Moorings on the River Adur

The River Adur is a West Sussex river about 32 km long that reaches the sea at Shoreham-by-Sea. It is tidal from near Shermanbury. Steyning was once a Saxon port on the river and Bramber was busy in the 11th and 12th centuries, before silting moved trade down to Shoreham. At the coast the Adur turns east behind Shoreham Beach and forms the western arm of Shoreham Harbour, where Shoreham Port Authority is the harbour authority.

On spring ebbs the stream in the western arm can run at up to 5 knots, and almost all moorings there dry at low water. Port traffic signals control movements in both arms of the harbour, and boats must give way to commercial traffic. The eastern arm leads through locks into the non-tidal Southwick Canal, which holds the port's marinas, so it is not part of the river itself.

Moorings on the Adur are in the western arm, which has a boatyard, the Sussex Yacht Club with its own lifting facilities, and many houseboats on the mud flats by Shoreham Beach. Visiting boats are normally sent through the locks to Lady Bee Marina, where the port has around 160 pontoon berths, with more at Aldrington Marina further along the canal. Visitors must book a berth before arriving.