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Hayling Yacht Company

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Overview





Hayling Yacht Company is located within Chichester Harbour which is situated on the south coast of England. It is a small drying marina that is best suited to shallow draft vessels that can take to the hard.

Hayling Yacht Company is located within Chichester Harbour which is situated on the south coast of England. It is a small drying marina that is best suited to shallow draft vessels that can take to the hard.

Set within the recess of the large natural harbour the marina offers complete protection from all conditions. Although Chichester Harbour is entered over a moderately deep sand bar, and between sand banks, it is very well marked and straightforward. However the path to the marina and the marina itself dries requiring vessels to work the tides in daylight.
Please note

The marina is small, relatively confined and tidal. It is advisable for visitors to call the yard to seek advice and berthing arrangements in advance.




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Keyfacts for Hayling Yacht Company
Facilities
Water hosepipe available alongsideWaste disposal bins availableGas availableShop with basic provisions availableSlipway availableHot food available in the localityPublic house or wine bar in the areaMarked or notable walks in the vicinity of this locationChandlery available in the areaBoatyard with hard-standing available here; covered or uncoveredMarine engineering services available in the areaRigging services available in the areaElectronics or electronic repair available in the area


Nature
Marina or pontoon berthing facilities

Considerations
Restriction: shallow, drying or partially drying pierRestriction: rising tide required for accessNote: harbour fees may be charged

Protected sectors

Current wind over the protected quadrants
Minimum depth
-3.3 metres (-10.83 feet).

Approaches
3 stars: Attentive navigation; daylight access with dangers that need attention.
Shelter
5 stars: Complete protection; all-round shelter in all reasonable conditions.



Last modified
July 17th 2018

Summary* Restrictions apply

A completely protected location with attentive navigation required for access.

Facilities
Water hosepipe available alongsideWaste disposal bins availableGas availableShop with basic provisions availableSlipway availableHot food available in the localityPublic house or wine bar in the areaMarked or notable walks in the vicinity of this locationChandlery available in the areaBoatyard with hard-standing available here; covered or uncoveredMarine engineering services available in the areaRigging services available in the areaElectronics or electronic repair available in the area


Nature
Marina or pontoon berthing facilities

Considerations
Restriction: shallow, drying or partially drying pierRestriction: rising tide required for accessNote: harbour fees may be charged



Position and approaches
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Haven position

50° 48.280' N, 000° 58.077' W

This is the position of the first and southeaster pontoon head.


What are the key points of the approach?

Offshore details are available in the westbound Route location or eastbound Route location sequenced 'Selsey Bill to Start Point' coastal description. Use the Itchenor Click to view haven entry for the approaches to Chichester Harbour, Northney Marina Click to view haven entry for Emsworth Channel directions .

  • Working the tides to obtain the requisite rise before departing the Emsworth Channel.

  • Branch off westward at the Mill Rythe port hand buoy and pass to the south east cardinal pole located 150 metres to the northwest.

  • Follow the line of mooring buoys and boats, centre channel, with port and starboard poles on the banks as it weaves and circles its way in.

  • It is essential not to cut the last two port and starboard poles situated 150 metres to the southeast of the pontoons. Pass between them and turn abruptly to starboard for the marina.



Not what you need?
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Below are the ten nearest havens to Hayling Yacht Company for your convenience.
Ten nearest havens by straight line charted distance and bearing:
  1. Sparkes Marina - 1.4 nautical miles SE
  2. Northney Marina - 1.8 nautical miles N
  3. Langstone Harbour - 2 nautical miles W
  4. East Head - 2.3 nautical miles ESE
  5. Pilsey Island - 2.4 nautical miles E
  6. Southsea Marina - 2.6 nautical miles WSW
  7. Emsworth - 2.6 nautical miles NNE
  8. Emsworth Yacht Harbour - 2.6 nautical miles NNE
  9. Thornham Marina - 2.8 nautical miles NE
  10. Chalkdock Point - 3.5 nautical miles E
These havens are ordered by straight line charted distance and bearing, and can be reordered by compass direction or coastal sequence:
  1. Sparkes Marina - 1.4 miles SE
  2. Northney Marina - 1.8 miles N
  3. Langstone Harbour - 2 miles W
  4. East Head - 2.3 miles ESE
  5. Pilsey Island - 2.4 miles E
  6. Southsea Marina - 2.6 miles WSW
  7. Emsworth - 2.6 miles NNE
  8. Emsworth Yacht Harbour - 2.6 miles NNE
  9. Thornham Marina - 2.8 miles NE
  10. Chalkdock Point - 3.5 miles E
To find locations with the specific attributes you need try:

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Chart
Please use our integrated Navionics chart to appraise the haven and its approaches. Navionics charts feature in premier plotters from B&G, Raymarine, Magellan and are also available on tablets. Open the chart in a larger viewing area by clicking the expand to 'new tab' or the 'full screen' option.

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How to get in?


Hayling Yacht Company is a family run boatyard located within a bight in the eastern shoreline of Hayling Island on the west side of Chichester Harbour. It is at end of a shallow channel that is only accessible on a rise of the tide. It has a small 116 berth marina in front of the yard that entirely dries at 3.2 metres.

The facility can nevertheless accommodate visiting boats of up to 18 metres in length provided they have moderate draft, can take to the mud, and are prepared to work around the tides to gain access. Those intending on staying here should make berthing arrangements in advance and take directions from the yard office on P: +44 23 9246 3592. Use the Itchenor Click to view haven entry for approaches to Chichester Harbour and Northney Marina Click to view haven entry for directions from the entrance.




Convergance Point Fork off westward from the Emsworth channel at the red Mill Rythe port hand buoy keeping a key eye on the sounder. Pass to the south of an east cardinal pole located 150 metres to the northwest of the Mill Rythe buoy. The area beyond the east cardinal pole is the shallowest point of the Mill Rithe drainage channel. A small sand bank which is exposed at low tide exists here.




From this point a conspicuous line of closely-spaced white mooring buoys will be seen to the westward beyond the bank. These moorings best describe the path of the channel. Head to the first of these mooring buoys and follow their line passing close to the buoys, or the heads of any moored boats, in a north-westward direction. The outer banks of the channel are marked by narrow poles that increase in frequency as the boatyard is approached. Red poles with can top marks will be see on the port, green poles with conical top marks to starboard.




The path snakes and weaves somewhat for about a mile. However with the closely spaced mooring buoys marking the centre of the channel, changing to predominantly orange buoys closer in, and the poles on the outside banks of the channel, the fairway is plainly seen.




There is a single but important optical anomaly on the final approach to the boatyard and marina. With the marina clearly in sight the narrow channel oddly tends south-westward to a point on the shore 150 metres to the southeast of the pontoons. The area is uncomfortably fronted by a reed bed with a pair of port and starboard poles located immediately in front of the reeds. A further disconcerting factor is the starboard pole, in 2016, had its conical top mark broken off.




Nevertheless it is absolutely essential to stick to the marked path and pass between these poles. Favour the starboard pole for better water, passing as close as a metre off it, and then turn hard to starboard to pass between the outer ends of the pontoons and a final starboard pole.




For a newcomer this last turn will appear entirely counter-intuitive as it steers a boat directly at a reed bed before demanding a hard turn to starboard. Steering the course presents no problem except that it runs counter to gut-instinct. But this path must be adhered to no matter how uncomfortable it feels.

The helmsman should not be tempted to cut this last bend and steer directly for the pontoons as it will most likely lead to a grounding. At low water the path of the river shows the necessity of following these marks. It also shows the marks of those who lost their courage at the last moment and tried to pass the wrong side of the starboard mark. The result are the many ploughed in furrows seen at low water.




Haven location Berth as directed by the yard office.




Why visit here?
The Hayling Yacht Company is a family owned business that has served sailing in the Solent since 1935. The industrial use of its site however goes back much further than this.




Mill Rythe received its name from the former Hayling Tide Mill that was located here. The mill was recorded as being operational in the 13th century and was used continually up until the late 19th century. Tidal mills operated by trapping the flood tide in a pond. Then on the ebb, after a good head of water had been impounded, the outgoing water could then turn the mill wheels for up to three and a half hours. The mills harness the constant rise and fall of the tidal cycle by impounding a head of water in a mill pond behind a sluice gate and then releasing its energy to turn the mill wheels. Compared to wind mills they were expensive to build and could only operate for seven to ten hours each tidal day. But the power was constant and reliable which led to their development in this sheltered recess of the harbour. Although now lost, the form of the mill pond survives, as does the dam at its south-eastern end. The quay that now servers the Hayling Yacht Company was formerly that of the mills'.


There are a number of further significant sites of both archaeological and historic interest in the surrounding area. The most significant being the Tourner Bury Iron Age hillfort that occupying the raised tongue of land that extends between the minor tidal inlets of Mill Rythe and Mengham Rithe to the south. From here the fort commanded the western part of the entrance to Chichester Harbour.


Tourner Bury was first documented in AD 1518 as land called Tornors or Tor Shore the land of William de Tornore. The structure of the fort was one of a raised edge, or wall, surrounding a depression. At its greatest it was 230 metres in diameter and about half a mile in circumference with an area that covered some 2.6 hectares. It was entered from the west via a single entrance and stood to a height of some 4 metres. Excavations produced Roman pottery and material from a hearth and, most unusually, there was a temple on the site.


Despite is scale and features Tourner Bury is little recorded. Its precise history is not known today and it seems to be a peripheral area. There is evidence that the fort is Stone Age but some believe it was adapted to be part of a Romans cordon of nine coastal and estuarial forts. These stretched from the Solent to the Wash with Tourner Bury filling in the gap between Portchester and Pevensey. Unfortunately the Saxons and Vikings destroyed the Roman buildings, and left little themselves of any significance, with the exception of a font in St. Mary’s Church located 20 minutes’ walk from the marina.


St. Mary’s Church has many features worthy of note. The church stands on the Island’s highest point at little more than six metres above sea level. Built mainly in the early thirteenth century from imported stone it adheres very much to the standard design of churches of its era. Yet upon closer examination the walls will be seen to have been constructed from a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. It became Hayling’s central church after flooding claimed the now lost priory church along with much of the southern edge of the Island in the 14th century. The church features two interesting fonts. The oldest is a Saxon stone basin with interlacing patterns that was excavated from a site near the vicarage in the nineteenth century. The other is a much squarer Norman font of less elaborate design. Outside there is an ancient yew that dominates the church yard. The tree is believed to be one of the oldest in the country with a circumference of some nine metres. Although estimates as to its age vary, they range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years old. Interestingly an original set of stocks and whipping post that were housed in the church yard have now been removed to Havant Museum.


The one major 20th century development in this area was the pre-war construction of Warner Brothers 'Sunshine Holiday Camp', now Mill Rythe Holiday Village, on Pound Marsh, close to the marina. With its wonderful south facing beach and train service Hayling Island was at the forefront of the pre-war holiday camp boom. Building started on the site of a farmhouse in 1938 but was not finished by the outbreak of World War 2, though in the latter stages of the war it hosted the Royal Marines. 'Sunshine' opened its doors to the public in the 1940’s, owned by Freshfields, a local management team who were later bought out by Pontins, one of the biggest names in leisure and tourism. It was in turn acquired by Warners when it became known as ‘Mill Rythe Holiday Village ‘and operated as Butlins from 1973. The BBC shot scenes for the popular sit-com ‘Hi Di Hi’ here and the movie ‘Confessions from a Holiday Camp’ was entirely filmed at Mill Rythe. It is currently operated and owned by the independent "Mill Rythe Holiday Resort" company.




From a purely sailing perspective Hayling Yacht Company is best suited to a shallow draft vessel that can take to the mud and one that is sailed by a mariner who is happy to work the tides. It is an excellent location to bring a vessel in to attend to almost any repair or engineering work. Likewise, sited in the centre of the island, it makes for a great point of departure to explore Hayling Island as a whole.


What facilities are available?
The pontoons provide power and water. There are private shower and toilet cubicles in a new washroom. Gas cylinders are also available at the sizeable and well stocked chandlery located next to the marina. The yard provides general waste disposal.

Hayling Yacht Company is a fully serviced boatyard that provides owners with the best of traditional skills and service allied to the latest technology and techniques. It caters for all types of craft repairs, GRP repairs, cosmetic work, osmosis treatment, antifouling treatments, engineering, refurbishment or complete rebuilding as required. In addition to this there is a wide range of specialist services which operate from here, from rigging services to marine electronics etc. Winter storage is also available.

A ‘café in a van’ serves the yard during daytime and there are two pubs within walking distance. Provisioning via a Co Operative supermarket is about one mile away.


Any security concerns?
Never an issue known to have occurred to a vessel berthed alongside at the Hayling Yacht Company.


With thanks to:
Phil Walker Deputy Harbour Master. Photography by Michael Harpur.












































Hayling Yacht Company approach video







Hayling Yacht Company marina overview







Hayling Yacht Company's haul out, repair and maintenance services


About Hayling Yacht Company

The Hayling Yacht Company is a family owned business that has served sailing in the Solent since 1935. The industrial use of its site however goes back much further than this.




Mill Rythe received its name from the former Hayling Tide Mill that was located here. The mill was recorded as being operational in the 13th century and was used continually up until the late 19th century. Tidal mills operated by trapping the flood tide in a pond. Then on the ebb, after a good head of water had been impounded, the outgoing water could then turn the mill wheels for up to three and a half hours. The mills harness the constant rise and fall of the tidal cycle by impounding a head of water in a mill pond behind a sluice gate and then releasing its energy to turn the mill wheels. Compared to wind mills they were expensive to build and could only operate for seven to ten hours each tidal day. But the power was constant and reliable which led to their development in this sheltered recess of the harbour. Although now lost, the form of the mill pond survives, as does the dam at its south-eastern end. The quay that now servers the Hayling Yacht Company was formerly that of the mills'.


There are a number of further significant sites of both archaeological and historic interest in the surrounding area. The most significant being the Tourner Bury Iron Age hillfort that occupying the raised tongue of land that extends between the minor tidal inlets of Mill Rythe and Mengham Rithe to the south. From here the fort commanded the western part of the entrance to Chichester Harbour.


Tourner Bury was first documented in AD 1518 as land called Tornors or Tor Shore the land of William de Tornore. The structure of the fort was one of a raised edge, or wall, surrounding a depression. At its greatest it was 230 metres in diameter and about half a mile in circumference with an area that covered some 2.6 hectares. It was entered from the west via a single entrance and stood to a height of some 4 metres. Excavations produced Roman pottery and material from a hearth and, most unusually, there was a temple on the site.


Despite is scale and features Tourner Bury is little recorded. Its precise history is not known today and it seems to be a peripheral area. There is evidence that the fort is Stone Age but some believe it was adapted to be part of a Romans cordon of nine coastal and estuarial forts. These stretched from the Solent to the Wash with Tourner Bury filling in the gap between Portchester and Pevensey. Unfortunately the Saxons and Vikings destroyed the Roman buildings, and left little themselves of any significance, with the exception of a font in St. Mary’s Church located 20 minutes’ walk from the marina.


St. Mary’s Church has many features worthy of note. The church stands on the Island’s highest point at little more than six metres above sea level. Built mainly in the early thirteenth century from imported stone it adheres very much to the standard design of churches of its era. Yet upon closer examination the walls will be seen to have been constructed from a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. It became Hayling’s central church after flooding claimed the now lost priory church along with much of the southern edge of the Island in the 14th century. The church features two interesting fonts. The oldest is a Saxon stone basin with interlacing patterns that was excavated from a site near the vicarage in the nineteenth century. The other is a much squarer Norman font of less elaborate design. Outside there is an ancient yew that dominates the church yard. The tree is believed to be one of the oldest in the country with a circumference of some nine metres. Although estimates as to its age vary, they range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years old. Interestingly an original set of stocks and whipping post that were housed in the church yard have now been removed to Havant Museum.


The one major 20th century development in this area was the pre-war construction of Warner Brothers 'Sunshine Holiday Camp', now Mill Rythe Holiday Village, on Pound Marsh, close to the marina. With its wonderful south facing beach and train service Hayling Island was at the forefront of the pre-war holiday camp boom. Building started on the site of a farmhouse in 1938 but was not finished by the outbreak of World War 2, though in the latter stages of the war it hosted the Royal Marines. 'Sunshine' opened its doors to the public in the 1940’s, owned by Freshfields, a local management team who were later bought out by Pontins, one of the biggest names in leisure and tourism. It was in turn acquired by Warners when it became known as ‘Mill Rythe Holiday Village ‘and operated as Butlins from 1973. The BBC shot scenes for the popular sit-com ‘Hi Di Hi’ here and the movie ‘Confessions from a Holiday Camp’ was entirely filmed at Mill Rythe. It is currently operated and owned by the independent "Mill Rythe Holiday Resort" company.




From a purely sailing perspective Hayling Yacht Company is best suited to a shallow draft vessel that can take to the mud and one that is sailed by a mariner who is happy to work the tides. It is an excellent location to bring a vessel in to attend to almost any repair or engineering work. Likewise, sited in the centre of the island, it makes for a great point of departure to explore Hayling Island as a whole.

Other options in this area


Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Alternatively here are the ten nearest havens available in picture view:
Coastal clockwise:
Sparkes Marina - 0.9 miles SE
Langstone Harbour - 1.2 miles W
Southsea Marina - 1.6 miles WSW
Gunwharf Quays Marina - 3.3 miles W
Port Solent Marina - 3.5 miles WNW
Coastal anti-clockwise:
Northney Marina - 1.1 miles N
Emsworth - 1.6 miles NNE
Emsworth Yacht Harbour - 1.6 miles NNE
Pilsey Island - 1.5 miles E
Thornham Marina - 1.7 miles NE

Navigational pictures


These additional images feature in the 'How to get in' section of our detailed view for Hayling Yacht Company.

































Hayling Yacht Company approach video







Hayling Yacht Company marina overview







Hayling Yacht Company's haul out, repair and maintenance services



A photograph is worth a thousand words. We are always looking for bright sunny photographs that show this haven and its identifiable features at its best. If you have some images that we could use please upload them here. All we need to know is how you would like to be credited for your work and a brief description of the image if it is not readily apparent. If you would like us to add a hyperlink from the image that goes back to your site please include the desired link and we will be delighted to that for you.


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