Yacht charter in Dorset

The Dorset coast is a magnificent English spectacle of chalk cliffs and rolling green hills. Portland juts into the Channel like a giant lizard and Weymouth is a classic seaside town with a snug marina above its bridge. Portland harbour was once a naval base, but its vast acres are now devoted to leisure boating. The sailing Olympics will be raced here next year at the National Sailing Academy. But few cruising folk know about Dean & Reddyhoff’s Portland Marina, with its first-class facilities and visitor pontoons – the perfect start to a Dorset weekend, with supper in The Boat that Rocks, where there’s a lively, salty atmosphere and good food. Saturday morning A period with lunchtime HW is good for fast boats. Leave the marina 3½ hours before high and follow the east side of Portland close round the lighthouse near slack. The west side feels suddenly secluded and it’s fascinating to hug the coast past the shingle miles of Chesil Beach and the hills beyond Abbotsbury. After two conical peaks near Swyre village, you soon reach the fantastic gold Jurassic cliffs just before West Bay harbour. Inside the jutting piers you can moor alongside a visitors’ pontoon to port. Then wander up for superb fish and chips at one of the many kiosks around the colourful inner basin.

Saturday afternoon If you feel active, it’s fun to cruise another six miles west to Lyme Regis, a charming timeless harbour with the jumbled layers of its historic town winding up the hillside. Although the harbour mostly dries, there’s a visitors’ pontoon in the pool off Victoria Pier, west of the pierhead light – a delightful spot in quiet weather. You can walk ashore past Lyme’s famous Cobb, the original quay with its old fishing sheds (one of them now an aquarium). The French Lieutenant’s Woman was famously filmed here, with Meryl Streep gazing forlornly seawards. You’ll just have time for ice creams or a Dorset cream tea at the Beach House Café, before heading back towards Portland to catch afternoon slack water round the Bill. Saturday evening Following Portland’s east shore towards Weymouth, you arrive off the popular Esplanade and its holiday sands. With a friendly and bustling atmosphere, Weymouth is a good spot for your Saturday evening. Just inside the pierheads, huge Channel Island fast ferries squeeze alongside. Beyond the sailing club and a row of local moorings, the south bank curves into the picturesque Cove and its handy pontoon. Over on Custom House Quay is the 18th Century red-brick harbour office.

One of the best ways to appreciate Dorset’s beautiful coastline is from the water and the Isle of Portland makes a great base to start your maritime adventure – whether you explore east or west

The stunning Dorset coastline is a truly English spectacle of chalk cliffs and rolling green hills, its Jurassic strata dramatically exposed millennia ago by a quirk of shifting landmasses. The finest way to see this magnificent shore is by boat, any kind of boat, and on quiet summer days many visitors do just that – in graceful sailing yachts, glitzy motor yachts, fast speedboats and, in really calm weather, kayaks or canoes. The Isle of Portland is centre stage in this seascape, jutting four miles out like a giant lizard to stir the Channel tides into a notorious race of rough water.

Locals know the Dorset coast is splendid, but the Olympics put it firmly on the world map. Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a recognised centre of excellence and Portland Marina a perfect base both for day cruising and exploring further afield. Not far east of Portland you can enjoy fabulous anchorages at Lulworth Cove, Worbarrow Bay and Chapman’s Pool. Larger boats can easily cruise round to Poole Harbour, a delightful boating area in its own right. More experienced boaters can edge round Portland Bill at slack tide and follow the coast westwards to Bridport’s timeless West Bay harbour and charming Lyme Regis. And Weymouth harbour itself is a colourful port-of-call, with snug moorings in the heart of town.

East to Lulworth Cove

Where to Eat

There are many good boating restaurants along this coastline, here is a selection:

Portland: The excellent Bluefish Café and Restaurant is just into Portland. Quiddles seafood café at Chesil Cove offers super moules marinière and local crab. Crab House Café is on the Weymouth end of Portland spit and offers Abbotsbury oysters.

West Bay: The Riverside Restaurant serves excellent local seafood and is behind the inner harbour.

Lyme Regis: Don’t miss the Mill Café and Supper Club in Mill Lane. Great café by day and wonderful Italian cooking in the evenings.

Weymouth: Mallam’s is near the Cove and offers first-class meat as well as fish. Perry’s is next door, with harbour views upstairs. Floods is on Custom House Quay, and is a real treat for fish lovers.

Lulworth: Lulworth Cove Inn has superb local scallops and fresh mackerel.