Chris
Its pretty straight forward, you could have tagged along at the weekend.
Once you have got the principle in mind that just because you can see a large flat area of water between you and your destination you may not actually be able to go in a straight line, then you have it sussed (and this applies to boating anywhere.
Tides in general: There is a strange double high tide, this is really a benefit as it means the harbour has a high tide + high slack water for longer than most places
Poole Harbour: Clearly marked channels which are dredged for large vessels as it is a commercial harbour. No problems in the channels at all. Out of channel it gets more interesting. It can be very shallow (I think there is a statistic that the average depth across the harbour is 3 inches!). You can progress out of channel on rising tides and many do. Around the islands it can get shallow and we tend to not go around there on a falling tide. In the past we have followed sightseeing vessels around the island as its an indication of depth.
Wareham River: Lovely sheltered trip on a rising tide. Fish and Chip shop at the end point. In theory it has enough water for our style of boat at most tides but we would not risk it on a low.
Easterly Wind: The harbour suffers in easterly winds with some long fetches in the harbour itself and large waves at the harbour entrance.
Rockley Slip: (where we launch from). Very little water at low tide but is still deemed an all tide slip but perhaps not for our boats. Better described as a three quarters tide slip. Car parking is restricted and lots of spectators who give opinions. Narrow channel which MUST be adhered to, it is well marked. In spring tides at mid tide the water races across the end of the slip (both when rising and falling). Do not be put off by this text, it is actually not a bad slipway.
Cobbs Quay/Davis yard. Two slips. Cobbs Quay is all tide and I think Davis is 3/4 tide. Cobbs is expensive. Be aware that there is a narrow channel across Holes bay and you cannot cut corners even slightly (can you James!). The bend that catches everyone out is on the exit of the marina.
Baiters: "e-bay" slip. Jetskis and small fletchers launch from here as it is cheap. However you have to walk your boat and trailer out 100metres to get any depth.
Speed limit from April to September, enforced by harbourmaster boat and jet-ski.
Just outside of the harbour is another sandbank with the channels (East Looe and the main channel) do not get tempted to rush across it to the open sea, stay in the channel.
On one side of the main channel is a training bank of rocks, submerged at high tide, again do not cut across.
Christchurch: Sand bar across end of harbour with a marked route which must be adhered to. Markers are removed in winter meaning you end up bouncing on the sandbar wondering where the channel is
Dont let this all put you off. Its a great place to visit and have a play. Its not difficult, just have a look at a chart first so you can picture everything in your mind.
