Bembridge, Isle of Wight
June 13, 2022
HM 193. Bembridge Harbour - my first taste of Isle of Wight hospitality.
First read of the pilot book might put you off visiting this drying harbour with a shallow bar - but the entrance is well buoyed and their website displays a live feed telling you the precise depth of water - genius.
The River East Yar estuary was originally five times as large and the quayside 2.5 miles inland. In 1874 a railway company bought the harbour, built a railway line, an embankment causeway and a pier close to the sea. All this spawned significant industrialisation.
You would not guess that today - Bembridge estuary retains a lovely mixture of old fashioned beach landscape and carefully managed wildlife reserves. It is a SSSI and SPA (Special Protection Area).
The harbour's ownership remains, unusually, a private company. My photo is with the enthusiastic owner Malcolm Thorpe. Together with a super efficient (but photo shy) Harbour Master Gordon, the harbour runs like clockwork and we were made to feel very welcome. With their bright yellow shirts and slick radio voice procedure, the young team who marshall the visiting boats deserve a mention.
Talking to Gordon, I think all youngsters should come and work for him - he has two rules "Staff must smile" and "I am your boss not your mate". I love it!
Today sailing dominates the harbour, with two very competitive yacht clubs. We were lucky enough to be hosted in one of them with a lunch looking over the sandy harbour and heard what a special place Bembridge is to live. The harbour, like so many, looks idyllic but is not cheap to maintain. Dredging the channel alone (every 3 years) costs £125K. There is massive pressure to "develop" every square foot of any beautiful harbour so do come and visit this "corner" of a "corner" of England before it changes!
Thank you Malcolm, Gordon, Paul and Jenny for a very happy visit.
First read of the pilot book might put you off visiting this drying harbour with a shallow bar - but the entrance is well buoyed and their website displays a live feed telling you the precise depth of water - genius.
The River East Yar estuary was originally five times as large and the quayside 2.5 miles inland. In 1874 a railway company bought the harbour, built a railway line, an embankment causeway and a pier close to the sea. All this spawned significant industrialisation.
You would not guess that today - Bembridge estuary retains a lovely mixture of old fashioned beach landscape and carefully managed wildlife reserves. It is a SSSI and SPA (Special Protection Area).
The harbour's ownership remains, unusually, a private company. My photo is with the enthusiastic owner Malcolm Thorpe. Together with a super efficient (but photo shy) Harbour Master Gordon, the harbour runs like clockwork and we were made to feel very welcome. With their bright yellow shirts and slick radio voice procedure, the young team who marshall the visiting boats deserve a mention.
Talking to Gordon, I think all youngsters should come and work for him - he has two rules "Staff must smile" and "I am your boss not your mate". I love it!
Today sailing dominates the harbour, with two very competitive yacht clubs. We were lucky enough to be hosted in one of them with a lunch looking over the sandy harbour and heard what a special place Bembridge is to live. The harbour, like so many, looks idyllic but is not cheap to maintain. Dredging the channel alone (every 3 years) costs £125K. There is massive pressure to "develop" every square foot of any beautiful harbour so do come and visit this "corner" of a "corner" of England before it changes!
Thank you Malcolm, Gordon, Paul and Jenny for a very happy visit.