Warsash Sailing Club is situated on the south coast of England, at the entrance to the River Hamble which flows into the northeast side of Southampton Water. The club and pontoon are situated downstream of the Hamble Harbour Master’s office.

The Warsash Sailing Club pontoon provides a good berth but is somewhat exposed to developed southerlies and the wash from the busy fairway. The pontoon can be safely accessed night or day, at any state of the tide and in all reasonable conditions.

The club only receives visitors who are members of RYA associated Clubs. It is advisable to check availability in advance as berths cannot be reserved and are allocated on a 'first come, first served’ basis.

Keyfacts for Warsash Sailing Club

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 51.090' N, 001° 18.453' W

This is the position of the southern end of the Shore House jetty.

What are the key points of the approach?

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How to get in?

Warsash Sailing Club is located on the east bank of the River Hamble immediately within its entrance. The Shore House jetty is the first of five jetties that front the small village of Warsash. The village is made conspicuous by the Harbour Master's Office tower, circled by white with black bands, located at the foot of the second jetty.

Warsash Sailing Club welcomes members of RYA associated Clubs to its jetty at Shore House. They can accommodate three yachts of up to 12.2 meters (40 feet) maximum and/or 12 tonnes gross weight. Short Stays (of up to 4 hours) are charged at £5, and a long stay of up to 24 hours is £15. Electricity is available on the pontoon for £3 (2016).

The club has a second site at Lobster Quay. Situated immediately above the Hamble River Harbour Master’s jetty it is fronted by a 'floating' slip that provides ‘dry foot’ launching and recovery for dinghies.


The Solent and Isle of Wight coastal description provides approach details. Vessels navigating the six-mile length of Southampton Water should keep a listening watch for Southampton VTS, on VHF Ch 12/16, especially around the docks, and give priority to commercial traffic. Vessels converging on the entrance will find nothing in the way of local hazards by staying in reasonable soundings and following the Solent’s ample marks.

The entrance to the River Hamble is made known from a great distance by being almost opposite to Fawley Power Station in Southampton Water. Fawley's 198 metres high chimney makes a conspicuous mark throughout the central Solent and beyond.

The approaches and run up the river as far as the Bursledon Bridge, the effective head of navigation for most sailing craft, are covered in the Deacons Marina and Boatyard entry. Warsash Sailing Club Shore House jetty is the first jetty encountered opposite the Harbour Master’s mid-stream visitor’s pontoon.




Expect at least 1.8 to 2.5 metres (6 to 8 feet) on the outer side of the pontoon. Vessels may moor up to 3 abreast during busy periods. As with all the River Hamble’s pontoons and jetties the helmsman should be mindful of the tide state when coming alongside.




It is possible to moor on the inner side of the club pontoon. It has about 1.5 metres (5 feet) at low water springs but it shallows very quickly to shore. Vessels should keep as close as possible to the inside of the pontoon whilst berthing.

Why visit here?

Warsash Sailing Club was formed in 1957 and built its original clubhouse on a disused lobster pound fronting Warsash in 1960. The clubs second site ‘Shore House’ was bought from the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1980 and was vastly extended and improved. The Lobster Quay Clubhouse was entirely rebuilt in 2006 to include showers, changing and training facilities.




Today the club has over 1500 friendly members who are very welcoming. It is a RYA accredited training centre with a long and successful record of training its young members. Many youngsters who started here have gone on to be World Champions, Olympic sailors, Round the World Racers, Americas Cup Skippers and members of National Squads. This high degree of success is driven by an active summer calendar of handicap racing on Wednesday and Friday evenings with some tidal dependant racing on Saturday afternoons. There is also a winter racing series that takes place on Sunday mornings and the club also hosts ‘The Warsash Spring Series’ which is the UK's premier early season regatta.


The club berths provide an opportunity for members of affiliated clubs to visit Warsash, covered in theHamble River Harbour Master entry, and indeed Hamble via the river ferry, with a friendly welcome and modest rate.

What facilities are available?

Electricity and a fresh water tap are available on the jetty. Showers in the club. Diesel, unleaded petrol and gas are available at the upstream Stone Pier fuel pontoon. Fuel may also be obtained across the river at the head of pontoon ‘B’ of MDL’s Port Hamble Marina, or at Swanwick Marina self-serve fuels berth pontoon ‘F’, again upriver.

Warsash has three public houses, a Working Mens’ Club, and Warsash Sailing Club has two bars. A further public house is situated towards the eastern boundary of the parish. The village offers a selection of shops and restaurants up to and including some mini-supermarkets and a village post office. Hamble, or Hamble-Le-Rice, accessible by ferry, features several restaurants and pubs plus a useful mini supermarket. The village is served by Hamble railway station, which provides services to both Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour. These services run once per hour in each direction. From Hamble rail station a local bus service operates to Hamble village. It is also linked by ferry to Warsash, and has bus services from pre-dawn to late night / early morning to and from Southampton and Eastleigh.

With thanks to:

Jane, Warsash Sailing Club Administrator. Photography Michael Harpur.