Cardiff Lock restrictions

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Alcyone

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Our commodore has just informed us of the restrictions on the club Forum:

Owing to exceptionally low river flows into the Bay, the Harbour Authority is required to implement locking restrictions for vessels in order to maintain the Bay level within the statutory limits.

Effective immediately, and continuing until significant rainfall increases river flows, the following locking times will be in place:

0001 Mon – 0600 Fri:
Outbound - 1 lock per hour (on the hour)
Inbound - 1 lock per hour (45 mins past the hour)

0600 Fri – 2359 Sun:
Outbound - 1 lock per half hour (on the hour and 30 mins past the hour)
Inbound - 1 lock per half hour (15 mins and 45 mins past the hour)

Mariners should note that delays are likely both locking in and locking out, particularly at weekends and other busy periods. It is therefore advisable to use non-peak locking times whenever possible.

The situation with regard to the maintenance of the Bay level will be kept under constant review, and restrictions will be relaxed if at all possible. However, it should also be noted that, given the forecast for continuing dry weather, there may be a necessity to further restrict locking operations to ensure the statutory Bay level is maintained.

Up to date information may be obtained from Barrage Control on 029 2070 0234 or on VHF Channel 18. Where delays do occur, mariners are requested to exercise patience and act in accordance with the locking instructions given to them by Barrage staff.




We are evidently only getting around half the flow we normally get from rivers, with no end in sight to the dry sepll. Evidently there will be a queueing system for locks, with patrol boats watching for queue jumpers!
 
Lets hope they post a boat outside the barrage aswell.

I spoke to Barrage Control today and they said there is little they can do if people jump the queue. How about telling them to get the hell out of the lock?
Do as they do in Swansea, if your names not on the list you ain't coming in! And make it the usual form - Cardiff is a nightmare for people pushing in.
I must say though, we were over there at the weekend and seemed a lot better than it used to be, an orderly (ish) queue forming in the bay to lock out.
But why, when people call up to ask for the next available lock in (or out), are they directed to "lock No 2 at 1/4 past" when it is obvious that that lock is allready over sub-scribed?
 
Just what are 'non-peak' hours then? I thought that the tide times changed every day.

This method of restriction is a bit daft. Surely they can have more locks operating when the tide is in as there won't be so much water loss.

They need to get their act sorted and start a proper booking system.
 
Good point Bloater, I am surprised that the clubs in The Bay and Penarth Quays (on behalf of their customers) don't petition the harbour Authority.
Perhaps a few e-mails or letters from here might help?
It would need to be a concerted effort, lots of people writing or e-mailing over a short space of time.
 
Ditto Sneddon,

I am fed up with being cut up by the Yellow flat holm ribs that think they own they bay. how long before they have an accident doing the the screaming turns to excite the punters in the bay? What are the guys doing in the control room on the barrage that means they can't control a queue into the locks? Isn't this their primary job roll? Or are they counting trout through the fish lock?
 
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We arrived in Cadiff on Monday and the lock staff were brilliant!
Rather than the usual Lock No 1 at 1/4 past, pint into a quart pot reply, we were told by name, along with 3 other boats to go to lock No2 as No1 was full.
Simple but effective lock management, similar when we left on Wednesday AM - no queue jumpers and a vast improvement.
Well done barrage control!
 
Bloater said:
Just what are 'non-peak' hours then? I thought that the tide times changed every day.
Click to expand...

We locked in at low water at midnight on Tuesday about 14 days ago. We had to wait for 30 minutes for the lock to close (which was fair enough). We were the only ones in the lock.

So the middle of the night is non-peak hours (but the Penarth Tesco is shut then).

I can imagine it's a nightmare on a sunny weekend when this happens, but ma nature has her own ways I guess.
 
There were no restrictions when I used the locks on Tuesday and Thursday last week. In fact the water level in Penarth Marina was about a foot higher than normal as far as I could tell.
 
Bloater said:
There were no restrictions when I used the locks on Tuesday and Thursday last week. In fact the water level in Penarth Marina was about a foot higher than normal as far as I could tell.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. As long as the weather is good we will be locking out on Saturday for a run down the coast a little.
 
I am surprised the Bay level is not raised by say 1m when low river flows are expected . . . this would go a long way to provide enough water for regular locking. :confused:
 
locking restrictions have been in place this week as so much bay water was used up on the weekend. I think there will be a slightly restricted timetable on the weekend as well as the river flow hasn't gone up at all.
Just remember to be safe always plan your passage around locking out on the hour and back in on the quarter too, as these shouldn't be interupted.
As far as previous posts go, the reason that there are problems even during high tides when little water is lost, is, as was posted correctly due to the amount of sea water that will enter the bay each time a lock opens. In order to get rid of the sea water that builds up in the bay fresh water needs to be used up to flush it out. Therefore it can actually use up more bay water when the lock doesn't drop down than if it was dropping all the way to the bottom.

Bad news for us is that the dry spell seems set to continue. This could be real bad news later on in the summer if river flows continue to decline as there will be no way to get more water into the bay.

Oh, and the point about raising the bay before the dry spell, if you look at the tideboards outside the lock or on the end of the wall next to the sluices you'll see that the bay has actually been raised to its maximum operating level.

Only think left for it, next time your on the pontoons "accidently" leave the hose running, or lets all spend hours "washing" the boats down!!

Typical british weather, when we get a good bit, we run out of water to enjoy it!
 
We got caught out when arriving from Swansea on Monday PM, had to anchor by Penarth pier for 45 mins - lovely sunny day though so not a problem.
One good thing that is coming out of these restrictions is that Barrage Control are managing the locks, calling people in and generally doing a good job of making sure the queue is orderly and people don't push in.
Well done Barrage Control - make it policy and get people on a list to lock out and stop the ignorant gits that turn up at the last minute and just barge in. Or used to :-)
 
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