Amble or Royal Quays?

[oldessox]

New boat is imminent , it was due in December and would have gone in to Amble marina seeing as my contract runs till end of March , now that we are into February I might as well forget about what savings there might be on the remainder of the contract and just choose between the two.
Had a drive to both tonight , had a good think about them both and the only advantage Amble has is it's nearer to where I live , Royal Quays has a lot more going for it (if I can work out how to lock in and out ).
What to do??

Ray

[big sid]

which one

Royal Quays freezes up preventing you getting out then theres the time when work gets done on the lock gates preventing you getting out thats two minus point but I'm sure both marnia's will have there good and bad points

[northeast1]

Fishing wise i would say Amble would be a better shot with some great rough ground and wrecks that dont get hammered as bad as our wrecks, Marina wise its the R.Q.

It is a hard one.

[Graham B]

A tricky one Ray.

It's horses for courses eh? As I said before I travel from Newcastle to Amble marina, royal quays is only about ten minutes from my house(at half three in the morning anyway!). The main thing that swings Amble in favour for me is the reports on here detailing in their photo's three boats on a wreck and taking turns on the drift. That just doesn't do it for me. If we see three boats never mind three boats in the same square mile it is unusual.
On the other hand you have got the sill at Amble and when the wind is from the North round to East you struggle getting out of the harbour entrance even though once you are clear it is pefrectly fishable.
You must be as excited as a kid in a sweet shop now eh!
Still some wranglings/negotiation going on with the purchase of our prospective new boat, hopefuly it will be sorted out in a couple of weeks in time for me getting home!

Graham.

[The Jester]

Hi Ray, Bit off topic but what boat did you go for ?

[oldessox]

A merry fisher 645 , not what I had planned , but that's what happens when you take your wife boat hunting .
I think I'm going to put her in Royal Quays , at least for one season , if it's not as good as I think it might be I can always move her next year.

Ray

[northeast1]

4 boats a wreck now

Good luck with everything and see you out there

[The Great Wallsendo]

See you in the locks at 0330 sometime in March Ray?

[oldessox]

Don't worry Rich , I'll probably be out Monday till Friday and have the weekend off , you can have the wrecks to yourself on Saturday and Sunday ................. Yeah Tony , I'm going to follow Norman out the first dozen times or so , make sure I do it right .

Ray

[The Jester]

Nice one Ray, what engine did you go for ?

[Norman]

They both have plus points ray (and minus) simply your choice ....
If it's any help ..... I spent about 5 years in Amble, water is fantastic, clear and clean .. the coastline fabulous .... but the tide in the marina meant it deemed when you go and when you come back. I had a fairly active marina social life when there as you often had to sit around waiting for the tide .... I know you already know this but it seemed to me to become a natural accepted event until I realised the freedom of a 24 hour come and go.
Royal Quays ... Great Marina (even if now and again I disagree with a few things ... "the lock maintainence" etc) Security is first class, and the general theme of Royal Quays is more fishing orientated than yacht orientated.
River Tyne .... a shock when we first came due to the amount of rubbish in the water and the color of the water if it rains, not good ..... however I'm more than happy that the sheer amount of fishing sites available off the tyne (many wrecks) more than makes up for the other down points.
All in all I`ve caught MUCH Better fish from the tyne than ever I caught at Amble..... but then again maybe I just didn't know the land that well and this is of course was some 15 or so years ago .......

The biggie is 24hour fishing entry and exit from both the marina and in fact the river .. that was without doubt the biggest frustration of Amble .....

apologies for probably not helping one little bit

norm

[oldessox]

It all helps Norman I think , It's the lack of water at Amble at low tide and the shallow narrow river with fishing lines strewn across it that puts me off being there , if I could get in and out any time I wanted and didn't have to run the gauntlet of 4oz leads and 60lb lines across my bows going down the river I'd happily stay there , I'm hoping with this bigger boat I'll be able to wander further afield anyway so the marina shouldn't dictate where I fish. The petrol pump at Royal Quays is a big plus as well , didn't fancy carrying jerry cans to fill a 135ltr tank all the time.
I think my mind is made up , but you'll have to wait till next week to find out for sure , she'll be on a berth in one of them by then

She's powered by a Yamaha 115 , maybe should have went for the suzuki , not sure who will service a yamaha up here

Ray

[northeast1]

The Tyne is not much better for lines mind, loads fish just outside the lock gates then you have to make it past the pier fishing bashers..as you say flip a coin and then make the call