Report 1 - Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour

This is the most perfect harbour for a lift-keel boat. The harbour, or more strictly speaking, the town quay is right in the centre of the picturesque and ancient town of Rye. Prior to 2025 you had to moor against the old quay wall and then gently let the boat descend with the tide until you rested in the mud. However, in 2025, the harbour authorities added a pontoon which rises and falls with the tide so you no longer need to tend your lines. You do, however, still end up in the mud, which builds a bank towards the wall over the season, so you may slide down it away from the pontoon. If you are lucky the boat prior to you may have left a large hull-shaped hollow in the mud for you to sit in at low tide. The harbour master will advise you as to the best section of pontoon to moor against.

Rye Harbour has a drying entrance and can only be accessed two hours either side of high water. For the first of these two hours the flood can be very fast, especially on springs, and we would recommend you leave it until an hour before and then take the last of the tide the two and half miles to the quay. The entrance bar will also be very lumpy in onshore winds and possibly inadviseable.

The entrance is marked by a tripod beacon and there are training walls on either side. The training walls have ladders up them and these can be one of the few features evident at high water. There are also poles marking the edge. Do not get too close and stick to the middle of the channel!

See Photo: Training Wall

See Photo: Tripod Beacon

See Photo: Top of Ladder

You will pass the harbour master’s office on the starboard side of the channel. There is now no need to stop to pay your dues as this can all be done over the phone, when you will also receive the code for the toilet/shower block. This facility is somewhat basic and only allows for one person to use it at a time.

As you near Rye on the hill above you, you will need to turn between the port and starboard markers into the Rock Channel. Don’t be tempted to cut this corner and give it a wide swing.

See Photo: Rock Channel Entrance

See Photo: Strand Quay

Keep to the middle of the channel as you pass the sterns of boats in their mud berths and be wary of a post/buoy marking the end of a slip to your starboard. The Rock Channel makes a sharp right hand turn into Strand Quay. Keep to the outside of this bend as there is a significant bank to starboard.

As you turn to see Strand Quay ahead of you there is one final obstacle – see picture

There is a steep bank to your port – the marks in the mud are from our wing-keel – and a nasty set of iron piles to your starboard. Stay slightly right of centre and don’t be fooled by any boats moored to your port as they will be high and dry at low water on top of the bank, as shown

See Photo: Strand Quay Downriver from Pontoons

See Photo: Strand Quay Pontoon HW

See Photo: Strand Quay Pontoon LW