A Question of Race

damo

damo

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k keeper,Portishead
longkeel35.org.uk
Looking at the pics of the lifeboat off Portland, over on Scuttlebut ( thread here ) I got to wondering about the various races and ripply bits on the charts in the BC.

I tend to plot courses around those areas, but I have gone through/across the Lundy races, and through Bull Point and Foreland in strong offshore winds.

So which sea-states and wind conditions make some of these places no-go? When is it a bad idea to go through the Holms? etc etc.

What have you folks found?
 
Cant say I've found a problem going through the Holms per se Damo. Wind over tide in the BC and all that - though the streams do run faster through them. I also give the Foreland a wide berth but more because I've heard the horror stories of submerged pot buoys. Even in calm weather I'm wary of that!
 
it looks abit like the wranny on a making tide in a easterly wind.there are plenty of nastys in the bristol channel especially the milford haven area, you have north to south and east to west tides all in the same area.if you have competent crew and the boat is up to it 'it can be quite exhilarating . but on your own, give these places a wide berth.
 
In strong wind over tide it can be smoother to go south of steepholme but not too close to Breandown.

I have had a rough ride in small boats in a Westerly on the ebb going through the holmes but not really dangerous in the kind of weather we are likely to be out in.

Going North of Flatholm with wind over tide can be boisterous and there doesnt seem to be a gap in it but the good thing is you can go through as slowly as you like and the tide will spit you out the other end fairly quickly anyway.
 
Under sail it's very unlikely I would be going against the tide in the upper BC anyway, so unless I was reaching it is unlikely I would be in a wind-over-tide situation (apart from the all-too-regular beat SW from Portishead /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif )

But eg say I left Ilf with the tide, bound for Lundy close-hauled in a strong SW wind, the shortest route is along the coast. When would the race be unsafe? Or does it only happen in conditions bad enough that I wouldn't be at sea anyway?

(BTW much nicer avatar Graham /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )
 
It can sometimes be a problem coming West through the old Severn bridge on an ebbing spring against a strong westerly breeze - the only time I would swear I've seen square waves. But it doesnt last more tan 100 yards particularly on the English shore.

The other unpleasant one is outside the Longships again with a westerly wind and a spring tide - best to keep a couple of miles clear in my experience
 
My worst places are anywhere around Nash sands, Hartland point and the bit of coast between Ilfracombe and Padstow. There is a nasty area just south of Aberthaw/Rhoose which brews up for no reason.
 
That's where a longkeeler with the prop in an aperture comes into its own /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Makes the close-quarters manoeveuring hassles worthwhile. I still steer round pots if I see them, but I don't worry too much if I don't.
 
Dunno, I've never snagged one /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

There was one unforgettable night at anchor at Sark one time, when there was some magnificent phosphorescence in the sea. We were canoeing back to the boat - pitch black, no moon - and the bow waves, wake and eddies from the kayaks and paddles were creating spectacular effects in the water. I came across a pot bouy and started to haul it up - every time I moved the rope the clear water (about 10m deep) showed the glowing outline of the potline, complete with attached weed, all the way to the bottom. There wasn't a glowing crab in the pot though, so I didn't need to haul it all the way up /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Yeah, look on the chart and you will see a ridge that follows the coastline. If you do what i did before i knew better it is really big swell over that point.....in fact we were in F7/8 W and bearing in mind Bonny is quite a decent lump we managed to slam off waves and break solder connections and a window......oh. and blew a sail out. Then the 'fun' of surfing 8-10 ft waves over doom bar.Typically we lost no1 bilge pump,echo sounder, nav & windscreen wiper! Pitch black at night it really wasn't funny.Radar saved us that night.
 
Nash point is one we try to avoid and further along past camarthen bay.

There is also a naty patch off the Mumbles.

Nearer to Cardiff have got a bit wet north of Flatholm and off the coast around Lavernock always seems lumpy in the MOBO.

As for wind over tide I would tend to prefer punching wind and tide together rather than against wind with tide- I would probable do the reverse under sail though
 
yes been out there in the nasty bit west of carmarthen bay.left dale roads at 10pmweather blew up in night n/easterly 6-7took 6hrs to reach st govans light only saving grace wind was with tide still very lumpy.then a beat across carmarthen bay in a 24ft racing boat ,oh what a night
 
[ QUOTE ]
Looking at the pics of the lifeboat off Portland, over on Scuttlebut ( thread here ) I got to wondering about the various races and ripply bits on the charts in the BC.

I tend to plot courses around those areas, but I have gone through/across the Lundy races, and through Bull Point and Foreland in strong offshore winds.

So which sea-states and wind conditions make some of these places no-go? When is it a bad idea to go through the Holms? etc etc.

What have you folks found?

[/ QUOTE ]

I.M.H.O. tide races, rips, headlands, sandbanks, underwater obstructions and the like, should all be given a wide berth... so there... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
should all be given a wide berth... so there...

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are that worried, you won't be needing a wide berth anyway - the boat won't be leaving it /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
he has been there done it and pitch poled at the nash passage he does not say these words lightly but with great wisdom. eric taberly was one of the great sailers of his time he was swept overboard just off st govens. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
What really scares me is when the professionals get it wrong. I know of several times that the RIB drivers in Ramsey Sound have dumped people in the drink in overfalls - and these are men and women who drive those RIBS around the island 8 times a day for months on end, year after year. I saw a fishing boat literally flipped and sunk, also in Ramsey, both crew swam ashore, luckily. One of our friends smashed his hip on the lifeboat - he was on deck, tied on with a lifeline when the boat dropped into a trough. It was so deep, as it dropped, he was in the air and the lifeline slammed him down into the deck. Still walks with a limp.

Swell and chop are all very well, but when you get these races and overfalls, it's the unpredictability that gets me. It looks OK one minute then this huge standing wave appears.

As a newbie to the Bristol channel, with a new type of boat, I'm very nervous of it.
 
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