What are the best places to moor a boat in Southampton?
Southampton, based on the south coast of the UK, is one of the biggest boating hubs in Europe and immensely popular among boat owners. It is the gateway to Cowes and the Isle of Wight, home to Southampton Water and the Solent as well as other popular boating hotspots such as Hamble and Lymington and has easy links to London.
When it comes to mooring a boat, many find Southampton the perfect choice as there are few places in the world that can provide the facilities on offer and rival the areas geography as an ideal boating hotspot. It offers a mix of great scenery, a wide variety of harbours in a compact area and has sheltered waters.
The Solent is a 20 mile long stretch of water between Southampton and the Isle of Wight and is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of boats. It enjoys some of the UK’s best weather, while also providing a huge length of sheltered water with harbours every four or five miles. In total there is an estimated 24,000 moorings, both afloat and ashore in the area, ranging from full-service marina berths or low-key drying swinging moorings, plus onshore dry stacks for RIBs and other motorboats of up to 30ft in length.
Marinas
There are many marinas in Southampton that your boat can call home. Below is a list of the best marinas in the area.
Hamble Point Marina
Hamble Point Marina is situated right at the mouth of the River Hamble so can be hard to beat for its location. It provides easy access to the world-renowned Solent waters which has made this marina a favourite among racers, cruising yachtsmen and competitive sailors from all over the world. It also offers the Ketch Rigger bar and restaurant.
There are at least a dozen yacht brokers and dealers located at Hamble Point Marina including Inspiration Marine (Hanse, Dehler and Fjord), Key Yachting (J-Boats, Grand Soleil, Nautitech and Tofinou), and Transworld Yachts (Hallberg Rassy). On shore a huge amount of space is given to over fifity marine businesses, including boat building and repair, sail making, rigging and electronics.
Hamble Point is a 230-berth marina and offers extensive shore-side facilities. It boasts the best range of new and used boats for sale on the South Coast and in addition there is also a dry stack system with 137 berths for motorboats up to 10 metres. Offering increased security and lower maintenance costs, the service includes unlimited launching on demand seven days a week.
Besides its first-class berthing and marina services, Hamble Point Marina is a Marine Service Centre offering excellent maintenance and repair facilities that can provide boat-owners with a wide range of marine services from boat repairs to electrical work.
Shamrock Quay Marina
Shamrock Quay Marina is a marina immersed in history. The name came from the famous J-class yacht ‘Shamrock V’ that was built on site at the marina to challenge for the America’s Cup in 1931.
The marina has 255 berths and continues to be a major centre for refit and boat building with many specialist trades based on site, as well as a cafe, shops and The Bistro Shamrock Quay bar and restaurant.
Facilities including a 70 metre superyacht berth, a 60 metre visitor berth and a modern shower and toilet block including disabled facilities, ensure that Shamrock Quay is able to cater for all boat owners. There are 24/7 storage facilities onsite and everything you need to carry out maintenance work and repairs on your boat.
Shamrock quay is also home to over 40 companies based on site that offer a wide range of specialist services that range from engineers and sail makers to a well-stocked chandlery.
Ocean Village Marina
Ocean Village is situated in the shelter of Southampton Water and is right in the heart of Southampton itself. It is known as much more than a marina as it is surrounded by restaurants, bars, shops, and a cinema and offers outstanding recreational facilities.
Formerly used for commercial ships, the basin is deep enough to offer mooring facilities for tall ships and large yachts, and it has also become well known for hosting the start or finish of round-the-world yacht races.
The marina is home to a £50m luxury spa hotel complex, the city’s tallest building, and exciting new restaurant and retail openings. Ocean Village also offers its members their exclusive new Platinum Package with fantastic benefits offering the ultimate marina experience.
While Ocean Village does not have its own boatyard, there are convenient local boatyard facilities at Hythe Marina Village, Shamrock Quay, and Hamble Point Marina nearby.
Quayside Marina
Quayside Marina in Southampton is a small and friendly boat yard and marina based on the Itchen River, two miles north of the mouth of the river. They have over 70 berths and offer traditional boat yard services as well as pontoon berthing.
Berthing at Quayside Marina offers boaters the opportunity to cruise to Ryde, Portsmouth, Cowes, Yarmouth, Beaulieu or Lymington, in one day.
They also have a boat mover and tractor on site and with regular cranage days booked in monthly it is easy to plan your lifting needs in and out of the water all at excellent value for money prices.
Town Quay Marina
Town Quay Marina is located on the eastern shores of Southampton Water. It boasts stunning marine facilities and offers a top-class experience whatever the weather.
It has direct access to the world famous racing and cruising waters of the Solent and is the ideal base to explore the South Coast. Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Beaulieu River and Poole Harbour are withing easy cruising distance. It is also the ideal location if you wish to venture further out to the Channel Islands or France.
Town Quay Marina is often described as the city centre marina of choice as it has great transport links and is within easy reach of the main shopping, eating and entertainment hub of the city.
Swanwick Marina
Swanwick Marina is based in the quiet upper reaches of the Hamble River in what is often described as the most famous yachtie location in the UK. The marina offers wet berthing, dry stack and boatyard facilities as well as 24 hour access to the cruising grounds of the Solent.
Swanwick Marina has recently been redeveloped and is now home to many companies that were previously based at Hamble Point. These include the brokers Sea Ventures (Jeanneau power and sail), Clipper Marine (Bavaria power and sail) and Bates Wharf (Bayliner and Fairline). You will also find Princess Yachts asnd a few other companies that have boats for sale in Southampton.
A competitively priced, sheltered haven with wide fairways and generous pontoons, this marina also boasts a state-of-the-art modern boatyard, luxury facilities and a self-serve fuel pontoon.
Hythe Marina
Offering first class berthing and marine services, Hythe Marina located on the western shore of Southampton Water was the first marina village to be built in the UK and is still thought of as one of the finest.
It is a unique development of a 260 berth marina, waterside homes, shops, bars and restaurants as well as a boutique hotel.
At the marina there is storage ashore for over 120 boats and they have a boatyard within the marina for DIY maintenance work.
Port Hamble Marina
Port Hamble Marina is situated on the River Hamble and is based right in the heart of the South Coasts sailing scene. From Port Hamble the sailing opportunities are endless and Hamble Village is only a few minutes’ walk away with its inviting pubs and restaurants.
This busy and modern marina is increasingly popular among racing and cruising enthusiasts who enjoy the exciting atmosphere it provides. It can be safely accessed day or night, at any state of the tide and in all reasonable conditions.
Kemps Quay Marina
Kemps Quay Marina was established in 1913 and is Southampton’s oldest marina. It is a small family run marina situated on the east bank of the River Itchen two miles north of the river mouth.
It has 290 berths available of which 30 are non-tidal and the remainder are semi-tidal.
This area is extremely popular for yachtsmen because its offers sheltered cruising in nearly all weather conditions.
Saxon Wharf Marina
Saxon Wharf Marina is situated on the west bank of the Itchen River within the city of Southampton. It is the ideal location for larger boats in need of secure, quick turnaround lift-outs, repair work or full-scale refits.
The marina focuses upon providing repair facilities for large scale superyachts, but it also provides an equally good range of marine services for smaller craft with the city conveniently at hand.
Saxon Wharf has a 200-ton boat hoist and heavy duty, fully serviced pontoons accommodating boats up to 80 metres. The dry stack facility offers secure dry berthing and on-demand launching and lifting for boats up to 13 metres. There’s ample space for storage ashore and a wide range of marine trade tenants on site offering a variety of professional services.
Mercury Yacht Harbour
Mercury Yacht Harbour is situated in a scenic and peaceful spot in a sheltered wooded site where the shallows waters of Badnam Creek join the River Hamble. It is a quiet and low-key marina that offers berthing for 360 boats and enjoys deep water at all states of the tide.
Mercury Yacht harbour offers excellent facilities including a well-stocked chandlery, the Gaff Rigger bar and restaurant that offer waterfront views and the Mercury Yacht Holiday Park. The Holiday Park has the choice of self-catering accommodation, available all year, or campsite and touring facilities open from March to October.
What rivers are there in Southampton
There are three main rivers that run through Southampton.
River Hamble
The River Hamble, situated just a few miles down Southampton Water in the mile wide estuary that leads from the Solent to the city’s docks, is internationally famous for its sailing and has been a yacht and boat building centre for centuries. The lower couple of miles of the river is packed with moorings and marinas and is home to more than 3,000 yachts and motorboats.
The river’s location makes it ideal for weekend excursions into the Solent or as a departure point for destinations further afield. It runs through the picturesque village of Bishop’s Waltham, Botley and the village of Hamble where the river enters into the Southampton Water.
This is where some of the area’s largest boat yards are to be found. Most of the UK’s biggest brokers and new boat distributors are based here, around seven miles’ drive from Southampton city centre. They tend to be clustered around the river’s five main marinas, particularly Hamble Point near the mouth of the estuary, Port Hamble in Hamble Village and Swanick, two miles further upstream on the opposite bank.
River Itchen
The River Itchen is a chalk stream that flows for approximately 28 miles from mid-Hampshire into Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge.
The lowest part of the river is an important yachting centre and contains several marinas, sailing centres and boatyards.
This area is extremely popular with yachtsmen as it is reasonably sheltered for cruising in most weather conditions. Southampton Water then flows into the Solent where a multitude of boats of all different types cruise and race.
River Test
The River Test is one of Hampshire’s finest chalk streams that rises in Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for 40 miles into Southampton Water. It is world famous for its superb trout fishing and a haven for yachts and leisure craft.
