All marinas operate on VHF Channel 80, which is monitored during normal working hours. Most marinas keep a number of berths for visiting yachts. The most comprehensive range of repair facilities is to be found in the area between Southampton and Portsmouth where the biggest names in the British yachting industry are concentrated. It has been said that whatever cannot be fixed there probably cannot be fixed anywhere else in the world. The climate is mild and temperate, being greatly influenced by the Atlantic and Gulf Stream.
Rainfall is heavier on the western coasts.
The spring, from March to May, can be cool and wet, while summer, from June to September, can be warm. The weather is very changeable, although occasionally there are long spells of pleasant weather when a system of high pressure remains stationary over the British Isles. Depressions tracking east across the Atlantic bring strong SW winds, usually of gale force. The prevailing winds of summer are NE, although SW winds predominate throughout the year and this is also the direction of most gales. Strong tides make navigation around the British Isles particularly difficult.