Crossing Lyme Bay in a Princess 54

[Bowlerhat]

I‘ve taken a battering on this route (Poole to Plymouth in one hop on a delivery voyage). I agree with tucking in close to the Bill (or head way off), but this was the easy bit. A brisk westerly across Lyme Bay - even with the tide with you - can feel relentless. We ended up rounding Start Point in the dark, with steep seas and poor viz (roughly where the passage plan had put us, but the sea fog and the sharp sea state were a surprise package). It was then that the autopilot disengaged. On investigation the rudder assembly had let go and thrown itself to bits all over the laz. We braced the rudder fore and aft with fenders and entered Salcombe mainly by radar and steering with the engines (luckily we had two!). A touch hairy and we parked in the Harbour Master’s slot right in front of the town centre and headed directly for the Victoria Inn! I phoned the Harbour Master who was brilliant. The next morning the Salcombe lifeboat engineer turned up at his asking and reassembled everything while my wife spent a fortune on ‘retail therapy‘ in Quba. We headed for Plymouth in better weather. A number of lessons learned. Our boat was a 32 feet flybridge, so it’s clear a 54 footer will fair better but I would definitely look for the best weather window time allows. It‘s actually a Great trip, but it’s nice to be able to enjoy it.

 

[Scubaboy79]

I‘ve taken a battering on this route (Poole to Plymouth in one hop on a delivery voyage). I agree with tucking in close to the Bill (or head way off), but this was the easy bit. A brisk westerly across Lyme Bay - even with the tide with you - can feel relentless. We ended up rounding Start Point in the dark, with steep seas and poor viz (roughly where the passage plan had put us, but the sea fog and the sharp sea state were a surprise package). It was then that the autopilot disengaged. On investigation the rudder assembly had let go and thrown itself to bits all over the laz. We braced the rudder fore and aft with fenders and entered Salcombe mainly by radar and steering with the engines (luckily we had two!). A touch hairy and we parked in the Harbour Master’s slot right in front of the town centre and headed directly for the Victoria Inn! I phoned the Harbour Master who was brilliant. The next morning the Salcombe lifeboat engineer turned up at his asking and reassembled everything while my wife spent a fortune on ‘retail therapy‘ in Quba. We headed for Plymouth in better weather. A number of lessons learned. Our boat was a 32 feet flybridge, so it’s clear a 54 footer will fair better but I would definitely look for the best weather window time allows. It‘s actually a Great trip, but it’s nice to be able to enjoy it.

Wow! You're quite right, this is the start of our holiday, so I want to spend the time crossing Lyme Bay spotting dolphins rather than it being an endurance test, so wise words indeed.

 

[Richard.C]

That's a salutary tale! What type of boat were you in?

I should add some context, firstly I grew up on sail boats, many channel crossings and experienced some very rough conditions in up to force 8 so a force 4 to 5 doesn't generally phase me. As experienced people on this forum comment many times it's not just the wind that can make or break a passage. Sea conditions are the unpredictable element that can certainly make it difficult for a planing motorboat. In the opposite direction the conditions would have presented a different challenge but would have been more comfortable.

I would estimate the general wave height to be around 2.5m - 3m as we passed Prawle Point but there was a sequence where waves would accumulate and every 5th or 6th wave we'd get a big one probably in the 4m range. The only damage we incurred on that trip was the espresso machine, I hadn't stowed it away and it managed to take flight as we came off one of the big ones.

We have a Fairline Phantom 43 and she performed impeccably through the rough stuff. I think had we been further offshore the wave period may have been easier to manage but I took the more direct route. Although I've experienced much worse conditions in a sailing boat these were the worst we'd been out in with our motorboat, it was uncomfortable and nerve racking for a time but a fantastic experience and gave me a lot of confidence in our boat. The thing that frightened me the most in those conditions was the thought of getting snagged in a crab pot. They are difficult to see in the best of times and totally invisible for moments in the conditions we had.

 

[Scubaboy79]

Yes and, as you say, I think a lot of it depends on how much you have experienced. This is my first year boating in the UK (after we left Mallorca last year), so 3m waves would be way out of my comfort zone! It's fair to say I'm a fair weather boater. Crab pots are a big worry, although we're planning to spend most of the time offshore, but I suspect they will be recurrent the closer we get to Dartmouth...

 

[dunedin]

………A brisk westerly across Lyme Bay - even with the tide with you - can feel relentless. ………….

It would be salutory to do a rough calculation of how many waves you will hit going upwind on a voyage of that distance. One every few seconds I would expect. Multiple that out by the journey time. And if have tide with you, wind over tide will make them steeper and harder when you hit them.
I have minimal experience of large power craft, but in yachts we often find that boats motoring directly upwind in waves end up going slower than yachts sailing, as the boats sailing are going at an angle to the waves and the sails plus lead keel give a bit more predictable motion. Even then can seem a loooooonnnnnggggg way
Choosing a differnt day and whizzing along fast with waves from behind would transform the experience

 

[Forty_Two]

First time across Lyme Bay for me, many years ago on my GB42, was the only time i have felt queesy on my own boat. Was a F4 on the beam. Persuaded me I needed stabilisers, luckily my late wife wasn't with me on that trip or that would have been it for boating i fear ?

 

[jcwads]

It's looking pretty gnarly now, certainly would be holding off on those plans. I remember back in 2018 when I went to the Isles of Scilly from Hamble. The entire journey was hampered with weather similar to this, trying to get to Falmouth. In fact as I recall correctly, it was what made the wife say no more please, and now I am Med based... It is a beautiful run though when the weather clears for you.

 

[Farmer Piles]

I have only crossed Lyme Bay twice, once in a new 27ft Targa in perfect conditions and once in November bringing my mate's 32ft Crusader - a long keel 1970s yacht. That former was a joy and the latter was hideous - F6-7 on the nose overnight.
Bear with me on this, but I am a surfer and there is so much really useful boating info on the surf website: Magicseaweed. They have maps with links to all the remote wave buoys and to swell and wind charts produced by the US NOAA - National Oceanographic and Aeronautical Authority. They are excellent. Current conditions and predicted ones too, and you can chart the accuracy of the predictive stuff from the historic. I will post the links, but for example:
West Bay Buoy - current, average 1.9ft peak, 3.5ft. Friday and Saturday, Av 3.5ft - so the peak waves probably around 5ft - and the actually tracks the predicted exactly suggesting a very accurate forecast. But dropping off to 1.6ft Saturday night.
At an average period of 4 seconds it would be a horrible short sea or chop.
Start Bay buoy - currently, av 1.8ft, peak, 3ft, wave period 5sec. Friday and Saturday, 3ft av. and again drops off Saturday into Sunday.

It would be Sunday for me too. NW winds coming off the land and a reducing sea.
Wave Buoys & Weather Stations

UK & Ireland Charts - Magicseaweed

UK & Ireland Charts - Magicseaweed

They cover the whole world.

 

[Switch]

I’ve just done the Lyme Bay trip both ways recently in 42ft mobo. Going west we had an easterly F2 With the tide with us all the way. Beautiful smooth trip and we were joined by a pod of dolphins too. Coming back we had the remnants of a tropical storm F4/5 westerlies. We left to coincide wind and tide together. There was a big swell running with us out in the middle of Lyme Bay but we managed a comfortable 26 knots all the way even though we were surfing some big waves. I would absolutely not have wanted to be going the other way though. If you have wind and tide together F4 or even 5 is doable. Plan the bill for slack. I have always gone close in without any problems.

 

[Scubaboy79]

I have only crossed Lyme Bay twice, once in a new 27ft Targa in perfect conditions and once in November bringing my mate's 32ft Crusader - a long keel 1970s yacht. That former was a joy and the latter was hideous - F6-7 on the nose overnight.
Bear with me on this, but I am a surfer and there is so much really useful boating info on the surf website: Magicseaweed. They have maps with links to all the remote wave buoys and to swell and wind charts produced by the US NOAA - National Oceanographic and Aeronautical Authority. They are excellent. Current conditions and predicted ones too, and you can chart the accuracy of the predictive stuff from the historic. I will post the links, but for example:
West Bay Buoy - current, average 1.9ft peak, 3.5ft. Friday and Saturday, Av 3.5ft - so the peak waves probably around 5ft - and the actually tracks the predicted exactly suggesting a very accurate forecast. But dropping off to 1.6ft Saturday night.
At an average period of 4 seconds it would be a horrible short sea or chop.
Start Bay buoy - currently, av 1.8ft, peak, 3ft, wave period 5sec. Friday and Saturday, 3ft av. and again drops off Saturday into Sunday.

It would be Sunday for me too. NW winds coming off the land and a reducing sea.
Wave Buoys & Weather Stations

UK & Ireland Charts - Magicseaweed

UK & Ireland Charts - Magicseaweed

They cover the whole world.

This is so helpful thank you! Yes agreed it looks like Sunday at the earliest. Tuesday also looks nice.

 

[Meagain]

Reading comments with great interest as looking to do this Monday in a 35’ mobo (open cockpit!!), start of the week wind was going good, now watching by the hour! It seems that after 2pm wind is picking up, westerly tide runs until 3pm, so at least wind with tide, but our timings will mean offshore past Portland. If running at 25 knots our thought is pass Portland around midday getting to brixham before the wind kicks in & across Lyme bay with a diminishing tide stream. But ……..

 

[stelican]

Get the weather right and no problem.
I have done Portsmuth to Falmouth in 5 hrs in slight sea F2 31ft Sports cruiser. Another ocassion gave up at Swanage!

 

[Hot Property]

I crossed it in a 23 ft sportscruiser.

Flat calm at the Bill, halfway through wind picked up to F4/5. Quite exciting with green wave over the bow once.

Was considering cutting and running for cover but once into Torbay things calmed down.

An adventure for sure.

In a 54 ft boat I don't see any problems....

 

[Meagain]

Hello all,

We're planning to cross Lyme Bay from the Solent to Dartmouth (in one leg), before doing the second leg from Dartmouth to Falmouth (where we have a berth for the month of July). We have a Princess 54. Planning to head off this Friday, overnight in Dartmouth, and then head to Falmouth on Saturday. Forecast looks a steady Force 4 from the west. I think that's probably do-able (although less than ideal as we'll be heading into the wind the entire way), but as it's my first Lyme Bay crossing, what are other people's thoughts?

@Scubaboy79 , how was your journey, Sunday didn’t seem too bad !?

 

[Scubaboy79]

@Scubaboy79 , how was your journey, Sunday didn’t seem too bad !?

Yes we arrived in Dartmouth at 16:30 Sunday afternoon. We left Southampton on Saturday and just did a short hop to Lymington, really just to say that we had made a start! We left Lymington at midday on Sunday to hit Portland Bill at slack (we were five miles off in any event) and then caught the west bound tide to Dartmouth.

The worst part of the journey was the Needles channel but after that very manageable. I summarised it as “Rough. Not too rough. Wouldn’t want it any rougher.” In Lyme Bay the chop gave way to a longer swell type wave pattern which was far more comfortable. Two dolphin sightings, not many other yachts out, although we saw a beautiful brand new Princess Y75 steam past in the other direction.

Now in Darthaven marina before we depart for Falmouth (Mylor) on Tuesday which we’re using as our base for July. Thrilled to be here and relieved to have got the longest sea passage of my boating career under my belt. Thank you to everyone who helped with the decision making on here!

 

[stelican]

Great stuff. Enjoy that beautiful part of the Country.

 

[Scubaboy79]

Although we have just noticed that our ensign, pole and mount must have sheared off at some point mid crossing! Presumably in the rougher section! Hopefully Mylor can fit us a new one….

 

[Farmer Piles]

Well, welcome to my neck of the woods. My fields overlook Mylor Harbour, 200m north of the marina, across the mouth of Mylor Creek. You will have a great time exploring and the weather looks set fair too.
Glad that you had a good crossing.

 

[Meagain]

Great news glad you made it ?, we came across from Poole today, as I mentioned earlier, left early to avoid wind over tide but it did mean we were fighting the tide pretty much all the way. Like you rough and at times a little uncomfortable but no dolphins. We are currently at Torquay (looking at a sad remains of a fire damaged hull which They have now savaged) off to Salcombe and Plymouth later in the week. All new to us, but loving this part of the world.

 

[Scubaboy79]

Although we have just noticed that our ensign, pole and mount must have sheared off at some point mid crossing! Presumably in the rougher section! Hopefully Mylor can fit us a new one….

What a beautiful spot it is! We arrived yesterday. Say hello if you see us!