Dublin to Holyhead

[johnk31]

Can anybody tell me how long it would take to sail from Malahide Marina in Dublin to Holy head port, in the U.K.

My boat is a Legend 306 32ft sdailing boat, can anyone help?

Thanks.

 

[Heckler]

Malahide is north of Dublin so a few miles extra, question you must ask yourself is how fast does your boat passage make? Its 56 nmiles so work it out, see attachment
Stu

 

[deaks]

Hi Johnk31,
I've only once sailed into Holyhead in April of this year helping a mate bring his new Malo 36 up from Lymington.

I would invest in a pilot book for the area and have a good look at the tides around the last few miles into Holyhead.
Safe sail
Deaks

 

[Searush]

How long is a piece of string? Do you intend to sail all the way, motor if below x kts? What is forecast wind direction & strength? What state of tide?

Make some simple assumptions, max speed, min speed, to get min & max passage duration. Be sensible with max speed - unless you intend to motor all the way (and have enough fuel to do that). Have a play with a chart, taking some sample data just as an exercise, plot hourly tide vectors, course & speed for some typical wind speed direction (SW3-4 might be a good average for that trip) but see what happens if it goes calm or NW6. If you can do the exercises on the dining room table, you will stand half a chance of doing them on a chart table that is throwing you & your stuff all over the show!

My guess is between 12 & 20 hours, and be happy with 15 hrs. Motoring all the way, or with a good, favourable wind it could be as little as 10 hrs.

 

[dt4134]

Searush has pretty much said it.

Without getting a chart out and measuring it to the nearest cable I doubt Malahide to Holyhead is noticeable further than Dublin to Holyhead.

You'll best know the speed of your boat. Even if you use a realistic speed for your calculations, allow for a slower crossing for some aspects of the planning, such as crew or night arrival at Holyhead.

Do the calculations to find the best course to steer to minimise the distance travelled through the water. Using the GPS to stay on the rhumb line will increase the distance travelled and can easily add an hour or two to your journey.

Beware of being caught too far south if approaching Holyhead on the ebb as stemming the tide will be a nuisance.

Watch out for the ferries. They hunt in gangs, but they do make useful aids to navigation. And be aware that you'll be passing close to the end of a TSS when approaching HH. It's not exactly the Straits of Dover but there is some shipping.

Don't get too close to the end of the breakwater at Holyhead as there's a bit of a spit.

 

[Heckler]

Searush has pretty much said it.

Without getting a chart out and measuring it to the nearest cable I doubt Malahide to Holyhead is noticeable further than Dublin to Holyhead.

You'll best know the speed of your boat. Even if you use a realistic speed for your calculations, allow for a slower crossing for some aspects of the planning, such as crew or night arrival at Holyhead.

Do the calculations to find the best course to steer to minimise the distance travelled through the water. Using the GPS to stay on the rhumb line will increase the distance travelled and can easily add an hour or two to your journey.

Beware of being caught too far south if approaching Holyhead on the ebb as stemming the tide will be a nuisance.

Watch out for the ferries. They hunt in gangs, but they do make useful aids to navigation. And be aware that you'll be passing close to the end of a TSS when approaching HH. It's not exactly the Straits of Dover but there is some shipping.

Don't get too close to the end of the breakwater at Holyhead as there's a bit of a spit.

I did it for him, I posted the chart, its 56 nautical miles.
Stu

 

[Heckler]

How long is a piece of string? Do you intend to sail all the way, motor if below x kts? What is forecast wind direction & strength? What state of tide?

Make some simple assumptions, max speed, min speed, to get min & max passage duration. Be sensible with max speed - unless you intend to motor all the way (and have enough fuel to do that). Have a play with a chart, taking some sample data just as an exercise, plot hourly tide vectors, course & speed for some typical wind speed direction (SW3-4 might be a good average for that trip) but see what happens if it goes calm or NW6. If you can do the exercises on the dining room table, you will stand half a chance of doing them on a chart table that is throwing you & your stuff all over the show!

My guess is between 12 & 20 hours, and be happy with 15 hrs. Motoring all the way, or with a good, favourable wind it could be as little as 10 hrs.

Have included the data box
Stu

 

[SAWDOC]

Can anybody tell me how long it would take to sail from Malahide Marina in Dublin to Holy head port, in the U.K.

My boat is a Legend 306 32ft sdailing boat, can anyone help?

Thanks.

Searush's advice is spot on. If it does not make sense to you or you do not know how to implement it, learn to do so before embarking on such a trip. Pick your weather window carefully as it will make all the difference.

 

[Dyflin]

12 hours. And your track will inscribe a nice sine wave on the chart.

PS. Holyhead is a bit of a disappointment as a destination. It may be a milestone to be abroad, but you won't hang around for long.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Sine wave

12 hours. And your track will inscribe a nice sine wave on the chart.

Like dis (on the way out, anyway)...

 

[Dyflin]

Kinda, but the direct route E/W across under sail gives you 6 hours of ebb and 6 hours of flow pretty much on the beam so it's a proper looking

sort of thing

 

[AngusMcDoon]

so it's a proper looking...

Harrumph! I think my outward (lower) track is about as close as you'd get to a sine wave shape in real life. The maximum drift is not constant across the Irish Sea - less in the middle than near the Irish coast, so my track got curvier the closer I got to Ireland.

It took the combined geekery capabilities of the 2 onboard nerds to plan for the final curve to just skirt Codling Bank.

 

[Heckler]

Like dis (on the way out, anyway)...

Good these tris, do you have wheels as well to go across the Lleyn or Bardsey?
Hee hee

Stu

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Good these tris, do you have wheels as well to go across the Lleyn or Bardsey?

Stu

We went through the Lleyn Canal. Saves the perils of Bardsey Sound. You should have used it when you came through a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Heckler]

We went through the Lleyn Canal. Saves the perils of Bardsey Sound. You should have used it when you came through a couple of weeks ago.

Could have done with one, werent v nice at all. You down this weekend, beers are always cold if you want to stop alongside?
Stu