Hampshire, England

Emsworth slipway

Launch — A free public slipway maintained by Chichester Harbour Conservancy at the bottom of South Street, with the Conservancy's dinghy hard alongside for boat storage.

Parking — Pay-and-display parking (South Street car park) sits by the launch point.

Access — Launching at South Street is possible only around high water.

Season — A passenger water taxi runs on the channel on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from April to October, timed around high water.

Regulations — Every paddlecraft using the harbour has a statutory obligation to pay Chichester Harbour Conservancy's harbour dues and display the dues plaque; Conservancy byelaws set an 8-knot speed limit for powered craft and require staying 50m clear of birds and seals, with no landing at Stakes Islands, Pilsey Island, Ella Nore spit and Gutner Point.

This slipway is by a boat storage yard on Emsworth's waterfront, at the head of the Emsworth Channel, the northernmost of Chichester Harbour's three main channels. The town's harbour basin fills at high tide and drains through sluice gates as the tide falls.

Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour, one of the few largely undeveloped stretches of coast in southern England. The water here lies within the Chichester Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Chichester Harbour National Landscape.

About 900 metres south of Emsworth, amid the tidal sands between the Emsworth Channel and Sweare Deep, lies Fowley Island: an uninhabited stretch of raised ground roughly 180 by 80 metres, mapped since at least 1791. It was the site of an oyster-farming operation, the Fowley Island Oyster Company, established in 1885.

Nearby

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Flintstones Tea Room

Tea room on South Street, close to the slipway.

Chichester Camping and Caravanning Club Site

Camping and Caravanning Club touring site off Main Road, Southbourne; open to non-members at a higher rate, tents, caravans and motorhomes accepted, open late January to early November.

Website

Conditions to check

Tidal flow

At the harbour entrance, several miles south of the Emsworth slip, the flood tide can run at up to 2.8 knots and the ebb at up to 6.4 knots at springs.

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Shallow or rocky

Large parts of Chichester Harbour dry out at low water.

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Boat traffic

The Emsworth Channel carries deep-water moorings for boats up to 12m and 9m, and gives access to Emsworth Sailing Club and Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club via the visitor pontoon.

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