God this weather is SO depressing - cruise ideas anyone?

[KeelsonGraham]

We’re supposed to be setting off this weekend from Plymouth for a 3-week cruise to the Scillies and Southern Ireland, but all I’m seeing in the UKMO and ECMWF forecasts is an endless succession of lows punctuated by a couple of calm days in between. The channel seems no better with the southwesterlies relentlessly funnelling down it. Any ideas apart from the obvious of squirrelling up the Tamar and finding a pub to sit in?

Seriously thinking of calling it off in the hope that September might be better

 

[KevO]

Ditto…,

 

[Scillypete]

Make the most of the good sailing opportunities with fairish weather and sit out the bad bits in places you want to visit. TBH it doesn’t look so bad that you can’t crack on with the cruise, not much different to an average summer. Ireland on the other hand is always a move in good and dodge and hide the bad weather cruising ground.

 

[Minerva]

Ach, just get on with it.

It’s never that bad once you’re underway. Good waterproofs, diligent passage planning and being flexible with your aims and you’ll be golden.

We’re 10 days into our 3 week cruise and bar a couple of nights hiding in a marina we’ve been fine. And that’s with a baby on board so being super conservative.

You’ll be reet.

 

[Sandy]

It's been a lovely day in Brittany, now it's dark the rain has started and is almost as bad as two nights ago.

 

[mainsail1]

If you trust the weather forecasters to be right more than 12 hours ahead you will miss many a good days sailing.

 

[Robih]

There’s a lot of folk in southern Europe who’d be very pleased to have the weather that you describe.

 

[Adios]

If you trust the weather forecasters to be right more than 12 hours ahead you will miss many a good days sailing.

That's usually true but we're have some very strangely predictable weather lately. First we had about a month of steady strongish easterlies. Then its switched to weeks so far of steady (often) strong westerlies. If there is a settled system not moving much the forecasts can be reasonably accurate.

School summer holidays have been pretty rubbish for steady sunshine every year for the last 10-15 I think so could guess the likelihood of this without the met office. Book for June if work allows.

 

[capnsensible]

If you trust the weather forecasters to be right more than 12 hours ahead you will miss many a good days sailing.

I would say 5 days now since they've chucked the seaweed and got supercomputers and satellites....

 

[johnalison]

You would be very unlucky not to get windows that allowed you to make progress, even in such weather as we are currently having. Whether you will actually get to Ireland, or even the Scillies, is in the lap of the gods but you should still have a good time. In the past we have spent the best part of a week up the Fal, and in a three month cruise this was no great hardship, but I understand that you will want to make the best of three weeks.

Really, modern forecasts are so good that you can generally rely on them in planning three days ahead, though it is perhaps wise to allow for the possibility of one wind force more than given when you do set out, but in the West Country it is as much the waves that count. We very nearly got stuck in Ireland when we needed to be home, for a party, but even after days of gales we got our window, and this has usually been my experience.

 

[Babylon]

For me, cruising has always been about 'windows of opportunity' (especially as small and usually singlehanded). British summers have always been unpredictable more than a few days in advance, hence I favour 'broad plans' over tight timescales or highly-organised schedules, and factor in lots of reading and dog-walks... and numerous small boat-jobs which I never got round to doing at fitting-out time!

 

[doug748]

That's usually true but we're have some very strangely predictable weather lately. First we had about a month of steady strongish easterlies. Then its switched to weeks so far of steady (often) strong westerlies. If there is a settled system not moving much the forecasts can be reasonably accurate.

School summer holidays have been pretty rubbish for steady sunshine every year for the last 10-15 I think so could guess the likelihood of this without the met office. Book for June if work allows.

I agree about the recent weather, it has been very set and blustery, if not stormy. My plans changed 180 deg (literally) this year. You have to roll with it

If I were the op I might consider the Channel Isles, prob not this weekend though.

.

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Thanks all for the sage and balanced advice.

Looks like the Scillies and S Ireland might be back on. I should have obeyed the simple maxim: “if you don’t like the British weather, wait 5 minutes”.

 

[Martin_J]

If you do set off from Plymouth at the weekend you'll be in good company heading west as the Fastnet fleet passes by.

They're starting from 1300 on Saturday (although finishing in Cherbourg again this year instead of Plymouth, so don't wait around to see finishers!)..

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Ha yes! Better than last time we met them - at night going the other way!!

 

[oldmanofthehills]

We’re supposed to be setting off this weekend from Plymouth for a 3-week cruise to the Scillies and Southern Ireland, but all I’m seeing in the UKMO and ECMWF forecasts is an endless succession of lows punctuated by a couple of calm days in between. The channel seems no better with the southwesterlies relentlessly funnelling down it. Any ideas apart from the obvious of squirrelling up the Tamar and finding a pub to sit in?

Seriously thinking of calling it off in the hope that September might be better

Saturday Bad but then 7 days of fairish weather from according to windguru and wind NW, which is fine for getting to Scilly, or Ireland but maybe not both.
Sailing in the lee of Ireland gives some shelter from SW and if heading up towards Dublin you can go a long way inside the grounds thus sheltered from rare easterlies.

Depends on your leave availability and tolerance for harbour waiting - Dungarvan was fun, as was Wexford.

Truro River, Fal River and Dart all offer pleasant exploring safe from storm with pubs vineyards etc. Tamar lacks riverside pubs particularly now Saltash council has barred the pontoon to visitors

Us - we will set off from Cargreen in September once it has settled a bit. (Of course CYC has nice bar Wednesday & Friday)

 

[johnalison]

When we did Ireland it was 24 hrs each way to & from the Scillies. This is the passage that may or may not happen, and a good bit longer than the E Coast to Holland that was our milk run for many years. Among our friends it was a common occurrence to fail to get home and have to leave the boat for collection later. I was proud of the fact that this only happened once to us, when we had a 26’ boat, but it is a real possibility with a 3-week cruise to Ireland. Although possible, you won’t get time to se much of Ireland and if it were me I’d save it for another day. Even the Scillies can be chancy. The South Coast s littered with sailors who haven’t yet managed to get there in their allotted weeks, so there is no shame in making a plan and then making do.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

When we did Ireland it was 24 hrs each way to & from the Scillies. This is the passage that may or may not happen, and a good bit longer than the E Coast to Holland that was our milk run for many years. Among our friends it was a common occurrence to fail to get home and have to leave the boat for collection later. I was proud of the fact that this only happened once to us, when we had a 26’ boat, but it is a real possibility with a 3-week cruise to Ireland. Although possible, you won’t get time to se much of Ireland and if it were me I’d save it for another day. Even the Scillies can be chancy. The South Coast s littered with sailors who haven’t yet managed to get there in their allotted weeks, so there is no shame in making a plan and then making do

If you cant get Plymouth to Scilly you are not trying. One long haul or 2 or 3 steady hops. Plenty to amuse oneself on Scilly for two weeks then back home you go, and once you are east of Lizard you can relax.

140miles or so Scilly direct to Waterford/Dunmore East, and as that is 30hours for our slow tub so a bit much for navigator, but most boats are faster

 

[steveeasy]

I’m sad to report it’s been another superb sunny and good day with nice winds up on the west coast.

Steveeasy

 

[Seven Spades]

Normally we start our holidays n a Friday go to the boat untie and leave. We sort out all the stuff on the way and on Saturday morning we are either in France of the C.I.'s. This year was somewhat different. There was a storm on Saturday so Monday We set of for Guernsey and ended up in Cherbourg. Now we are Treguier. Our original plan was Hamble-Guernsey-Brest ...

So far we have had two very long beats to windward and looking at the weather it looks as though by the time we get to Brest we will have to start making our way back so it looks like our trip to Southern Brittany is just not going to happen this year....but we are away and will have fresh croissants in the morning and life will be good.