Cruising Area
The Solent
Britains most concentrated cruising ground: compact, tidal, crowded with choices and never quite mastered.
Old Sea Dogs Guides
Old Sea Dogs Guides
Practical marina, harbour and cruising information for planning real days afloat. The first collection covers the Solent, with the library designed to grow across Britain and international cruising regions.
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Marina & Harbour Guides
Go directly to the current first-edition locations, or browse the growing library by region and Guide type.
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Regional Guide collections
The Solent is the first regional collection. The same region structure supports future British, European and worldwide cruising areas without changing Guide routes.
Featured and recently updated
Useful Guides to start with
River
River Hamble Guide
A practical cruising reference for entering, navigating and choosing a berth on one of Britains best-known yachting rivers.
Marina
Hamble Point Marina
A purposeful marina at the mouth of the Hamble, shaped by quick Solent access, serious marine trades and a famously busy sailing river.
Harbour
Cowes Harbour Guide
A practical harbour reference for approaching Cowes, choosing a berth and navigating the River Medinas ferry and commercial traffic.
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Marina · 23 Guides
Marina
Hamble Point Marina
A purposeful marina at the mouth of the Hamble, shaped by quick Solent access, serious marine trades and a famously busy sailing river.
Marina
Port Hamble Marina
A busy lower-river marina with fuel, direct access to Hamble village and a front-row view of one of Britains great sailing communities.
Marina
Mercury Yacht Harbour
A sheltered, wooded River Hamble base whose quieter setting contrasts with the rivers constant sailing traffic.
Marina
Universal Marina
An upper River Hamble marina with a strong dry-stack identity and a setting that rewards an unhurried river passage.
Marina
Swanwick Marina
A substantial upper-Hamble marina where serious boat handling and a broad marine-service community sit beside sheltered river berths.
Marina
Deacons Marina
An intimate Bursledon marina with a useful boatyard and a close connection to the upper River Hambles working character.
Marina
Ocean Village Marina
A large city marina at the head of Southampton Water, combining serious berthing capacity with a lively urban waterfront.
Marina
Hythe Marina Village
A distinctive locked marina village on Southampton Water, with fuel, a 40-tonne lift and a residential waterside character.
Marina
Haslar Marina
A sheltered Gosport marina with immediate Portsmouth Harbour character and one of the Solents most recognisable lightships.
Marina
Gosport Marina
A central Gosport marina with immediate access to Portsmouth Harbours naval panorama and active waterfront.
Marina
Port Solent Marina
A locked marina deep inside Portsmouth Harbour, pairing sheltered berthing with a large waterside leisure development.
Marina
Lymington Yacht Haven
A major western Solent marina close to the river entrance, with 24-hour staff, a substantial boatyard and Lymington within reach.
Marina
Berthon Lymington Marina
A family-run shipyard marina where deep maritime capability sits close to Lymington town and the western Solent.
Marina
Island Harbour
A secluded locked marina upriver from Cowes, with more than 200 berths, a 50-tonne hoist and a genuinely different Isle of Wight mood.
Marina
East Cowes Marina
A substantial River Medina marina on the East Cowes shore, well placed for central Solent cruising and the islands maritime life.
Marina
Ryde Marina
A friendly drying harbour beside Ryde's beaches and town, with a buoyed approach across Ryde Sands and a tidal entrance that demands current local advice.
Marina
Bembridge Marina
A characterful tidal harbour at the eastern end of the Isle of Wight, with visitor berthing at Duver Marina and an approach that rewards careful planning around the tide.
Marina
Poole Quay Boat Haven
Pooles town-quay visitor marina puts boats directly beside the Old Town, restaurants and harbour life, with VHF 80 berthing and strong demand in summer.
Marina
Port of Poole Marina
A quieter Poole Harbour marina beside the commercial port, with direct access to the main shipping channel, annual berths and limited visitor capacity by arrangement.
Marina
Cobb's Quay Marina
A large, full-service MDL marina in Holes Bay, reached through Pooles lifting bridges and offering visitor berths, fuel, boatyard support and extensive shore-side services.
Marina
Salterns Marina
A long-established full-service marina in Lilliput, close to Poole Harbours entrance, with visitor berths, swinging moorings, fuel and boatyard support.
Marina
Parkstone Bay Marina
A mixed wet-and-dry berthing marina in Parkstone Bay, offering visitor pontoons and moorings, fuel, boatyard services and a waterside restaurant.
Marina
Lake Yard Marina
A small deep-water marina and working boatyard on Hamworthys western shore, with 24-hour access, visitor space, moorings and a waterfront club and restaurant.