Advice for crossing Lyme Bay

Seven Spades

Seven Spades

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 Aug 2003
Messages
4,938
Location
Surrey
Visit site
I am going to the West Country for the hols, the plan is Haslar-Yarmouth-Poole-Weymouth-Brixham etc How long does it usulally take for the Weymouth - Brixham/Torquay leg? (Note I said average). I read that in an earlier post to stay put if a F6 is forecast, but what about the alternative i.e. very little wind?

What conditions are considered ideal for the crossing, this will be my first time?
 
Seems a bit of a stupid question to me......surely if you are planning that passage you will know the distance from Weymouth to Brixham, therefore with the tidal data to hand, the estimated speed of your boat through the water at a given wind speed and direction you will be able to estimate the elepsed time..........if you are unable to calculate this maybe it is unwise to make that passage!!!!!!!!

Paul.
 
Calculations on paper are one thing, and I can do that. I was simply asking what are other peoples actual experiences, which in my experiance are another thing entirley.
 
Other peoples experiances are probably done in differant conditions with differant tides in a differant vessel........I can tell you how long it took me the last time I did it but the fact I did it in an Arun class lifeboat at 18kts probably will be of little use to you!!!!!!!!

Paul.
 
takes me under an hour! <g> But not much help here

You are being a bit unfair though, asking for advice is always a good thing, and plenty of people here with the experience to help
 
STARBOARD you are quite right, that would be no help at all. Shall I spell it out for you, I have a 36ft AWB and am planning to cross Lyme Bay next week from Weymouth. If you have a similar boat I would be pleased to hear how long it took you to do the journey and under what conditions.

Is that clear enough?
 
FWIW having done Dover-Scilly single handed, as long as you leave Weymouth with a half decent weather forecast and time the tide to get pushed past Portland Bill (bad timing makes rounding the Bill somewhat unpleasant to put it mildly!) nothing too daunting.

The Bill to Brixham, plenty of sea room and little traffic so with the wonders of GPS should be 'un morceau de pee pee' as the French say. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Ignore it.
Read his profile and pick up on a couple of points
NICE WINE, RNLI 2nd COXWAIN (ARRUN CLASS)

He's trying to be clever, like he never asked advice in his life.
 
We did Gosport Weymouth and Weymouth Brixham last year in very light wind -gave up and motored some both days - about 14 hours - arrived Brixham in the moonlight escorted by dolphins fantastic. Coming back from Dartmouth to Weymouth it was flat calm - we motored straight through the race, some weird swirls on the surface no more (wouldnt advise it at springs tho')
 
Well it's about fifty miles from Portland bill to Start point, give or take a few. So takes me about two and half hours. At five knots it's 10 hours. Best wind for me is none. At 2.5 knots, thats 20 hours. My maths is no good after that. No it's a daft question. Course you could go round Lyme bay. But then thats another question.
 
Biggest decision is inside or outside, I've always gone inside. 2 hours to the bill & c 6 hours across is what I'd passage plan. Timing leaving Weymouth is critical
 
LETS PUT IT LIKE THIS

DOVER Tides:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> Saturday 2006-07-15
Sunrise 4:56 BST, Sunset 21:03 BST
Moonset 10:27 BST, Moonrise 23:18 BST
High Tide: 2:46 BST 6.72
Low Tide: 10:05 BST 0.66
High Tide: 15:06 BST 6.79
Low Tide: 22:25 BST 0.55

Sunday 2006-07-16
Sunrise 4:57 BST, Sunset 21:02 BST
Moonset 11:53 BST, Moonrise 23:31 BST
High Tide: 3:34 BST 6.58
Low Tide: 10:46 BST 0.81
High Tide: 15:55 BST 6.66
Low Tide: 23:09 BST 0.73

Monday 2006-07-17 Last Quarter Moon
Sunrise 4:59 BST, Sunset 21:01 BST
Moonset 13:18 BST, Moonrise 23:45 BST
High Tide: 4:26 BST 6.33
Low Tide: 11:30 BST 1.07
High Tide: 16:49 BST 6.41
Low Tide: 23:58 BST 1.03

Tuesday 2006-07-18
Sunrise 5:00 BST, Sunset 21:00 BST
Moonset 14:43 BST, Moonrise 0:01 BST
High Tide: 5:24 BST 6.02
Low Tide: 12:22 BST 1.40
High Tide: 17:49 BST 6.10

Wednesday 2006-07-19
Sunrise 5:01 BST, Sunset 20:59 BST
Moonrise 0:01 BST, Moonset 16:08 BST
Low Tide: 0:58 BST 1.38
High Tide: 6:31 BST 5.73
Low Tide: 13:27 BST 1.69
High Tide: 18:59 BST 5.82 </pre><hr />

Saturday 2006-07-15 Be at the Bill 02:00 or 14:15
Sunday 2006-07-16 Be at the Bill 02:15 or 15:15
Monday 2006-07-17 Be at the Bill 03:45 or 16:00
Tuesday 2006-07-18 Be at the Bill 04:45 or 17:00
Wednesday 2006-07-19 Be at the Bill 05:45 or 18:15

Wednesday morning looks like a good day to go round the Bill.

Lulworth Range Firing:
A recording of up to date information can be heard by phoning: 01929 404819.
 
Thank goodness someone at last answered the poor chap's query! Amazing the unhelpful replies!

We always took the inside route and used the ebb to 'slingshot' into the bay. I'd wait for the right conditions (pref something with East in it) and I personally wouldn't go in anything other than light westerlies: the Bay can be very unpleasant in a SW blow.

Think about the way back too, especially your strategy for rounding the bill, we always went outside but it makes it a bit of a slog back to Weymouth.

Gerard
 
No. The chap must learn to ask sencible questions. How the hell do we know what boat he's got, speed or his weather conditions. Or tide.

Personally I set off about 11am after breakfast. If it's rough at Portland Bill, I bounce around a bit and aim inshore. Easyest way is miss out Weymouth and also Miss portland Bill. Bit of a slog at six knots. But I've done that in a night.
 
Ah yes!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Return From The Middle East


On a Voyage to the middle east Weymouth must be the equivalent of Turkey. Where East meets West. A sort of multi cultural place with views of all persuasions. Not only that but Weymouth is some what of a glue pot for any one wishing to cross Lyme Bay.

We moored on a raft with a big new mobo on the inside and were quickly informed, he was going at 6am. There was no where else to moor and we’d driven 310 miles to the boat in Plymouth and then zoomed the next day up to Weymouth. So a bit knackered. So anyway we thinks, no mobo goes at six am.

So I’m fitting the shore lines, now I can fix the stern line over or under the next boats swim platform, and risk either lassoing him on his return from the pub, or his props. So I experimented with the cleat on our own raft, with the rope an inch or two from our inside boats bows. Don’t want yer ropes touching my boat, the bloke said. I looked back, a bit perplexed and chucked the rope over the other blokes swim platform!! It became apparent next morning, that he was following the Mobo Monthly cruise boats back to the Solent, a mere 35 miles away. I remarked on our way back from the pub, “ that’s a bloody long way” apparently he remared back. But I’m still going at 6am!!

Nothing against folk going when they want or need to, especially yachts.
But according to others, the tide was not even going in the right direction!!

The high light was. We met ------ here………….



The trip to pool and up the Solent was quite uneventful, though we did manage to smear the words. Mucky Farter wos ear on the Folly notice board!

All went well till we were about three miles off the Needles on our way back, when the big new deap water alarm in the bilge went off. Massive Claxton air raid type warning sound.

I shot down stairs, ripped up MF’s new carpet and looked down the forward bilge, then the engine room, nothing there. I took a cursory look down MF’s cellar where all the junk is kept. Nothing looked serious down there, but still the siren wailed. Eventualy the sea calmed down a bit and I wizzed the humiddidifyer out, along with the generator, whilst Henry the dog jumped around my back and the big cellar (Or Lazithingy) door battered on my head. Soon as I’d go everything out the cellar. Guess what. The Claxton stopped and there was no water there either!!

Back to Weymouth we've just got the shore power plugged in when the telly goes dead. The little yacht on the inside had desided to go. No by your leave or explanation. Just dead electric and folk floating off at 10-30 pm.


Weymouth is a hell of a mixture between the ones who know how to behave in a raft and the folkes better left in the solent marina.

Oh. Portland Bill. MF's auto pilot did a wobbler right on top of it and went over it about three times!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top