West Mersea Harbour, May 2011. Photo: Editor5807 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
A harbour sheltered by islands
West Mersea Harbour opens onto the Blackwater Estuary. It is sheltered from much of the open-water wave action by Cobmarsh, Packing Marsh and Old Hall Point, rather than by a continuous enclosing breakwater.
The navigable water is divided by mud banks, tidal creeks and moorings. At high water, yachts and smaller working boats move through the channels; at low water, much of the surrounding mudflat is exposed.
Oysters, yachts and rescue boats
The harbour supported oyster dredging and packing long before leisure boating became an important part of the waterfront. The Tollesbury and Mersea Native Oyster Fishery Company was founded in 1876, and the surviving Packing Shed was built in 1897.
West Mersea Yacht Club was founded in 1899. The RNLI established an inshore lifeboat station at West Mersea in July 1963, initially placing a D class lifeboat in a shelter beside the Yacht Club.
The harbour recharge completed in 2022
Erosion of the protective marsh islands led to the formation of the Mersea Harbour Protection Trust's scheme in 2014. The project placed dredged sand and gravel around the eroding island margins rather than constructing a continuous sea wall.
The completed project used approximately 98,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel dredged from the Harwich Harbour approaches. The material was placed at Cobmarsh, Packing Marsh, Old Hall Point and Shinglehead Point at Tollesbury Wick, rather than forming one continuous seawall. The final load was placed at Old Hall Point on 16 January 2022. The project completion statement records the works.
Viewing the harbour from land
The Hard is the working waterside access at the bottom of Coast Road. The older streets of Old City sit just inland. The completed harbour-protection scheme records the dates and volumes.