SAILING DIRECTIONS - RIVER DART SAILING DIRECTIONS


Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority do not provide a 24 hour 7 day a week service. River staff are contactable on channel 11 using call sign DARTNAV during working hours and the office is contactable on 01803 832337.


Dart Harbour berths and facilities are well signposted and masters/skippers should take account of any restrictions when berthing. In particular, some berths may only be used with the Harbour Master’s express permission owing to the depth of water and bottom slope – but these are well marked.


The following directions are intended as a helpful description of your journey up river. They do not relieve masters and skippers of vessels of their obligation to conduct their own navigation and safe pilotage plans within harbour limits. In the entrance, the stream ebb or flood seldom


exceeds 2 knots except aſter heavy rainfall or strong northerly winds when, on the ebb tide, this can run up to 3.5 knots. At spring tides, the river almost dries out for two miles below Totnes at low water, but vessels drawing not more than 0.9m (3 feet) can proceed to Totnes 1.5 hours aſter low water. The tidal stream 1.5 miles outside the entrance runs N.E. from 2 hours before to 4 hours aſter high water at Dartmouth and S.W. from 2 hours before to 4 hours aſter low water at Dartmouth.


To make the best use of this guide, reference should be made to Admiralty Chart No 2253 or a suitably detailed and up to date equivalent. For an outline, please refer to the maps of the harbour and river up to Totnes in the pull-out centre pages of this Guide.


Most Harbour Authority mooring buoys are blue. Those designated for visitors are white and marked with a black “V”. Visitors’ pontoons and visitors’ dinghy moorings


are marked with blue flags and visitors signage. There are no formal visitors’ landing points south of the Lower Ferry.


Drone footage showing the entrance to the harbour is available on the Dart Harbour website or scan the QR Code


Caution Masters/Skippers should familiarise


themselves with the routes and locations of the crossing ferries which are marked on the chart since they can be difficult to spot, particularly at high water when they berth at the top of their slipway. Particular care is required on entry with the lower ferry on the Kingswear side as this is out of sight when berthed and can surprise vessels on the starboard side of the channel. Likewise, the higher ferry can surprise vessels outbound on the starboard side of the channel when it leaves Dartmouth as it can be obscured by Dart Marina pontoons and vessels.


The two lower car ferries that ply between Kingswear and Dartmouth – comprise a tug and vehicle-carrying float that is towed alongside the tug - are assessed as ‘restricted in their ability to manoeuvre’ by the MCA and exhibit appropriate shapes/lights.


The wire guided Higher Ferry that crosses the river just below Dart Marina exhibits the same shapes/lights. Beware of submerged wires in the vicinity of this ferry.


See also Local Notice to Mariners for information on speed limits, diving and other information.


Yacht Taxi - Ch 69 tel: 07970 346571


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