Advertising in Yarmouth

The sunset was beautiful.  We’d sailed West.  Sunglasses on as we pointed Trouper towards the last of the sun.  The next half hour was dusk and it was dark when we arrived in Yarmouth.  We’d pre-booked a berth in the marina though, in October, at the tail end of the season there was plenty of space.

The leading lights made the entrance straightforward, even in the dark.  You just have to dodge the ferry that runs once an hour.  It also helps if you call the harbour master on the right radio channel.  We decided to moor up – as we couldn’t get through but, guess what, if you call them on channel 68 rather than 86 they’ll respond!  Once moored in the correct berth we got the dinner on and the heating.

Yarmouth harbour has changed so much; even in the 15 years I’ve been sailing.  There is now walk ashore access from pontoons rather than fixed piles where you moor fore and aft.  The shower-block with marina office is still the same with helpful staff and a good range of facilities including: toilets and showers, laundrette, tourist information, wifi/internet access.  Over the bridge is a boatyard and the town of Yarmouth is a five minute walk in the other direction.

I do have one gripe about the facilities and that’s the cost of the showers.  Before the pontoons went in you could understand separate charges for the showers as the cost to moor was relatively cheap.  Now our bill is much the same as in Lymington but we then have to pay a further £1.30 per person to use the showers…. it makes staying at The Berthon Marina or Lymington Yacht Haven an option worth considering instead.

Yarmouth itself is tiny, two rows of shops, a pier, church, about seven pubs and a castle.  There’s been a settlement here since times historic.  We learned, at a talk on Yarmouth, that it was once an Island but that was during the time of Henry VIII.  It’s also had 2 Members of Parliament and pirates though not at the same time.  We planned to stay a couple of days as we wanted to go for a walk on Tennyson Down and try out the new restaurant at The George Hotel.  That first night though we ate a good meal, read our books and luxuriated in our warm cabin.