Cruise report for Weymouth Cruise 14th - 15th June 2025
Motorboat cruise from Lymington to Weymouth. Weather watching is an occupational hazard for sailors and airman alike, and leading up to the cruise to Weymouth this year was a case in point. In the week leading up to the cruise, we had high winds and no winds, moderate sea states and all sorts of damp seaweed that suggested the weather might be marginal, certainly for motorboats.
In the end, the fleet dropped to two attendees, Freerider, with Roger and Ruth Pennock and ourselves (Chrissy and Jonathan King) with Solent Blue. Both of us elected to depart for Weymouth on the Friday before the official cruise dates.
Friday gave a good weather window for motorboats, albeit with the promise of thunderstorms forecast later in the day. Solent Blue left early afternoon from Lymington Yacht Haven, enjoying the benefit of the ebb tide against very light winds, giving us smooth sea conditions for the most. As we approached St Albans’s head, the overfalls and SW swell picked up to between a half and one meter. We had to manage the throttles carefully to avoid slamming with the headwind and waves, even six miles offshore.
Friday afternoon also gave another benefit as we could duck inshore after passing the headland with Lulworth Ranges shut for the afternoon. This was a much smoother ride with the shelter provided by Portland quelling the SW running swell in Lulworth Bay.
Solent Blue arrived in Weymouth at just after 1715BST after leaving LYH at 1440BST, taking just over two and a half hours to complete the 44NM journey.
As this was our first trip of any distance on our Merry Fisher 895 we were keeping an eye on the fuel consumption and building up a log to get a feeling for how far and how long we can undertake cruises as we stretch our legs a bit. We burnt just over 120l of petrol with our two 150hp Yamahas for an average speed of 16.1kts with a max speed of 25.7kts.
As we carry 400l of fuel, the 120l burn nicely fitted to the “third out, Third back and third in reserve” view for safety margins, this was to become useful on Monday.
Freerider had already tied up alongside at Cove Quay in Weymouth by the time we arrived. As we were pottering up the channel under the directions of the HM, we received a Whatsapp from Roger wondering when we were arriving. We made a hasty reply saying we were just turning in the pool to come alone side, along with some visual signals of frantic waving.
Having completed the task of getting lines and fenders in the right place for the raft, we settled into our rally and started planning the weekend. We elected to team up for dinner that evening, going to Rockfish for fish and chips – well you have to in Weymouth.
Weymouth is a bustling port, mixing pleasure and working boats of various types with an active fishing fleet and tourist boats moving throughout the day. There is a large – if slightly soulless – marina above a lifting bridge, the bridge opening every couple of hours to allow larger airdraft boats through.
Weymouth is also a busy holiday destination with harbour side bars, restaurants and cafes along with a substantial sandy beach. Add to that one of the hottest weekends of the year and the town and beach was buzzing with atmosphere. It’s not a place to stay if you are after a quiet stopover during the summer, but if like us, you enjoy a berth with life and vitality, Weymouth certainly has it. That said, I’d certainly try to get a berth on the Cove Quay as that is the quieter side of the harbour, albeit a little further to walk to the harbour facilities for that early morning shower. The other impact is that it’s further to walk from most of the restaurants, particularly challenging when the forecast thunderstorms arrived with heavy rain just after dinner.
The weather for Saturday and Sunday was glorious; beautiful sunshine, with a strong breeze to keep the temperature at a manageable level and give the local sailors some entertaining sailing.
Saturday was a walking day, exploring Northe Fort after some light shopping in the morning to keep the crew happy and then a really lazy sprawl on the foredeck to soak up the sun and read books. Saturday dinner for Solent Blue’s crew was at a restaurant called Sambo, a Brazilian Rodízio dining steak house. If you have never tried it, it’s a great experience, albeit quite expensive, which to be honest seems to be the trend in most eating out places nowadays – or maybe I’m getting old.
On Sunday, whilst Roger and Ruth went cycling to Portland and Chisel Beach, Chrissy and I spent some time on Weymouth Beach enjoying the sand and a certain amount of people watching.
Monday saw both boats departing Weymouth; Freerider to head further west for Salcombe and Falmouth and Solent Blue back to base in Lymington. Portland Marina has no fuel station at the moment whilst repairs are being carried out, so Freerider made use of the quay side mobile fuel bowser to refuel. Petrol is not available from this service so Solent Blue could not be fuelled alongside (carrying 120l of petrol from the local Esso near the railway station was not really an option). Fortunately we still had approximately two thirds of our capacity left and, with a smooth sea forecast, we could make it back with plenty of margin. We could, of course, stop off at Poole if needed.
Freerider left early to get a favourable ride around Portland Bill, with Solent Blue leaving at 1015BST to get the last of the slack water around St Alban’s Head. For Solent Blue, the sea state was smooth to slight again, but we needed to remain outside of the range danger area this time as the ranges were active. Keeping a listening watch on CH08 as we skirted around the edge of the inner range danger area meant we could take the most direct possible route back without interfering with the range activities. We arrived back on berth in Lymington at 1240BST, maintianing an average speed of 17.5kts and a max speed of 28.1Kts. The smoother water around St Albans Head made for the slightly quicker passage and less juggling with the throttle.
So would we go back to Weymouth? Definitely! I can see it’s not for everyone as it can get noisy with the revellers and it could be a very different place in poorer weather, but if you have younger family or enjoy a location with a bit more buzz rather than a quiet, tranquil bay, it has a great deal of appeal as a nice harbour and a traditional seaside resort.