The Exe is an extremely attractive estuary which is well worth anyone’s time so long as you keep two points in mind. The first is that access times are limited by the bar which for most deep draft vessels will confine entry to the top half of the tide unless you know the place very well. The other point to remember is that at springs the ebb runs so strongly that the average yacht under engine will struggle to make much progress.

So having timed your arrival for the top half of a rising tide, find the red and white clear water buoy which marks the entrance. The channel has altered in the past two seasons and now runs north-south across Pole Sand, the old E. Exe cardinal having been removed. The marked channel takes you close in to the shore and along the front at Exmouth before swinging away to the left round Warren Point and then resuming its way north.

First berthing option is Exmouth Marina, whose narrow west-facing entrance is marked by a prominent red brick building. There are no visitor berths here as such but spaces are sometimes available if you contact the marina in advance (T 01395 269314). Yachts will need the foot bridge opened so don’t plan on arriving outside normal hours. Berthing on the pontoon in the entrance channel is not permitted except when taking on fuel. Beware the very strong cross sets at the entrance.

The marina is a typical faux-New England development round the old Exmouth harbour, a touch bland but not unattractive, where deep keel vessels will sink into soft mud at LW. There is a restaurant and the usual facilities on site and all domestic requirements within 10 minutes walk in the pleasant town of Exmouth.

Upstream of Exmouth there are hundreds of moorings, a few of them designated for visitors and others untenanted at any particular time. The main options for yachts which can’t take the ground are at pretty Starcross. Further up is Turf Lock where you can sometimes pick up a mooring and then dinghy over to the excellent pub at the entrance to Exeter Canal, or even enter the canal itself and raft up in the basin. Craft which can take the ground can go on to Topsham where Trout's Boatyard offers pontoon berths and swing moorings, but there are few options for fin keel boats. Water starts to give out above Starcross so you will need the upper part of the tide, and in view of the strength of the stream plan to go up on the flood and back on the ebb.

If you take a mooring and don’t fancy a long and potentially strenuous dinghy trip, contact the water taxi (Exeplorer, T 07970 918418 or VHF ch 37) which will convey you to the entrance to Exmouth Marina.

© 2010 Yachtpilot