Navigation details

COURTESY FLAG:
Flag, Red Ensign

WAYPOINT:
Safe Distance off Victoria Pier:
50:16′.2N 004:46′.80W

CHARTS:
Admiralty 147, 148, SC5602

RULES & REGULATIONS:
5 Knts Outer Harbour and
Approach, 3 Knts Inner Harbour.

HAZARDS:
Inner Harbour Dries, Dangerous to approach in onshore winds, Harbour Berths exposed in Easterly
Gales, Black Rock off North Quay.

TIDAL DATA TIMES & RANGE:
HW Dover -0600 MHWS 5.5m MHWN 4.4m MLWN 2.2m MLWS 0.8m

APPROACH:
Pilotage details: Straightforward enough, Gwineas Rock lies to the SSE and strangers are advised to pass East of it, although with a large-scale chart one will find an inshore passage. With the white lighthouse (Fl(2)10s 12M) on the end of Victoria Pier bearing west, make your approach, this will keep you clear of the unmarked Black Rock that lies to the NNE of the North Pier. Enter between the Piers, but be aware that the edge of the North Pier has concrete foundations that cover at half tide and it is marked on the corner by pole with a green conical top mark.

BERTHING, MOORING & ANCHORING:
In settled weather it is possible to anchor off the harbour, clear of the entrance. Indeed during busy periods and offshore winds, sometimes boats are berthed on the outside of Victoria Pier. No anchoring is allowed inside the harbour. The outer harbour has plenty of water even at low spring tides and visitors normally berth on the inside of the outer end of Victoria Pier, as shown on the chart. Good fendering will be essential, and a fender board useful. (The harbour office can provide) Check with the harbour authorities before leaving your boat unattended in this location, as they may need to shift you. There are two trots of cylindrical visitors mooring buoys for fore & aft mooring inside the outer harbour close to both the North Pier and the South Pier The harbourmaster keeps listening watch on VHF channel 16, with working on channel 14, from 9am to 9pm during the summer months. His office is in the white building on the North Pier. If you can take the ground there is normally space on the small beach to the East of the West Quay but you would need to contact the HM about mooring/anchoring there as there is a general ban on anchoring inside the harbour.

Telephone 01726 843305.