Portsmouth of Call

Not the most exotic place to start by writing about, but I have to leave something for later and besides, Portsmouth is as decent place as any to hole up in the South UK.

Well, that's not entirely true, Gosport is actually where you'll likely be holed up, but all the same, it's basically the same place.

General area anyway.

But anyway.

Portsmouth!

and to some extent Gosport.

Firstly, the navigation stuff.

Just some basics, the rest is in your almanac which you should be checking!

If you haven't got one, get one.

(and here: QHM Rules Portsmouth)

Entry is simple in daylight.

The western channel is marked with a transit between a building and the conspic. monument which'll lead you into the SBC.

Watch out for other yachts (the inconsiderate bastards) and beware the wake generated by the ferries as they chug their way out towards France.

Steer clear of the humourless grey military vessels as I'm told they're rather keen on their personal space and beware of the strong tidal currents at the entrance, lest you be stuck on the spot being heckled by bemused fishermen on the shoreline.

The speed limit is 10 knots in the harbour and stay away from the piles in the water as they can have shallow mud-banks around them.

Use your engine in the harbour also (which should be extremely obvious, but you'd be surprised).

At night, there are billions of lights to guide you down the SBC, but the approach channel could be a little trickier depending on how tired you are and the glare of the city, but shouldn't be too worrying (Again, consult that almanac!).

If you really must take the main shipping channel in or out, consult the harbourmaster before doing so as it is a main shipping route and very regularly used.

The Queen's Harbour Master can be contacted on CH-11 on your VHF if required and it's good to listen in anyway as you'll get the low-down on the shipping movements in the area.

And finally, the marina channel for the area (And the UK in general) is CH-80.

Next, on to the boat beds.

Haslar is a good place to stop, although not the cheapest in the area, it is pretty!

When doing my sailing courses we stopped there a couple of times to rest up for the next day on the water and I very much recommend it.

It's got clean, fully maintained facilities, all private like, right next to the marina's very own restaurant-bar that does a good pint and a great meal.

Both of these are inside a stylish green light-boat: (The Mary Mouse II) which is still really pretty to look at even if it is a lot less light and a little less boat than it used to be.

It also gives a great view of the city across the water.

Premier Marina Gosport is good too.

It may not have the same draw of being able to both eat and relieve yourself on a renovated light ship, but it does offer a different sort of view.

Here, you are a lot closer to the HMS Queen Elizabeth. The bloody enormous aircraft carrier that is pretty much permenantly slotted down the side of Portsmouth like the world's biggest kit-kat.

It's impressive, but not really pretty.

But it's not supposed to be, it's supposed to be useful.

But it's pretty much always in Portsmouth from what I've seen so I guess it's just kind of there.

But it is extremely there.

They're both good for shelter, but can get choppy from time to time.

If price is your main driving feature, Gosport is likely the best choice as it is good value, but Haslar is better for closeness to the exit if you prefer a swift in-and-out.

Both have decent shit-n-shower facilities, the value of which cannot be understated for any newbies.

You'll likely find yourself rating places based almost purely on this factor (coupled with sheltering) and almost never based on wifi as that is almost universally shite.

Although, if you've got the time, the money and want a bit of quiet, you can always pop up Southampton Water to Hamble, the wifi there is actually pretty good.

And the toilets are tremendous.

Nothing quite makes the porcelein throne as magnanimous as classical music playing the overture to your own personal wind instrumental.

But I digress, this is about Portsmouth, not Hamble.

So, on to the place itself!

Gosport town is kind of basic.

There's a Morrisons for cheap vittles and the town has all the basics along with a shop or two for cheap home goods for restocking up the main high street.

But one thing it has, that I cannot possibly recommend enough, is Great Wall.

Great Wall is a Chinese Buffet restaurant.

That isn't really doing it justice.

It is purely Tian.

The price is cheap and you can eat basically as much as you like within about 2 hours.

And the Food! Good heavens the food!

After a long day sailing, when you pile in, cold, wet, aching and with a gaping chasm in your stomach that feels like it'll never be filled, they'll take it as a challenge.

And you'll sit there and love it.

You'll walk in there as a gaunt peasant and leave as a gout-ridden king.

The rules are:

You can have as many starters as you want, ordered again and again, but once you move on to mains, you cannot go back.

So order everything. Twice.

Then go on to mains and repeat.

No matter how starvation ravages you as you enter, you'll leave practically in a food coma.

I have tried a good amount of Chinese food in my time but this place really cannot be overstated on quality.

Make sure to book first though as they can get kind of full as you could guess.

They're perched right on the intersection outside the ferry terminal in Gosport and within very short distance of the marinas and chandlery.

Portsmouth itself has an amount to offer too on the front of food.

Honestly, I didn't go too far into it as we were mainly there to sort out a few things before our Channel crossing, but what I did check out was another restaurant/pub called The Ship & Castle.

Now, I don't know if this is a running theme in Portsmouth area, or if someone spiked me with something, but this place doesn't make food, it crafts culinary art!

It's been almost a year since we visited and I still can't stop thinking about the chips they served me.

Twice-fried if I'm not mistaken, the perfectly crunchy outside giving way to an angelic cloud of delight within.

The pinnacle of potato pleasure!

Everything else was gorgeous also, but those chips!

Good grief! It's almost enough to fly back again just to order another serving!

If you're in the area and fancy a good pub lunch, this place can't be over sold in my opinion.

Good beer, amazing food, friendly atmosphere and attentive staff.

Right near the bus and ferry terminal in Portsmouth. Perfectly positioned for a last meal before crossing back over to your vessel.

Else, there are also the other amenities to speak of.

The chandlery in the area that we visited is YouBoat, which is situated outside Premier Marina Gosport.

Extremely friendly and helpful staff and a lot in stock.

A good selection of charts, a great many spares, all the necessary equipment, everything you could want really and all for pretty good pricing too.

They can also help get you sorted with more specific needs. We got our piping sorted for our deck vent with their help, along with suggestions for the reducers we needed for the vent pipe to the black water tank, so if you need assistance, they're a great place to go.

From what I remember, the owner also restores old sextants, so anyone looking to get their Yachtmaster Ocean at some point may find what they are looking for from here if they ask nicely.

Overall, Gosportsmouth was a great stop-over.

Probably should have checked out more of the city while I was there, but if what I found was anything to go by, it is a stellar pit-stop and a fantastic refuelling station on the Solent.