Circumnavigation of Britain: Clockwise or counter clockwise?

[Boo2]

nothing at all worth seeing on the East Coast

It's a bit flat though ?

Boo2

 

[dylanwinter]

this from a dutchman

It's a bit flat though ?

Boo2

flattish -that is true

but crinkly and it has the benefit of being largely above sea level

I would not dismiss the East Coat

of course - how deep is your keel and can you take the ground

Dylan

 

[sailingjoy]

Thanks so far

Wow, thanks for all the interesting tips.
It doesn’t make the choice easier, up to now it is a draw: 5 votes in favour of clockwise and 5 in favour of anti-clockwise.
Fortunately I have some time left to decide!
The ballot is still open…

 

[sailingjoy]

hmm 1600 miles in 9 weeks, while cruising and sight seeing ? That's going to miss a lot of exciting and interesting places.

That’s for sure, but probably it won’t be a once-in-a-lifetime- adventure. After 2012 I will work less and have more time to sail so then we can visit the places we will have skipped this time.

 

[sailingjoy]

If I had 8 or 9 weeks to sail in the UK I would go from Holland to Inverness, through the canal, up the West Coast of Scotland, round Cape Wrath to Orkney then back fairly directly down the North Sea to Holland. Just a thought but those are the best bits. Shetland is worth a visit too.

That’s an interesting possibility, I had not thought of that.
We will certainly spend quite some time in The Hebrides and for example hope to visit St. Kilda. Anybody got experience with anchoring there?

 

[chinita]

I went anti-clockwise.

IMO, the clockwise route at the start (assuming you are coming from Holland) is more likely to present adverse conditions. I was once stuck in Ramsgate for several weeks trying to head west.

When you emerge at Fort William, even if you face SW winds, you can cut an interesting route via Bangor (NI), IOM, Conway or Dublin, Kilmore Quay and on to the West Country.

With luck you will have a pleasant run down the English Channel and home.

 

[sailingjoy]

If you go clockwise round, you can spend a large amount of time beating down the English Channel into the prevailing winds before you reach The Scilly Isles before turning north up the Irish Sea. This is a long sea path 550kms (300nm).

That’s a good point, Sarabande said so too. From Stellendam it’s even longer: 419 NM to The Scilly Isles (St Mary’s). This summer we went there, it took us 7 days. Not including the 3 days we spend in The Solent to watch the spectacular Round The Island Race. We had strong headwinds all the way West

 

[sailingjoy]

you are so correct

got it in one

nothing at all worth seeing on the East Coast

not for the depth challenged sailors anyway

Beautiful video! And a strong role for the dog (and the late seagull…).
It shows there is a lot worth seeing on the East Coast but I am indeed depth challenged (my Etap 34s draws 1.85 meters).
Nevertheless we made a beautiful trip there a few years ago, loved the Rivers Stour, Orwell, Deben and the Walton Backwaters and enjoyed a magical anchorage near Horsey Island surrounded by seals. We’ve never been north of Lowestoft though, so I’m curious what we will find there.

 

[sailingjoy]

I went anti-clockwise.

IMO, the clockwise route at the start (assuming you are coming from Holland) is more likely to present adverse conditions. I was once stuck in Ramsgate for several weeks trying to head west.

When you emerge at Fort William, even if you face SW winds, you can cut an interesting route via Bangor (NI), IOM, Conway or Dublin, Kilmore Quay and on to the West Country.

With luck you will have a pleasant run down the English Channel and home.

Sounds good. I'm starting to lean towards anti clockwise

 

[snooks]

Prevailing winds are one thing, actual winds are another.

We had little wind to Dartmouth from Portsmouth and had favourable winds to Falmouth, a beat round to Newlyn, a run and a beat to Ireland then champagne sailing most of the way up the east Irish coast, then motoring from Dublin north then beating from Northern Ireland to Scotland. On th way back going anti clockwise from the Caley back to Cornwall it was mostly motoring.

I think Sam Steele summed it up nicely when she met someone going anti-clockwise went they were going around clockwise. Both though the other direction would have been better!

There is no right answer.

Forgot to say...by missing out north of the caley, and from Mull north on the west coast you are missing out on IMO some of the best cruising in the world

 

[awol]

Round Britain via the canals is like running a 10km and calling it a marathon. So my suggestion, for what it's worth, is head northwest from the Netherlands and hit the English coast up around Blyth, continue north via the Forth, then up to the Caledonian Canal, through that then turn right up the Sound of Mull and then meander north up the west coast of Scotland, then it's a lot of choices up to Orkney and/or Shetland. Load up with duty-free booze and head east to Norway, down the coast, through the Skagerrak and Kattegat, down the Danish Coast, through the Kiel Canal and home.

Lots of advantages in that route amongst which is cost - basically the avoidance of hideously overpriced marinas; the purity of the English language - once you are past Fraserburgh the purity of the language is a joy, especially in Norway and Denmark, a vast improvement on the strange south of England whine; lots of choice of places to go and safe harbours; culture - there is some unlike the south coast route; and lastly avoidance of the Olympics.

 

[dylanwinter]

Ellenites

Round Britain via the canals is like running a 10km and calling it a marathon. So my suggestion, for what it's worth, is head northwest from the Netherlands and hit the English coast up around Blyth, continue north via the Forth, then up to the Caledonian Canal, through that then turn right up the Sound of Mull and then meander north up the west coast of Scotland, then it's a lot of choices up to Orkney and/or Shetland. Load up with duty-free booze and head east to Norway, down the coast, through the Skagerrak and Kattegat, down the Danish Coast, through the Kiel Canal and home.

Lots of advantages in that route amongst which is cost - basically the avoidance of hideously overpriced marinas; the purity of the English language - once you are past Fraserburgh the purity of the language is a joy, especially in Norway and Denmark, a vast improvement on the strange south of England whine; lots of choice of places to go and safe harbours; culture - there is some unlike the south coast route; and lastly avoidance of the Olympics.

you will have the Ellenites after you with talk of marathons and 10ks

Dylan

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

you will have the Ellenites after you with talk of marathons and 10ks

Dylan

awol: Nothing is wrong with the Olympics;
dylanwinter: yes; I am an "Ellenite" (we are famous again for a second time in 2,00 years; however, for financial reasons this time round!!)

 

[Bebo]

I am based on the South Coast and my plan is to go anti-clockwise because it will mean getting to the Scillies at the end of summer when the weather and water will be at their warmest.

If I was starting from the Netherlands though, I might be inclined to go the other direction because if I ran out of time then cutting the East Coast of England would be possible and less of a hardship in terms of missed attractions.

Just my opinion,

Boo2

Glad thats just your opinion.........

 

[sailingjoy]

Prevailing winds are one thing, actual winds are another.

(.......)

I think Sam Steele summed it up nicely when she met someone going anti-clockwise when they were going around clockwise. Both though the other direction would have been better!

There is no right answer.

Forgot to say...by missing out north of the caley, and from Mull north on the west coast you are missing out on IMO some of the best cruising in the world

That puts things into perspective. BTW Instead of: There is no right answer, you could also say: There is no wrong answer. Sounds more comforting, doesn't it ;-)

And uhmm ... a stupid question from a Dutchman: north of the caley, where is that? Apparently I should not miss that.

 

[lenseman]

. . . . And uhmm ... a stupid question from a Dutchman: north of the caley, where is that? Apparently I should not miss that.

Not stupid at all. "The Caley" is a slang term for the Caledonian Canal (which cost money) to use and runs from the NE towards the SW from Inverness down towards Oban on the west coast.

I hope this helps?

ps: I will be doing it Anti-clockwise so I can catch up with Dylan Winter as long as he isn't up the creek as I draw 2 metres!

 

[sailingjoy]

Not stupid at all. "The Caley" is a slang term for the Caledonian Canal (which cost money) to use and runs from the NE towards the SW from Inverness down towards Oban on the west coast.

I hope this helps?

Yep, it does, thnx.
I know the Caledonian Canal, I didn’t know the slang name for it.
I have even been through The Caley with a group of friends in their boat when I didn’t have a boat of myself yet. It was in 1982, wow, almost 30 years ago. I guess a lot has changed (it didn’t cost money then…) but I suppose Loch Ness is still there ;-)

 

[lenseman]

. . . . but I suppose Loch Ness is still there ;-)

Yes it is but it might be dry when you arrive if the Loch Ness Monster drinks all the water as I hear he does not like whiskey!

 

[snooks]

And uhmm ... a stupid question from a Dutchman: north of the caley, where is that? Apparently I should not miss that.

Sorry, as you now know The Caley is slang for the Caledonian.

The most dramatic part of the coast is Wester Ross and further north which is the north west part of Scotland, roughly level with Syke and upwards. Mountains fall in to the sea and you are further north than Cape horn is south. Orkney is also unforgettable, Yes it's a slog to get there around the part of the coast, but it really is breathtaking, and everything else seems a bit lame afterwards.

 

[PeterR]

I would not be too dogmatic in your planning. We went round last year intending to go anticlockwise to avoid the usual beat up the English Channel. In the event the big high that produced all the Icelandic ash clouds looked like giving northerlies for a long period so we changed our mind and set off clockwise from Harwich. We got good reaching weather all the way till the Scillies at which point the wind went obligingly into the west so we just carried on reaching.

If you are starting in Holland one downside of going anticlockwise is that you arrive in Scotland early and its cold enough there at the best of times although that does keep the midges down. If you go right round the top the Pentland Firth is easier West to East but that can be avoided by going via the Orkneys which really are a must see if you are travelling almost that far anyway.