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What's the story here?

Hayling Yacht Company is a family-run boatyard set within a bight on the eastern shoreline of Hayling Island, on the west side of Chichester Harbour. Located on Mill Rythe Lane, it sits in a naturally sheltered tidal basin, offering excellent protection from wind and swell. It has a small 157-berth marina in front of the yard, but it dries out entirely at 3.2 metres.




The marina accepts vessels up to 20m LOA, provided they have a moderate draft, can take to the mud, and are prepared to work around the tides to gain access. It is approached via a shallow channel accessible only ±2.5 hours around HW for half‑tide berths. Consequently, it offers competitive pricing compared with other marinas in the Solent and Chichester Harbour.




Summer Visitor Berthing [2026]

• • Daily Rate: £3.00 per metre (LOA)


• • Weekly Rate: £16.05 per metre (LOA)


• • Monthly Rate: £59.50 per metre (LOA)

Rates apply subject to availability during the summer season (April through October). Charges are calculated strictly on total overall length, including bowsprits, davits, or outboard fittings.




Those intending to stay here should make berthing arrangements in advance and take directions from the yard office +44 (0)23 9246 3592, info@haylingyacht.co.uk, [VHF]: Channel 80 [Hayling Yacht Company].

How to get in?

The approaches to the entrance, with its tidal flow, are detailed in Navigating Chichester Harbour for approaches and entry to Chichester Harbour and Northney Marina for details of the Emsworth channel to the Mill Rythe port hand buoy.




Break off westward from the Emsworth channel at the red Mill Rythe port hand buoy, keeping a keen 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 dries to 1.3 metres, exposing a small sandbank, and is the shallowest point of the Mill Rythe drainage channel.




From this point, a conspicuous line of closely spaced white mooring buoys will be seen to the west beyond the bank. These moorings best mark the channel's path. 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 become more frequent as the boatyard is approached. Red poles with can top marks will be seen on the port, and green poles with conical top marks to starboard.




The path snakes and weaves for about a mile and is unlit. However, with closely spaced mooring buoys marking the centre of the channel, predominantly orange buoys closer in, and the poles on the outside banks of the channel, the fairway is plainly visible. Moreover, all the poles are objects in the app, so there can be no ambiguity.




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 trends south-west 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.




Nevertheless, it is essential to follow the marked path, pass between these poles, and turn at a right angle to head towards the marina. Favour the starboard pole for better water, passing as close as a metre off it, then turn hard to starboard to pass between the outer ends of the pontoons and the final starboard pole.




For a newcomer, this last turn will appear entirely counter-intuitive, as it steers a boat directly towards 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 followed 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 river's path 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 is the many ploughed-in furrows seen at low water.




Berth as directed by the yard office.

Why visit here?

Mill Rythe derives its name from the former Hayling Tide Mill, which stood here. Rythe is an old Hampshire and Sussex coastal term meaning a creek, small inlet, or narrow water channel that fills and empties with the tide. So Mill Rythe literally means 'the tidal creek by the mill.'




The mill was recorded as operational in the 13th century and continued to operate until the late 19th century. Tidal mills operated by trapping the flood tide in a pond. On the ebb, after a good head of water had been impounded, the outgoing water could 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, then releasing its energy to turn the mill wheels. Compared with windmills, they were expensive to build and could operate for only 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 serves 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 is the Tourner Bury Iron Age hillfort, which occupies 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, associated with William de Tornore. The fort featured a raised wall enclosing a depression measuring up to 230 metres across and about half a mile in circumference, covering roughly 2.6 hectares. It had a single west entrance and stood approximately 4 metres tall. Excavations in 1959 and 1971 uncovered Roman pottery, hearth remnants, and notably, a temple on the site. Despite its size and features, Tourner Bury remains scarcely documented. Its exact history is unclear today, and it appears to have been a remote area. Evidence suggests the fort dates back to the Stone Age, though some believe it was later modified to form part of a Roman chain of nine coastal and estuarial forts. These forts extended from the Solent to the Wash, with Tourner Bury filling the space between Portchester and Pevensey. Sadly, the Saxons and Vikings destroyed the Roman structures and left little of importance behind, except for a font in St. Mary's Church, which is a 20-minute walk from the marina.

St. Mary's Church itself has many features worth noting. 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 closely follows the standard design of its era's churches. Yet upon closer examination, the walls are found to have been constructed with a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. It became Hayling's central church after flooding in the 14th century claimed the now-lost priory church, along with much of the southern edge of the Island. The church features two interesting fonts.




The oldest is a Saxon stone basin with interlacing patterns, excavated from a site near the vicarage in the nineteenth century after having been buried for protection or discarded during medieval rebuilds. The other is a much squarer Norman font of less elaborate design. Outside, an ancient yew dominates the churchyard. The tree is believed to be one of the oldest in the country, with a circumference of some nine metres. Although estimates of its age vary, they range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years. Interestingly, an original set of stocks and a whipping post, once housed in the churchyard, has now been removed to Havant Museum.



A key 20th-century milestone in this area was the pre-war creation of Warner Brothers' 'Sunshine Holiday Camp', now called Mill Rythe Holiday Village, on Pound Marsh near the marina. With its prime south-facing beach and rail connection, Hayling Island pioneered the rise of holiday camps before the war. Construction of a farmhouse began in 1938 but was incomplete when World War II broke out; the Royal Marines took it over afterwards. 'Sunshine' opened to the public in the 1940s and was owned by Freshfields; a local management team later bought it, and it was then acquired by Pontins, a major leisure company. Warner Bros later took ownership and renamed it 'Mill Rythe Holiday Village’, operating under Butlins from 1973. Scenes from the BBC sitcom 'Hi Di Hi' and the entire film 'Confessions from a Holiday Camp' were shot there. Currently, it is owned and operated by the independent firm "Mill Rythe Holiday Resort".




From a purely sailing standpoint, Hayling Yacht Company is ideal for a shallow-draft vessel capable of taking to the mud and operated by a mariner comfortable with arranging their boating around the tides. The Hayling Yacht Company is a family-owned business that has been serving sailors in the Solent since 1935 and offers an excellent location for bringing a vessel in for nearly any repair or engineering work. Additionally, its central location on the Island makes it a perfect starting point for exploring Hayling Island.

What facilities are available?

The pontoons provide power and water. Private shower and toilet cubicles are available in a new washroom. Gas cylinders are also available at the sizeable, well-stocked chandlery next to the marina. The yard provides general waste disposal.




Hayling Yacht Company is a fully serviced boatyard that offers owners the best of traditional skills and service, allied to the latest technology and techniques. It caters for all types of craft repairs, including GRP repairs, cosmetic work, osmosis treatment, antifouling treatments, engineering, refurbishment, or complete rebuilding, as required. In addition, a wide range of specialist services operate from here, from rigging to marine electronics. Winter storage is also available. Provisioning via a Co-operative supermarket is about one mile away.

Local Dining Options for Boaters Near Mill Rythe & Hayling Island
The Missing Squirrel: +44 (0)1442 508 850 | generalenquiries@awayresorts.co.uk
Address: Mill Rythe Coastal Village, 16 Mill Lane, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0PB.

The Maypole: +44 (0)23 9435 3167 | sophsdoublebubble@gmail.com
Address: 9 Havant Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0PS.

The Ferryboat Inn: +44 (0)23 9200 8339 | info@ferryboatinnhaylingisland.com
Address: Ferry Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0DG.

Drift Bar & Kitchen: +44 (0)23 9217 5330
Address: Sparkes Marina, Lower Wittering, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 9SR.

A 'café in a van' serves the yard during daytime, and there are two pubs within walking distance.

Other Local Useful Contacts
Hayling Yacht Company: Hayling Yacht Company | +44 (0)23 9246 3592 | info@haylingyacht.co.uk | [VHF]: Channel 80 [Hayling Yacht Company]
Address: Mill Rythe, Mill Lane, Hayling Island, Hampshire PO11 0RR.
Itchenor Harbour Office: +44 (0)1243 512301
[VHF]: Ch. 14 [Chichester Harbour Patrol]

Harbour Office, The Street, West Itchenor, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 7AW.
Hayling Rescue (for boats): +44 (0)7748 997105

Sea Start: +44 (0)800 885500

Environment Agency: +44 (0)3708 506506

HM Custom and Excise Portsmouth: +44 (0)23 8079 7000

Chichester Police Station: +44 (0)845 6070 999

Solent Coastguard: +44 (0)23 9255 2100

Hospital Chichester: +44 (0)1243 788 122

Dentist: +44 (0)844 5769 676

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.