I have assumed you have the necessary pilot books and almanacs. The pages here are intended to give you a feel for the harbours, and the photos will, I hope, give you a good idea of what they are like.

Click on any of the links above to see the relevant page.

Weymouth

Weymouth is an archetypal English seaside town, seemingly untouched by the twentieth century (no bad thing!) and restored very successfully in the last few years. Facilities for yachts are limited, and the harbour office would like you to call then on Channel 12 as you enter. They will suggest a place to moor.

Weymouth sea front seen as you enter the harbour:

The breakwaters by the harbour entrance, seen from the south:

The entrance is very straightforward, the only real hazard being the FastCat ferry which has a berth on the starboard side as you enter. Past the ferry, the harbour opens up to the main berths, with the bridge at the end. There is a waiting pontoon for those who would like to go through to the inner marina.

The moorings are one long pontoon either side of the harbour, and in the season you will find yourself rafted out as in the photos above and below:

The area round the south side of the harbour has been restored very effectively:

And these are the moorings on the north side. The harbour office and ablutions are here.

The town centre is only a sort walk away, and the town has a very welcoming atmosphere. Well worth visiting!

Portland

The new Portland Marina is built within the artificial Portland Harbour, now abandoned by the Navy. The harbour will also host the 2012 Sailing Olympics, which will obviously impact on the marina.

There are three entrances to the harbour: the southern is permanently closed and blocked by the wreck of the pre-dreadnought HMS Hood; the middle entrance is reserved for commercial traffic and should not be used by yachts; and finally the northern entrance as seen below.

From there, the marina is obvious from the masts. There are no specific berths for visitors, so you need to call the marina on Ch 80.

The area can be attractive enough on a sunny day, but is a bit bleak otherwise. The marina has all the facilities, but there is nothing else to do or see in the vicinity unless you take a bus to Weymouth or down to the Bill.

Exmouth

The first point to note about Exmouth is that the channel has changed - charts or pilot books more than a couple of years old will have the old channel marked. Reed's has an up to date chartlet.

The first thing to do is find the fairway buoy (below). You should be able to see the others leading up to the shore, although they are not the most conspicuous buoys I have seen. The bar is also quite shallow (Reed's gives the lowest depth as 0.4m): depending on your draught,you may have to time your entrance fairly close to high water.

Below is the view you see as you approach the entrance to the River Exe. The marina is in the old Exmouth Docks, in the centre of the picture. If you are going further up, you swing round in a curve to port as you enter the river. Beware: the tides run very fast here.

The entrance to the marina is concealed on the approach; it is by the red vessel on the far left of the picture below.

The marina. Tides run even more fiercely off the entrance. As you can see, there is also a footbridge, and you need to call the harbour office on Ch 14 to arrange for it to be opened for you.

Visitors' berths are very limited, and as you can see from the picture below, the harbour almost dries at low water. It is soft mud into which you sink quite easily. The marfina is eye wateringly expensive: it was £32 for a 30 foot boat!

If instead you decide to use a visitors' mooring, there is a water taxi on Ch M.

Torquay

The marina, like Torquay itself, is hidden away in the far corner of Torbay, but is easy enough to find and to enter. Call the marina beforehand for a berth, and you will find you will have to turn to port immediately on entry and follow the breakwater wall to find your pontoon,.

Torquay is a well known retirement spot. The town and its developments overlook the harbour, as you can see from the pictures below:

The town itself is close to the harbour, and is well provided with shops. The town centre is quite an attractive place, and obviuosly quite prosperous.

The harbour offers good shelter, although again mooring here is not cheap.

Salcombe

There are no fancy marinas in Salcombe, just mooring buoys (where you will probably end up rafted) or, if you can find a clear spot, anchoring.

There is a bar at the entrance, and the channel is rather restricted. There are good leading marks, however, as you can see in the picture below (the red house is a good reference point!).

And here is a close up from the photo above:

At busy times, the harbour launch may well send you to a particular buoy. Beware of strong currents when the tide is flooding or ebbing.

And the town has an Old World charm.