Moorings on the Thames Estuary

The Thames Estuary stretches roughly 100 tidal kilometres from London's docklands eastward to the open North Sea between Essex and Kent, encompassing one of the busiest and most historically rich stretches of water in the UK. For boat owners, this is genuinely sea-going territory — a place for motor yachts, ocean-going sailing yachts, traditional Thames barges and any vessel with the seakeeping ability and skipper experience to handle strong tides, commercial shipping and exposed conditions. Managed by the Port of London Authority on the river itself and by harbour authorities at Medway, Queenborough, Gravesend and elsewhere, the estuary offers a great variety of moorings: serviced marinas at Gallions Point, Limehouse Basin, Gravesend, Queenborough and Sheerness, plus swinging moorings on the Medway, Roach and Crouch. The Medway in particular is a renowned sailing destination, with Chatham Maritime, Hoo Marina and Port Werburgh providing long-stay berths. Liveaboards on the estuary enjoy proper coastal cruising on their doorstep — the Kentish Flats, the Maplin Sands, the Thames forts and onward passage to the East Coast or the Continent — combined with surprisingly good rail access to London from Gravesend, Sheerness and Southend. The estuary suits experienced boat owners; commercial traffic, tides up to 6 metres and weather windows all demand careful planning, but few inshore cruising grounds are more atmospheric or historically loaded.