Whitby Marina slipway (upper harbour)
Whitby Marina occupies the tidal upper harbour of the River Esk, the yacht-berthing reach above the town's 1908 swing bridge, with the Parkol Marine Engineering shipyard and dry dock working the opposite bank. Downstream through the bridge lies Whitby's lower harbour, the fish quay and the piers guarding the entrance to the North Sea; upstream, the harbour's tidal limit is Ruswarp weir, about two miles inland.
The upper harbour is a working marina reach: council pontoon berths line the west and east banks, a riverside walk runs the marina side, and the Parkol Marine Engineering shipyard and dry dock work the opposite bank, building and repairing vessels up to 42 metres.
The River Esk is Yorkshire's only east-flowing river and the only English river with a surviving population of freshwater pearl mussels, with salmon and sea trout running up through the harbour to spawn above the tidal limit at Ruswarp weir, about two miles upstream. The protected reaches of the catchment lie further inland, above the harbour itself.
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Conditions to check
A strong easterly set can occur across the harbour entrance in the two hours before high water, and in strong onshore winds from north to east the entrance sea state can become dangerous.
SourceThe upper harbour bed is soft river mud; moored vessels must be able to take the ground, and occasional rapid siltation follows strong river flows.
SourceWhitby is home to approximately 350 leisure craft, and the upper harbour also carries fishing boats and passenger-boat traffic alongside the shipyard opposite the marina.
SourceA swing bridge divides the upper harbour from the lower harbour and sea. It opens on request on VHF channel 11, on the hour and half hour, but only while manned for two hours either side of high water; outside that window it is a fixed crossing.
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