Dartmouth

[henryf]

I thought it was an old wives tale about the Solent being sheltered. We have been out in the Solent on a dirty wash cycle and when reached the other side of the IOw the sea has been mirror flat?.

on a serious note as a novice with a nervous passenger it can be hard to find out what makes the water tick

Professional tuition, then practice, then more professional tuition, then practice and so on.

Places like this are ok to a degree but the advice isn’t always perfect and you have very specific needs.

Tuition in your own boat from someone who knows what they’re doing and who can teach is invaluable. You can also learn about specific local conditions. I’ve got it wrong over the years and had a horrible trip. 3 or 4 hours later there wasn’t a ripple. I now know why but I didn’t at the time.

You don’t suffer dangerous overfalls like Portland or St Albans head in the Solent but wind and tide can make things uncomfortable. They can also ensure more pleasant cruising. The other benefit to tuition is that it reassures your partner. With a capable skipper at the helm all is explained, things demonstrated, there’s no panic and your nervous passenger calms down and understands what’s happening.

As it is you’re not sure what’s going on, they certainly don’t know and the tension mounts.

Good tuition is invaluable to enjoying your time on the water. Not just to A level when you get a notional bit of paper but to a point where you understand first principles, feel confident and even allow for the mistakes of others.

Every day is a school day out on the water. Some days on the water are best spent on your berth. If you travel some distance to get to the boat there’s a temptation to push on and go out anyway. Give yourself plenty of time.

Henry ?

 

[dunedin]

………..
The advantage of the Solent is that although busy in Summer, whichever way the wind is blowing, you can usually find shelter on one side of the Isle of Wight.

That’s where for somebody living in Lancs the Clyde wins every way
- masses of shelter from 6 or more large islands (the biggest bigger than IoW) and 100 miles or of inland sea lochs, plus no strong tides
- unlike the SW no Atlantic swell - Ireland and Arran sort that out
- massively less boat washes to worry about

 

[Seastoke]

That’s where for somebody living in Lancs the Clyde wins every way
- masses of shelter from 6 or more large islands (the biggest bigger than IoW) and 100 miles or of inland sea lochs, plus no strong tides
- unlike the SW no Atlantic swell - Ireland and Arran sort that out
- massively less boat washes to worry about

People go south for the weather.The average temperature on the Clyde in July and August is 23.5 , the average on the Dart is 21 thats for the whole year .

 

[stranded]

People go south for the weather.The average temperature on the Clyde in July and August is 23.5 , the average on the Dart is 21 thats for the whole year .

That doesn’t sound right about Dartmouth. Just dug this up - haven’t double checked but sounds more like it and don’t need to do sums to see that cannot possible give a 21 degree average.


“Average Temperature in Dartmouth
The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from 18 June to 17 September, with an average daily high temperature above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Dartmouth is August, with an average high of 19°C and low of 13°C.
The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from 23 November to 28 March, with an average daily high temperature below 10°C. The coldest month of the year in Dartmouth is February, with an average low of 4°C and high of 8°C.”

 

[Martxer]

People go south for the weather.The average temperature on the Clyde in July and August is 23.5 , the average on the Dart is 21 thats for the whole year .

Definitely the weather that is the draw to the south coast otherwise would ac joined the welch mob.
People were swimming in the sea in Torquay last week?

 

[Farmer Piles]

My feelings on the matter: you have a nice boat, you have a berth in Dartmouth - give it a go. It's a simple run from the Solent to the Dart and you could always spend a night in Weymouth. Breaks the journey and makes it fun too. You could hire a skipper but there must be plenty of experienced boaters on here or in and around your marina that would be up for a trip to Dartmouth expenses paid.
There are loads of sheltered, pretty bays and coves in Torbay and when the weather is nice you can head the other way to Salcombe, Newton Ferrers and Plymouth Sound and the Tamar - all really pretty.
If by the end of the season, if it's not working out then look again. Move your MF to Largs or buy a bigger/heavier boat. You have the boat and the berth - worth a shot at it. It's not a lifetime contract.

 

[colhel]

My feelings on the matter: you have a nice boat, you have a berth in Dartmouth - give it a go. It's a simple run from the Solent to the Dart and you could always spend a night in Weymouth. Breaks the journey and makes it fun too. You could hire a skipper but there must be plenty of experienced boaters on here or in and around your marina that would be up for a trip to Dartmouth expenses paid.
There are loads of sheltered, pretty bays and coves in Torbay and when the weather is nice you can head the other way to Salcombe, Newton Ferrers and Plymouth Sound and the Tamar - all really pretty.
If by the end of the season, if it's not working out then look again. Move your MF to Largs or buy a bigger/heavier boat. You have the boat and the berth - worth a shot at it. It's not a lifetime contract.

I'd agree with most of that but unless you want to stay way offshore the trip needs more careful passage planning than most trips along the South Coast. Quite daunting the first time I did it.

 

[Never Grumble]

If by the end of the season down on the Dart its not working perhaps its time to buy a motorhome

 

[franksingleton]

I'd agree with most of that but unless you want to stay way offshore the trip needs more careful passage planning than most trips along the South Coast. Quite daunting the first time I did it.

I hope that you do not mind an outsider coming back. I am finding this thread fascinating in the difference between sailing and motor boating. Although different in many ways, there are similar problems in using weather and tidal information. Both are weather sensitive, albeit in different ways. Perhaps it is a silly question, but do motorboaters make much use of GRIB data? Wind predictions are pretty good but, wave forecasts are less so when near land.
For what it is worth, and maybe not much, we bought our 10.3 m yacht in the Hamble in about 1995 and sailed it direct to Dartmouth in 15 hours, non-stop. Average speed 7 kts. We were a bit lucky in getting tidal gates right and having a fresh northerly wind. We had intended overnighting in Weymouth but conditions were perfect. With a lighter wind and, as I said earlier, between N and S, through E, would it be much different in a 13 m motorboat?

 

[Andy Bav]

We‘ve kept 3 boats in Torquay before moving the third of them out to Spain in 2015, and the reason was simply the weather…. We found why Devon is so green. Since 2015, however, its been heatwave city in the south west ! However, even now, Mrs Bav pines for the bimble up the Dart to Totnes, its so picturesque. If it weren’t for Brexit, a return could have been on the cards. As said above, if you have the facilities booked, it could be a one season adventure… or not.

As regards the passage, we took our Bavaria Sport 39 from the Hamble to Torquay as myself, my wife and three sons. All we had between us was PB2, a lot of naivety … and a lot of luck. First leg was a disaster, aiming for the Needles Channel marker in probably a force 5 or 6, green water over the top and wife being sick and we ended up heading for Poole, shadowed by the border force cutter who must have thought we are a bunch of p1llocks… we probably were with hindsight. However the next day, we set off in a flat calm, took the offshore route around Portland Bill, and arrived after a totally uneventful 3 hour crossing of Lyme Bay and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for a few years. I must admit to having sleepless nights before the passage, but even with my eldest (21 at the time) to use as a sounding board, that gave us combined confidence to do the passage.

… if all else fails have you considered trucking her westwards - the cost may not be so great, and it removes the [possible] anguish from doing the trip by sea - and you may be able to move her sooner rather than later ?

 

[Seastoke]

That doesn’t sound right about Dartmouth. Just dug this up - haven’t double checked but sounds more like it and don’t need to do sums to see that cannot possible give a 21 degree average.


“Average Temperature in Dartmouth
The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from 18 June to 17 September, with an average daily high temperature above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Dartmouth is August, with an average high of 19°C and low of 13°C.
The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from 23 November to 28 March, with an average daily high temperature below 10°C. The coldest month of the year in Dartmouth is February, with an average low of 4°C and high of 8°C.”

I did wonder at the time ,i have looked again i cannot find it, so i was not drinking but the coke was good.

 

[Martxer]

My feelings on the matter: you have a nice boat, you have a berth in Dartmouth - give it a go. It's a simple run from the Solent to the Dart and you could always spend a night in Weymouth. Breaks the journey and makes it fun too. You could hire a skipper but there must be plenty of experienced boaters on here or in and around your marina that would be up for a trip to Dartmouth expenses paid.
There are loads of sheltered, pretty bays and coves in Torbay and when the weather is nice you can head the other way to Salcombe, Newton Ferrers and Plymouth Sound and the Tamar - all really pretty.
If by the end of the season, if it's not working out then look again. Move your MF to Largs or buy a bigger/heavier boat. You have the boat and the berth - worth a shot at it. It's not a lifetime contract.

Thanks looking forward to the move and had an offer from a forumite to make the trip too?

 

[colhel]

I hope that you do not mind an outsider coming back. I am finding this thread fascinating in the difference between sailing and motor boating. Although different in many ways, there are similar problems in using weather and tidal information. Both are weather sensitive, albeit in different ways. Perhaps it is a silly question, but do motorboaters make much use of GRIB data? Wind predictions are pretty good but, wave forecasts are less so when near land.
For what it is worth, and maybe not much, we bought our 10.3 m yacht in the Hamble in about 1995 and sailed it direct to Dartmouth in 15 hours, non-stop. Average speed 7 kts. We were a bit lucky in getting tidal gates right and having a fresh northerly wind. We had intended overnighting in Weymouth but conditions were perfect. With a lighter wind and, as I said earlier, between N and S, through E, would it be much different in a 13 m motorboat?

Before we bought our Nimbus we had a Westerly Konsort and if I planned a passage, tide would be the main consideration. With a cruising speed of about 5 knots having 2 knots against you or with you could make a difference of a few hours over a reasonable passage. We now cruise at about 15 knots so passage times are affected far less. Many motorboats cruise much faster so 2 knots of tide is almost insignificant. What we tend to watch now is the effect of wind over tide, even in tidal gates where as you know tides can run much faster and probably not worth trying to punch through in a sail boat.

 

[Martxer]

We‘ve kept 3 boats in Torquay before moving the third of them out to Spain in 2015, and the reason was simply the weather…. We found why Devon is so green. Since 2015, however, its been heatwave city in the south west ! However, even now, Mrs Bav pines for the bimble up the Dart to Totnes, its so picturesque. If it weren’t for Brexit, a return could have been on the cards. As said above, if you have the facilities booked, it could be a one season adventure… or not.

As regards the passage, we took our Bavaria Sport 39 from the Hamble to Torquay as myself, my wife and three sons. All we had between us was PB2, a lot of naivety … and a lot of luck. First leg was a disaster, aiming for the Needles Channel marker in probably a force 5 or 6, green water over the top and wife being sick and we ended up heading for Poole, shadowed by the border force cutter who must have thought we are a bunch of p1llocks… we probably were with hindsight. However the next day, we set off in a flat calm, took the offshore route around Portland Bill, and arrived after a totally uneventful 3 hour crossing of Lyme Bay and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for a few years. I must admit to having sleepless nights before the passage, but even with my eldest (21 at the time) to use as a sounding board, that gave us combined confidence to do the passage.

… if all else fails have you considered trucking her westwards - the cost may not be so great, and it removes the [possible] anguish from doing the trip by sea - and you may be able to move her sooner rather than later ?

We originally planned to be in that neck of the woods but having bough the boat in Lymington we stayed on the Solent .

The main thing is we were stood at berry head in the pi**ing rain and the wife said she would definitely feel happier round there.She just cannot get her head around the Solent chop.

 

[Seastoke]

I did wonder at the time ,i have looked again i cannot find it, so i was not drinking but the coke was good.

Diet of course.

 

[colhel]

Before we bought our Nimbus we had a Westerly Konsort and if I planned a passage, tide would be the main consideration. With a cruising speed of about 5 knots having 2 knots against you or with you could make a difference of a few hours over a reasonable passage. We now cruise at about 15 knots so passage times are affected far less. Many motorboats cruise much faster so 2 knots of tide is almost insignificant. What we tend to watch now is the effect of wind over tide, even in tidal gates where as you know tides can run much faster and probably not worth trying to punch through in a sail boat.

Just to add however, if the wind is forecast (say) 15 knots in the Solent of Poole Bay for instance, or less I'd try and go with the tide, every little helps ?.
But if it was blowing that sort of speed through the Alderney race for instance I'd rather punch the tide if the wind was with the tide. (This was a tip picked up from a fellow forumite)

 

[Hot Property]

PM'd you...

 

[stranded]

Diet of course.

?

 

[franksingleton]

Before we bought our Nimbus we had a Westerly Konsort and if I planned a passage, tide would be the main consideration. With a cruising speed of about 5 knots having 2 knots against you or with you could make a difference of a few hours over a reasonable passage. We now cruise at about 15 knots so passage times are affected far less. Many motorboats cruise much faster so 2 knots of tide is almost insignificant. What we tend to watch now is the effect of wind over tide, even in tidal gates where as you know tides can run much faster and probably not worth trying to punch through in a sail boat.

OK. Point taken. My main contacts with motor boaters were when cruising Biscay, Iberia and the Med. We were meeting fairly large boats that would, typically, do about 7 kts, not much more than our planning speed of 6 kts.

 

[colhel]

I wonder if a cruise in company could work here ? Hamble to Weymouth, and those with more time/inclination Weymouth to Dartmouth.