Gloucester & Sharpness Canal - First Time

[Tim Good]

Hello all.

As a new comer to the Severn I was going to sail from Portishead to Sharpness this weekend and check it out. To save me a lot of research can you answer the following:

Boat = 43ft, draft 2m, beam 4.2m, air draft approx 10m give or take.

1. The lock at sharpness operate what times before and after HW?
2. Is there a charge?
3. Presume booking is required?
4. Once in is it is easily navigable for a 2m draft vessel up to Gloucester?
5. Finally, is it nice? I.e. nice locks, pubs countryside etc?

Any other pilotage advice appreciated. At the moment I was planning to just keep well within any channels and the deeps part of the charts.

Merci!

 

[Allan]

Hopefully I can help a little but you need to confirm things on the Gloucester harbour website.
1. The last lock is before HW. I believe it's said to be 30 minutes but I've been in one closer than that.
2. Yes booking is required.
3. I've been up on a bilge keeled vessel (1.5m). No problem navigating but some bankside moorings were not usable for us. They may have been OK with a fin. We had mooring spikes on board.
4. Sharpness is the only lock on the canal. The countryside is great. There are nice pubs, my favourite one is on the river just down from the first bridge after sharpness. Beware, don't take a shortcut in the dark and it closes at 10pm! At Easter the Gloucester brewery had a bar open, ridiculous prices, the yacht club was much cheaper, same beer.
Navigation up to the lock is just a matter of timing. All the leading marks and lines are on the charts. One standard warning is that just before the lock is a tower called something rock, can't remember the name. Stay close to the tower, don't go looking for the channel. Boats have ended up on the mud doing that.
Hope that's a bit of hell.
Allan

 

[Tim Good]

Hope that's a bit of hell.
Allan

Thanks. Just been speaking to the Trust about licenses and it doesn't seem there is anything that accommodates the occasional yacht visiting the canal. You can buy a day license at £25 per day bu then the lock is £25 each way also = £100 weekend visit.

Then there is a 1 week pass but not much use unless you intend to stay for a week.

The 30 day flexible pass seems good where you can just use 30 days from the year but doesn't include lock prices so that's basically £200 + £50 for every trip in and out.

There there is the full annual license that does include locks in and out but you guessed it. Far to expensive to justify visiting for a visiting yacht only coming/going maybe 3-5 times a year.

Bit silly really that it is a "computer says no" situation.

 

[Allan]

Oops, of course I meant help! It seems the Trust want to make it hell!
I went up on the Portishead Easter cruise. As there are loads of boats it is a lot cheaper.
Allan

 

[david_bagshaw]

You will be ok with 2 mtrs of draft as we are of similar.

one further tip wait behind red or flashing red, going past early is a definite no no.

ring sharpness pier head on 01453511968 at least 24 hours before required entry. They are very helpful. do not go up early as all the tide rise is in the last hours. think of the wave up the end of the bath. Rock refered to earlier is Black rock drying 0.5, but MHWS is 9.0 ish and MHWN is 5.4

 

[SteveSarabande]

you need a boat safety certificate to use the sharpness, that was enough to put me off.

i think i read the licence is cheaper if you do it online rather than at the lock

 

[rafiki_]

you need a boat safety certificate to use the sharpness, that was enough to put me off.

i think i read the licence is cheaper if you do it online rather than at the lock

You don't need the BSC as a visitor, but need to give a declaration that you aren't going to fill the canal with sh!te!

 

[SteveSarabande]

You don't need the BSC as a visitor, but need to give a declaration that you aren't going to fill the canal with sh!te!

bit difficult on my boat unless i use a bucket

 

[david_bagshaw]

Double charge when done at the lock aparently. for a short visits a self declaration is all that is needed. Dont imagine the tall ships do a safety cert.

 

[trapezeartist]

I heartily recommend the Portishead Cruising Club Easter Cruise to Gloucester. From memory, that is going to cost you about £40 for the licence and the lock both ways. It's also a great social occasion with as many as 35 boats all travelling in a sort-of convoy. If you're based in Portishead I'd suggest joining PCC anyway, but if not you can get the information nearer the time from http://pccsail.com/.

In addition to Allan's suggestion for not going aground on Lydney Sands, I would just mention that the crosstide just outside the entrance to Sharpness basin reverses direction as you get close to the gate.

 

[Birdseye]

I heartily recommend the Portishead Cruising Club Easter Cruise to Gloucester. From memory, that is going to cost you about £40 for the licence and the lock both ways. It's also a great social occasion with as many as 35 boats all travelling in a sort-of convoy. If you're based in Portishead I'd suggest joining PCC anyway, but if not you can get the information nearer the time from http://pccsail.com/.

In addition to Allan's suggestion for not going aground on Lydney Sands, I would just mention that the crosstide just outside the entrance to Sharpness basin reverses direction as you get close to the gate.

The PCC easter cruise is the way that almost all of us go to gloucester simply because of the ridiculous costs of going alone. You dont need to be a PCCmember to join in but as an inveterate club joiner, I always suggest people do join their local club. So much help in so many ways.