Moorings in Dorset coast

This stretch covers the open Dorset coast outside Poole Harbour: Christchurch Harbour and Mudeford in the east, Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck, Weymouth and Portland in the middle, and West Bay and Lyme Regis to the west, where Dorset meets Devon. Its harbours range from a shallow river harbour to one of the largest man-made harbours in the world.

Christchurch Harbour is where the Stour and the Avon reach the sea. Boats enter through The Run, a narrow channel between Mudeford Quay and Mudeford Spit with a shallow bar, and the harbour suits shoal draught boats; small boats can also follow either river upstream for about two miles. More than 1,400 small boat moorings are spread through the harbour. BCP Council licenses trot moorings on the south-east side and self-laid moorings in the north-east near Mudeford, with clubs and boatyards running others, and the Christchurch Harbour Association maintains the channel markers.

Swanage Bay is an anchorage and mooring area off the town pier, sheltered from the west but untenable in strong easterlies. Swanage Sailing Club is based beside the pier.

Weymouth Harbour, run by Dorset Council, has over 800 permanent moorings, most owned and operated by the council, including pontoon berths on both sides of the harbour. The inner harbour beyond the lifting Town Bridge, which opens at set times through the day, holds Weymouth Marina, run by a private leaseholder. Next door, Portland Harbour is enclosed by breakwaters and sheltered by Portland, Chesil Beach and the mainland, and Portland Marina at Osprey Quay opened in 2009 near the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Further west, Dorset Council is also the harbour authority for West Bay, the old Bridport Harbour at the mouth of the River Brit, and for Lyme Regis, protected by The Cobb. Both are small harbours, and Lyme Regis dries to firm sand, so it suits boats that can take the ground.