Brighton to Scotland

Saltram31

Saltram31

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Hi,
I have sailed down from the Clyde on the West coast and am looking to head back up the East Coast from Brighton. Can anybody offer me advice on distances between marinas or bolt holes and any pros and cons rather than heading west again and before I lay out for east coast charts. I would be interested in mainly day sails with the odd few nights if required.
Any info would be appreciated
 
Hi Skatt,

Depends a lot upon your draft and ability to take the ground or otherwise...

From Brighton to Great Yarmouth is no problem.... places too numerous to mention all of them... from there its a little more challenging....

FWIW, for easy day sails, my pick would be:

Brighton -> Eastbourne
Eastbourne -> Dover
Dover -> Harwich
Harwich -> Lowestoft
Lowestoft -> Wells
Wells -> Grimsby
Grimsby northwards isn't my patch, so others better qualified to answer
 
so you can lay against a wall without too much concern then....

I think you'd be mad to miss some of the East coast.... parts are barren and devoid of safe havens, but much of it is very very beautiful.

Your problem will still be north of Lowestoft until you hit the Humber area.... the only viable port is Wells.... you could possibly do some of the Wash ports, but IMHO, they aren't worth the detour....

The Orwell at Harwich is well worth a visit... a very lovely river, and there are quite a few delightful places around the area if you have time to linger.... Maldon, Brightlingsea, the Backwaters, the Deben, Orford are all well worth a visit and well within your draft constraints

Was at Wells yesterday, and that is also quite lovely.... beyond that, i'd take the hit and head north for the Humber
 
Go to your local library and order this, East Coast River Cruising Companion by Janet Harber. It will tell you all you need to know about the Thames Estuary.

Good info here also http://www.eastcoastrivers.com/

Once you get to Great Yarmouth you're probably going to have to bite the bullet for a bit of an overnight slog accross The Wash (more foul tide than fair) up to Grimsby. You'll need to keep a good lookout as there are many coasters using the same channels as you will be and it is probably the busiest area I have sailed for commercial shipping.
 
We're thinking of taking Marmalade up to Scotland this year and have concluded that it's just a case of blasting up the east coast without stopping - there's nowhere that really fits the bill for a stop. Hartlepool? Newcastle?
 
Looking at the Northern section I did Hull, Whitby, Hartlepool, Blyth, Amble, Anstruther.

Personally, I would miss out Wells and head out to sea from Lowestoft before heading North with my first stop at Grimsby. Bit of a flog but avoids inshore banks and hazards.

I did Hull to Ramsgate singlehanded using the offshore route. Quite long but not too demanding.
 
I would suggest from our experience of a similar trip 2 years ago i would go into Wells and miss out grimsby making for Whitby. after whitby ther are some great stopovers ,
Hartlepool,newcastle,amble, * Holy island/farne islands *
eyemouth (noisy) dunbar (interesting entrance !!),arbroath.
*stonehaven* , peterhead (if you must!) whitehills
*unmissable enjoy the east coast, it has much to offer.
 
I used to go up to Caledonian canal or down to Holland almost every year from 1980 - 2000. That's when the Forth & Clyde canal opened and it became too easy to reach West Coast. Most of the obvious stops have been mentioned. One important point is that there are very few with safe entry when wind pipes up from NE. Some can be very uncomfortable even inside (e.g. Dunbar). Most are sheltered but you can be stuck. I remember several days in Berwick on Tweed (watched a coaster trying to leave when it had calmed down a bit and it was almost driven ashore).

I can let you have some advice if you want plan "B" for bad weather near Forth. I've had about 8 return trips through Forth & Clyde canal so far.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
Mistroma,did you have to drop your mast to get through the Forth and Clyde canal as you probably had to use theFalkirk wheel or is there another option. (Besides the Caley)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for all the replies.
Mistroma,did you have to drop your mast to get through the Forth and Clyde canal as you probably had to use theFalkirk wheel or is there another option. (Besides the Caley)

[/ QUOTE ]

you will need to drop your mast for the forth and clyde canal,i believe that there is a mast stepping service at both ends.I have not traversed the canal but i grew up on the Kirkintilloch to Twechar stretch,there are moorings at Kirkintilloch and at Dullatur also i believe.I can reccomend some fantastic fishing spots around there /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Mistroma,how long does it on average take to traverse the Forth and clyde? if anyone had told me 25 years ago that yachts would be going up and down the "nolly" id have never belived them.
 
Feel free to contact me if anyone would like to do part of or all of the trip with me. I will be leaving sometime in March.
Weather permitting.
 
thank you for the kind offer,i dont know my movements over the next few weeks but ill definately bear your offer in mind.

I have done fair bit of sailing out of Oban,where on the clyde are you based?
 
Leave Grangemouth around 09:00 on a Saturday and arrive Kirkintilloch (usually overnight stay at Stables Inn) around 16:00 - 17:00.

Leave Stables around 07:30 Sunday morning and get to Maryhill around 09:00 then Bowling basin around 16:00 - 17:00. Mast up that night or next morning and then out to sea.

These times are about average. Gets much slower if double-locking (i.e. too many boats to fit in at once). However, I've neved failed to do the trip in 2 days.

Staff are always incredibly helpful (especially Sandy at Grangemout lock).

N.B. Getting mast up/down at Grangemouth end is not handled by BW and is extra cost (£25-£30 I think). But return trip with mast up/down at Bowling is only around £80 for a 32' boat.

I have some pictures from canal on http://www.mistroma.com (but am still working on the site).

Must add link to ybw forum and fix some links to pictures.
 
Just noticed that you mentioned the Falkirk wheel, a popular error. The wheel is on the Union canal, not the Forth & Clyde.

You pass the wheel (on port side going East to West) and it doesn't cost extra to go into Union canal. I did it once in Mistroma but canal is very shallow in comparison with Forth & Clyde. Mistroma can reduce her draft to 1'10" so not a problem for us. Though I usually keep a bucket of water on desk in case we run aground and need to be re-floated.

You also need to allow another day unless you are very quick. Even going into the basin, straight into the wheel and a quick up then down would probably put you well out of sync. for a 2 day passage.

Cost I mentioned earlier was for a return. So one way (incl. mast up) would probably be no more than £50-£60 (+£25-£30 for mast down at Port edgar or Grangemouth).
 
i can save a few quid on the mast up/down as i can do that myself.Lost count the number of times ive had a drink at the stables.I would stay at the town bridge pontoons at Kirkintilloch,i fear that my mother would beat me up if i did not stay with her.
 
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