FISHING FROM THE BREAKWATER

My family and I used to enjoy walking along the breakwater to the lighthouse at the end on a Sunday afternoon and watching the fishermen. As a child I used to swim from the beach steps to the breakwater steps at high tide. Does anyone else have memories or photos of the beach area that you would like to add?

I regularly fished the Western side of the breakwater from the top of the arches. My memory also tells me I rode my bike out to the light house above the arches.
circa 1963
Can't even walk it it now!

I remember watching the daytrippers from London chase the water out when the ferry came in, only to see them get swept up and deposited further up the beach. We used to work our way along under the arches during a southwester, wait for the 'wump' sound, then it went dark, so we had to hop up hanging onto the columns as the waves washed around our feet before it drained over the side....how did we ever survive?

Hello every one I come from Germany and so I’ve never lived in this lovely old harbour town named Newhaven. My father in law, and the rest of his family, was born there, but this is a long long time ago. I visited Newhaven just 3 or 4 times but I love it. My husband naturally was more often in Newhaven to visit his family. It is about now nearly 30 years ago when he did a cycling tour with his bike from Germany to England. One of his major stops was naturally Newhaven. But this is not the main thing what I would like to say – on an earlier holiday my dear husband, at the age of 22 -23, visited his relatives in Newhaven. It was summer and so a part of his family went down to the beach (sandy beach). It was a very nice evening but one his female cousins got so on his nerves that he just wanted to disappear. So he told his cousin he would swim around the breakwaters – as he said, he did it. My husband was in the form of his life, marathon runner, extreme sportier, extreme cyclist and so on, (unfortunately there was no triathlon in those days that my husband knew). As he said he swam around the breakwaters with incoming tide, he started at the stony beach. To shorten up a long story he did it, as pictures show he was really bushed when he arrived at the sandy beach. Back home in Germany when he told [the story] to his parents and me, his father (a pure old fashioned English Gentleman) stood up and smacked my husband (we weren’t married then). Later he was more than sorry about his smack but in the end he was so proud of his son. So often he told us about this adventure.

Great story - I wonder how many other people have done this? Andy - Editor.

I to have swum around the breakwater from the stoney side, When I was around 17,  think. Let me tell you by the time you get around the end and over come the current from the deep water channel tide going out, I was more than happy to walk back along the arches!!

My friends and I spent most summers, diving jumping off the Arches. We had all sorts off theories of where and when to jump with out hitting the the rocks. One occasion I remember well was jumping of with Nigel Pumfrey on my shoulders, great fun. Kevin Martin and Trevor Dyson/Fawsey always managed spectacular swallow dives - a rite off passage for a Newhavener.

I have fished off this breakwater since 1969, in 1972 aged 15 I fished all night and just caught 2 flat fish and a few 2 inch pouting, but at first light I was rewarded, the sea was completely flat and calm and I was the only person there. It was so nice with the red sun just beginning to appear, not a sound to be heard 5.30 am. High tide was about 8.am I think, then I heard a splash below me from the west side right at the end on the round part of the arm. I looked down and there were white bait jumping and getting chased by mackerel, then suddenly the water was boiling everywhere 1000,s of mackerel and bass chasing the mackerel too. So on with the feathers and 2 hours later I had 147 mackerel. I had to run to the nearest phonebox to get my sister to pick me up and my sister was not happy with all that fish stinking out her little Reliant Robin. A friend told me that on that same morning mackerel & whitebait had beached themselves all along Seaford beaches. Please bring back fishing on the arm. Paul Eastbourne.

I was at Newhaven on the 18/09/16. Loads of people fishing off both arms. So have they reopened. I was at tide Mills and it was all very clean and tidy - no bushes in sight.

I've checked this out and the breakwater is definitely not open. However, after going to have a look this afternoon, I can confirm that there were a few groups of anglers up on the upper level, having climbed around the barriers. Maybe the port owners are simply turning a blind eye.