can just sail along the coast and once you have passed to seaward of the first red perch you come to you can make directly towards the pierhead taking care not to drift eastwards over the pipe (unfortunately the inward end is not marked so you need to select some lead in marks on the shore whilst also keeping an eye out astern to check your line up)
Coming from the East I would pass outside the green NCM perch on
the outer end of the pipe before turning back in towards the
pierhead. This is because the shingle banks to the East of the
harbour are quite high and shift around so coming in to the east of
the outfall pipe make running aground a distinct possibility. Be
aware that the chart soundings on this coast are twenty to thirty
years old.
Finally, there is usually a build up of shingle around the pierhead
so give it about 30 yards off as you make your final turn into the
harbour.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
There is one red mooring buoy laid to the East of the two poles .............
...... at the mouth of the harbour or, if you have enough water,
you can sneak alongside the harbour wall. The HM has no problems
with you picking up a vacant buoy for a night stop but be prepared
to shift if the owner returns and needs it.
The first pier steps you come to are in constant use by the
pleasure boats right down to the last inch of the tide; do not park
there, there are ladders further in.
You'll need fender boards or large fenders.
They charge (2022) a flat rate of £16.30 per night or £11.10 for a
single tide (ie in on the tide and out on the same tide). The HM
also manages the Tackle Shop but is not in the harbour Mon, Tues or
Wednesday. He's 24/7 on the mobile number we have given
above.
Facilities
There is a water tap on the quay wall. Co-located with the water
tap is a 240volt/13amp electric supply but you'll need a
standard domestic plug to access that. Petrol & Diesel are
available in cans at a petrol station at the top of the town and
this may do gas refills.
Toilets are in a block behind the Ship Aground and are locked
overnight; the hoped for showers have not put in an appearance
yet.
What to Do
The Old Ship Aground is under new management; it was bought back
in May 2013 and is now fully operational offering the usual
delights and it is reported to be "much better than before".
Other than that there are plenty of delights; Butlins takes day
visitors, the West Somerset railway is running well (remember to
close the windows before you enter tunnels - those of you of a
certain age will remember this) and the main street (although a
step away) is loaded with good eateries and fast food outlets.
And, of course, you have Exmoor just behind the town.
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Tide Information for minehead-harbour
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