arklow to milford haven

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Paddydog`1

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Planning to sail from Arklow to Milford haven next week. Am having difficulty planning the passage with regards to choosing what time to depart Arklow to get most favorable lift from tides. Boat speed through the water anticipated to be around 6 knots but studying the tidal stream atlas and tables is giving me a headache deciding at what point in the tide cycle I should leave Arklow. Any help gratefully received
 
The passage is long enough that any prediction for the latter part is going to be a guess at best. If the wind is against you you may not make your expected speed if sailing. What is certain though is that the tides at the start of the trip off Arlow are strong. I'd leave at the start of the S going tide, stay not too far from the coast to make the most of it, and then replan from wherever you have got to when it's coming to an end.
 
No easy solution here, unfortunately, as peak spring tides run at around 2.5knt throughout the passage. I've done the trip twice in the other direction, both times sitting out the foul tide on the wall at Rosslare which is a) free b) fairly grim and c) untenable in winds between NW and E. Wexford is a far more more pleasant stopover if you have <1.5m draft.

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The tide is generally 6 hours up, and 6 hours down, so If you can get more down than up, you will be a bit ahead of the game. Start with the start of the Southerly tide, and see how you go.

How far is it from Arklow to St. Davids Head?

I recall ducking into Fishguard at times on a Southerly trip from N. Wales to Lands End and beyond.
 
I'd aim to make landfall mid morning so you can avoid the big gas tankers going into MH. Maybe set out on a south going tide to take you swiftly past Arklow Bank.
 
Quiddle said:
No easy solution here, unfortunately, as peak spring tides run at around 2.5knt throughout the passage. I've done the trip twice in the other direction, both times sitting out the foul tide on the wall at Rosslare which is a) free b) fairly grim and c) untenable in winds between NW and E. Wexford is a far more more pleasant stopover if you have <1.5m draft.

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If you stop in Rosslare I've heArd recently that only crew with hi viz vests are allowed through the yard (ie the rest of the crew will not be allowed to land and have to stay aboard). It's that elf n safe tea again...
 
I'd start on a south going tide to clear Arklow bank. The tides will likely, more or less, cancel each other out as you head east across the Irish Sea/St Georges channel as they mainly head north/south and not east/west.

An S shaped Easterly transit will likely mean less hours at sea than attempting to passage straight across
 
PabloPicasso said:
I'd start on a south going tide to clear Arklow bank. The tides will likely, more or less, cancel each other out as you head east across the Irish Sea/St Georges channel as they mainly head north/south and not east/west.

An S shaped Easterly transit will likely mean less hours at sea than attempting to passage straight across
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This is the track of a similar trip from Dublin to Pwllheli I did (on New Year's Day a few years ago)...

DSC01975.jpg


Similar to the OP's planned trip there are tidal shenanigans near the end (Bardsey Sound). The lower track is the eastwards one. Set off with the south going tide, but as you say, the tides mostly cancelled themselves out.
 
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Paddydog`1 said:
Planning to sail from Arklow to Milford haven next week. Am having difficulty planning the passage with regards to choosing what time to depart Arklow to get most favorable lift from tides. Boat speed through the water anticipated to be around 6 knots but studying the tidal stream atlas and tables is giving me a headache deciding at what point in the tide cycle I should leave Arklow. Any help gratefully received
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Inside or outside Sooner may influence your timing. But my strongest recommendation is to plan your arrival to coincide with rising tide at Milford. The falling tide out of Milford can be a real challenge for all but seriously large engines.

The LPG boats have their navigation channels, just stay out of their way.

Listen for the port control on VHF and you'll hear what is going on.

Can always stop in Fishguard for a kip and to reset the clock for a shorter journey. Read the pilotage to get your timing right.
 
yes getting the timing right to pick up a favourable tide into Milford is a good starting point for planning the passage i guess. Thank you all for your advice
 
PabloPicasso said:
If you stop in Rosslare I've heArd recently that only crew with hi viz vests are allowed through the yard (ie the rest of the crew will not be allowed to land and have to stay aboard). It's that elf n safe tea again...
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Last time we used Rosslare, we used the little fishing harbour just round the corner, in fact we used their launching concrete ramp to scrub off while we were there.
 
Hmm. Some dubious comments here. What has Bardsey Sound to do with a passage from Arklow to MH? Max tide is 1 knt?! At 2222hrs today the tide off Arklow is running at 2.27knt. St Georges channel tides are the issue... the max current into the Haven is less than 1 knt. Arklow to the western tip if Skomer bears 155 deg, which is hardly a west - east passage. The OP might do well to look elsewhere for passage planning advice, perhaps read the the pilotage, whatever that is.
 
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Quiddle said:
Hmm. Some dubious comments here. What has Bardsey Sound to do with a passage from Arklow to MH? Max tide is 1 knt?! At 2222hrs today the tide off Arklow is running at 2.27knt. St Georges channel tides are the issue... the max current into the Haven is less than 1 knt. Arklow to the western tip if Skomer bears 155 deg, which is hardly a west - east passage. The OP might do well to look elsewhere for passage planning advice, perhaps read the the pilotage, whatever that is.
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1) Dublin to Bardsey is a similar trip to Arklow to Skomer.. course and tides. (not the same, obviously)

2) Several have said set off with the south going tide to get below Arklow Bank with it behind you. Someone else said the max current in the Haven is 1knot, so no big deal so, if it's less than 1 knot, it's less of a big deal.

3) Some have suggested Fishguard and Rosslaire as places to duck into as appropriate.

4) Tide is up and down - in an 18 hour trip, that's 2 tides with him, and one against.

So... without doing the actual passage plan for him, it's all pretty good info, which he will be able to use to his advantage

IMHO of course :)
 
Quiddle said:
Hmm. Some dubious comments here. What has Bardsey Sound to do with a passage from Arklow to MH? Max tide is 1 knt?! At 2222hrs today the tide off Arklow is running at 2.27knt. St Georges channel tides are the issue... the max current into the Haven is less than 1 knt. Arklow to the western tip if Skomer bears 155 deg, which is hardly a west - east passage. The OP might do well to look elsewhere for passage planning advice, perhaps read the the pilotage, whatever that is.
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It was just an example of a similar passage that is tide dominated at either end, less so in the middle, where it pays to set off at the start of the S going tide. I'd have expected that you could have seen it as that. Obviously not.
 
It would be interesting to hear from someone who has actually done Arklow to MH. I haven't, but have visited both many times as well as crossing the Irish Sea several times. The crossing to Bardsey illustrates the advantage of letting the tide shape your track rather than stick to a straight line ie follow a constant heading and ignore XTE until close to destination.
 
yes has anyone who has done the passage any advice or are there better alternative for getting the boat from Dublin to Milford Haven?
 
AngusMcDoon said:
It was just an example of a similar passage that is tide dominated at either end, less so in the middle, where it pays to set off at the start of the S going tide. I'd have expected that you could have seen it as that. Obviously not.
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But it's not similar. Bardsey Sound has horrendous tides whilst the tides into MH are relatively modest whilst Dublin bay is virtually devoid of tidal streams.
Dublin to Pwllheli is essentially a zonal course whilst Arklow to MH is essentially meridional so no, I'm afraid the two trips bear little resemblance.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
It was just an example of a similar passage that is tide dominated at either end, less so in the middle, where it pays to set off at the start of the S going tide. I'd have expected that you could have seen it as that. Obviously not.
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But it's not similar. Bardsey Sound has horrendous tides whilst the tides into MH are relatively modest whilst Dublin bay is virtually devoid of tidal streams.
Dublin to Pwllheli is essentially a zonal course whilst Arklow to MH is essentially meridional so no, I'm afraid the two trips bear little resemblance.
 
Quiddle said:
But it's not similar. Bardsey Sound has horrendous tides whilst the tides into MH are relatively modest whilst Dublin bay is virtually devoid of tidal streams.
Dublin to Pwllheli is essentially a zonal course whilst Arklow to MH is essentially meridional so no, I'm afraid the two trips bear little resemblance.
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I don't know why you are so excited about the tide into Milford Haven which we know is less than a knot. It's the tide off Skomer which peaks at 4 knots that's relevant, which, incidentally, is the same rate as the tide going round the back of Bardsey Island.
 
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