Flotsam and Jetsam

[trapezeartist]

I've been living within sight of the Bristol Channel for a few months now, and there have been odd days when we've noticed a large amount of weed and other rubbish going down the channel, including some fairly large lumps of wood. I think I've now narrowed it down: it seems to be around spring tide, so I suppose it's the high water that picks up all this stuff and carries it off to wherever. This week though, there was a full size calor gas bottle making its way down the channel: not the sort of thing you would want to hit at speed. There were also several small trees (or large branches), one of which was caught stationary on the threshold between the main channel and the back eddy. It sat there for a while spinning round and round until deciding that America was a better option than Portishead.

 

[steverow]

Rubbish in channel

During our time in the BC, 2002-2007 with our 38fter Pegasus I have seen:

Complete Container,

Domestic Fridge,

Domestic Sink/kitchen unit

Telegraph pole...full length

Numerous trees logs and branches

Calor gas bottles

Plus nets and large swathes of plastic sheeting

etc etc.

Most of this down channel from Swansea. Most of it comes down the rivers into the estuary.

 

[Allan]

I've seen the odd tree etc. Strangest thing I've seen was three wheels all within about 20m. They were about 3 miles off Barry. I found it strange that they must have stayed together for some time.
Allan

 

[graham]

My list

Unmanned Dory off Tenby

2 boys in broken down speedboat Lavernoick point (In dark)

Deceased person Rumney River

Deceased person Barry roads

Deceased Badger Barry Harbour

Car Trailer Nells Point

Car Rumney River

Numerous Trees and logs everywhere

Numerous gas containers everywhere

Several fridges Sully Bay

Didnt see it but the MOD once lost a box of explosive that was carried away by the incoming tide from St Thomas's Head

Its amazing any of us ever get anywhere without hitting something.

 

[Csail]

Flippin heck, not sailing with you if you keep finding bodies!!!
Had a wreath drift into the boat late one night at anchor...spooky.
Submarine and container in bay of biscay at night.
A light aircraft off Newport.
Kids dinghy mid channel which was worrying when we diverted course to check it out. No one was in it but we reported it anyway. Its now Ben's!!

 

[Csail]

Why not collect the gas containers and get the deposit back?
And it makes the waters safer.

 

[stownsend]

When i was with the lifeboat in Chepstow we lost our furno stretcher, got washed off the slipway at Beachley on an incident (no one was in there !). Recovered down in Swansea.

On one training exercise we lost our training dummy, placed it out on the sands but wern't quick enough to pick it up. Not sure if its still outstanding, and that was 12 years ago !

Cheers

Stu

 

[Bosun Higgs]

I suspect that a lot of it is fly tipping by the various pikey groups squatting near the river. But there has been a noticeable reduction in the numbers oif trees coming down since fuel prices went up!

 

[Mymobo]

Think I will stay on our berth during springs then.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Tends to be the very big springs in spring and autumn that are the problem, because these are the high ones that scour the rubbish off the banks.

 

[warwicksail]

Trees

We should all take great care in esturys, its a bottle neck for rubbish coming in and out, Im moored on the towy estury, LLanseffan Carmarthen, You wouldnt beleive the size of the timber coming down with the last lot of floods.

All the trees close to the river banks are at risk with the bank erosion caused by these floods and high tide, usually roots still intack I have seen a good size tree meander its way through Half a dozen moorings on more than one occasion.

If these logs are trapped up stream can cause major flooding issues. At risk trees should be monitored by the enviroment agency who are also responsible (I think ) for rubish in the esturys also.

Take care eat your carrots

 

[zlod]

There were some gurt big bits of wood out in the BC today. There was a semi-submerged tree trunk that was about 20 feet long by 3 feet diameter near Wolves (which looked hostile with the waves lapping them), another one of the same length and about 2 feet diameter up by S Mid Grounds and some floating metal thing (which I didn't understand) by the English Welsh Grounds SWM.

It would be pretty nasty meeting one of these things at night at the moment (given the new moon).

There are loads of big bits of wood / trees washed up on the beaches by the Portishead coast path.