Going from Cowes to Salcombe for first time. Advice please

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Bruffy

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Hi just brought 30 foot twin engine 1967 wooden boat.max speed 9 knots.
Hoping to move it from Cowes to Salcombe we have 1week to do this in,I am new to this,plus have 2 dogs and one girlfriend on board and don't want to put them off my new toy.any suggestions welcome for where to stay over night,what to do and what not to do?what to look out for..it's the weather and getting it right for the day thar worries me.
Thankyou all.
 
Bruffy said:
Hi just brought 30 foot twin engine 1967 wooden boat.max speed 9 knots.
Hoping to move it from Cowes to Salcombe we have 1week to do this in,I am new to this,plus have 2 dogs and one girlfriend on board and don't want to put them off my new toy.any suggestions welcome for where to stay over night,what to do and what not to do?what to look out for..it's the weather and getting it right for the day thar worries me.
Thankyou all.
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At that sort of speed you might want to post on Scuttlebutt as this is meat and gristle to a raggie - you'll be cruising at 6 knots I'd guess so you get a decent range. My short answer would be use the boat for a day at least around Cowes to shake her down. Once you're happy with her check your inventory - nothing heavy but handheld radio and basic engine tools and spares (impeller, etc). Obviously lifejackets - some kind of foul weather gear, charts, gps, that sort of thing.

For the actual passage make sure you not only have a good forecast but that you are happy you have a method of keeping it current as you travel. Then tides, tides and tides - sort them out and you will literally more than halve your passage time. Also watch out for the sea state changing very rapidly as the tide changes - one minute you'll feel quite comfortable and the next you'll be bouncing around or thumping into a chop. Make sure you have a decent pilot so that you can get into boltholes en route if it turns a bit uncomfortable - and work out which ones you can use before you need them. Create little "approach cards" for your possible ports if they are anything other than straightforward to you. Don't forget to check that fuel's available when/where you stop - you may arrive lateish and leave early. The bit that will need the most planning is Portland Race and Lyme Bay. Lyme Bay is very likely to be a bit uncomfortable and rather boring. Portland Race is fine if you get it right but will be VERY uncomfortable and definitely not boring if you get it wrong. It's no problem if you plan carefully but make sure you have a very good pair of eyes watching out for lobster pots if you do choose the inside passage at Portland.
 
grumpy_o_g said:
?.. nothing heavy but handheld radio... that sort of thing.
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A hand held may only get you around 4-5 miles range. Mobile phone signal strength was 2 blobs from 5 at around 20 miles in the bay last weekend but that may be a fluke and if you're not coast hugging, I'd recommend getting a full aerial on a VHF set first. And good luck!
 
Cowes to Yarmouth. Nice and easy, you can go there on an ebb tide and use the tidal current to your advantage. 10 NM

Yarmouth to Poole. You lose the protection of the Isle of Wight so need to get the weather right. 20 NM

Poole to Weymouth. A couple of tidal races to sort out. 30 NM

Weymouth to Brixham or Torquay 50 NM This you need to get right. Portland race and you will be some 15 NM offshore in the middle of Lyme Bay.

Brixham / Torquay to Salcombe 25 NM

Distances are approximate. Consider having someone onboard to give you instruction as you are not familiar with boating. It is a well trodden path but there are several obstacles to overcome and you don't have the benefit of speed to outrun the weather.

I would also suggest ensuring the person giving instruction is extremely familiar with the mechanical aspects of a boat. A 46 year old wooden motorboat has lots and lots of scope to throw a few surprises at you. As has been suggested use it around the Solent to familiarise yourself and see if anything breaks. I presume you had it surveyed prior to purchase.

Also ensure all safety equipment is in date and all present.

Finally consider losing the dogs. The last thing you need on your first trip is 2 dogs puking up / barking / 5h1ttting themselves if the sea state catches you out or worst case you need to take to the life-raft. In the latter scenario you need to say goodbye to the dogs just before you step into the life-raft.

Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh but you might as well go into the trip eyes open.


Good luck.

Henry :)
 
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Bruffy said:
Hi just brought 30 foot twin engine 1967 wooden boat.max speed 9 knots.
Hoping to move it from Cowes to Salcombe we have 1week to do this in,I am new to this,plus have 2 dogs and one girlfriend on board and don't want to put them off my new toy.any suggestions welcome for where to stay over night,what to do and what not to do?what to look out for..it's the weather and getting it right for the day thar worries me.
Thankyou all.
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Pleasssseee !!!!! don't do it.The odds are far to weighted against you.These are the sort of trips only the most experienced should be doing.Sorry to be a doom monger
 
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Henryf's route is very long and presents more challenges.

Yarmouth is a good shout.

Yarmouth to Portland.

Portland to Brixham. Go inshore at the Bill.

Brixham to Salcombe.

All easy entrances.

You need proper safety kit and engine prep.
 
I think the OP needs to be flexible over which week he chooses to make the trip. It could be a great adventure or a miserable slog...

Mechanical reliability is a must, as well as planning for worst-case possibilities.

Something like the Shell Channel Pilot would be a good investment too.

Third party boat insurance is also required for (all?) harbours and they'll want money off you when you want to tie up.

There's a lot to think about, isn't there? At least the OP is asking questions.
 
Bruffy said:
Hi just brought 30 foot twin engine 1967 wooden boat.max speed 9 knots.
Hoping to move it from Cowes to Salcombe we have 1week to do this in,I am new to this,plus have 2 dogs and one girlfriend on board and don't want to put them off my new toy.any suggestions welcome for where to stay over night,what to do and what not to do?what to look out for..it's the weather and getting it right for the day thar worries me.
Thankyou all.
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Welcome to the forum.

Do you have much experience or training, as we did Hamble to Torquay for our first "big trip" in our current boat, but its our 3rd and 3 of us were "qualified" but even then we approached it with much trepidation. In this vein though, you may want to check your insurance, as most (I believe) state something like a "qualified" skipper and at least 1 "qualified" crew, and the legal definition is RYA qualified (no definition of that, but insurer said PB2 was sufficient) or at least 1 years experience.

We set off on day 1 and things got hairy so overnighted at Poole, but even that had its challenges such as wheres the the next channel marker, watch out for thar pot, whats that boat going to do (dinghy) whats the speed limit, is that ferry leaving etc etc, and whilst I didnt ask the forum for advice we gave each other so much confidence - and we didnt have mechanicals to worry about, but stil had a full suite of spares and tools on board

The next challenge was getting to our berth at Poole, and we had 3 of us on the ropes, and a dockmaster to help, you seem a bit light handed.

We took the Needles Channel but decided on Poole at the 11th hour, and the next day went 10 miles off Portland, and even at 25 knots didnt see land for a couple if hours, so passage planning, charts, and the plotter were key to a safe arrival.

If you have a lot of experience, the above from Henry is good advice, if not it would be worth investing in a skipper for some or all of the journey as that will give you and your girlfriend so much more confidence.

In my opinion once you have crossed Lyme Bay, its downhill for the rest of the trip as you have Torquay, Brixham, Dartmouth to hop between, and only Start Point needs a bit of care.

yachtpilot.net and visitmyharbour.com will help your revision of approaches etc, and the Almanac and some good weather sites will help with the more macro planning.

Well done for asking the question, but from my own experience as you havent given so much info be prepared to accept a range of positive and negative answers.

But if you feel confident enjoy the trip and I believe ettiquette is a host of pictures of your adventure.

Good luck.
 
With due respect to all the very good and well meaning advice from forum members you you still have to walk before you can run.I tried a similar thing many years ago and frightened myself and family to death,it took many years and changes of boats pottering up and down the Severn to get their confidence back,think long and hard before embarking on such a journey and have it moved by road.Then you can learn at your own pace.
 
mad_boater said:
With due respect to all the very good and well meaning advice from forum members you you still have to walk before you can run.I tried a similar thing many years ago and frightened myself and family to death,it took many years and changes of boats pottering up and down the Severn to get their confidence back,think long and hard before embarking on such a journey and have it moved by road.Then you can learn at your own pace.
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We had a 25 ft cuddy moved from Torquay to Hamble for £450 by road. Think the chap said max length he could move was 30ft, so costs of a skipper, v cost of a road move could be similar .... and less chance of a marital dispute !
 
burgundyben said:
Henryf's route is very long and presents more challenges.

Yarmouth is a good shout.

Yarmouth to Portland.

Portland to Brixham. Go inshore at the Bill.

Brixham to Salcombe.

All easy entrances.

You need proper safety kit and engine prep.
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I threw in Poole to try and build up the distances and to have a shorter run in open sea to make sure everyone was happy. Yarmouth to Weymouth would be my first choice but then we are traveling at over 20 knots and quite happy running 60NM legs.

Henry :)
 
People are scaring you unnecessarily.

"These are the sort of trips only the most experienced should be doing" - sorry, it's not trans Atlantic.

"...2 dogs puking up / barking / 5h1ttting themselves if the sea state catches you out or worst case you need to take to the life-raft." - the dogs will probably sleep the whole way ( I sail with 3 dogs) and I can't recall an incident where anyone has needed to take to a life raft between Cowes and Salcombe.

If your engine is reliable (if not join Sea Start) and the weather is looking settled, go for it in short coastal hops and enjoy.
 
I certainly wouldn't do this trip without some basic training/schooling or at least one experienced crew member on board. If you fall unconscious does your girlfriend know what to do? Can she use the radio? Can you use the radio? How reliable is this boat? Sounds like you don't know. What safety gear do you have on board? How are the dogs on the water? Some love it, some hate it.
One small problem will multiply and you'll end up with one major issue.
Passage planning. Do you know what that is? The list goes on.
 
l'escargot said:
People are scaring you unnecessarily.

"These are the sort of trips only the most experienced should be doing" - sorry, it's not trans Atlantic.

"...2 dogs puking up / barking / 5h1ttting themselves if the sea state catches you out or worst case you need to take to the life-raft." - the dogs will probably sleep the whole way ( I sail with 3 dogs) and I can't recall an incident where anyone has needed to take to a life raft between Cowes and Salcombe.

If your engine is reliable (if not join Sea Start) and the weather is looking settled, go for it in short coastal hops and enjoy.
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What short coastal hops would you suggest for Weymouth to Brixham ?

No, it isn't a transatlantic crossing. But at 6-7 knots through the water, less across the ground if you get the tide wrong means you're committed to quite a few hours in the water. The weather can change, there are a couple of really significant tidal races en route, the OP has no experience and the boat is very, very old. It wouldn't be beyond the realms of imagination to envisage a mechanical fault or two cropping up.

The dogs may well love the boat and it may all go swimmingly but why not stack the odds a bit more in the OP's favour ?


The key words in your post are "Probably" and "if".

If you cross the road with your eyes shut you will probably make it safely to the other side. Call me a boring wet fart if you will but I always have my eyes open and look both ways twice.

Henry.
 
Not sure that wet farts are boring.

I can think of some other words, though.

My friend who followed through on a staff bus in Saudi while wearing hospital whites thought of a few too.
 
henryf said:
Well then add a poor memory to giving bad advice.


http://www.motorboatsmonthly.co.uk/news/441863/two-rescued-from-motorboat-fire-in-the-solent

That was on a brand new boat and we didn't even have to leave the solent to find this example !

Henry
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There's no bad advice there. Clearly Lyme Bay is one hop (unless of course he goes round the bay) - the worst part of that trip on a fine day is boredom - and the fire caused by a fault in a brand new boat is hardly relevant - otherwise you could cite it as a reason for anyone not to go by motorboat from the Hamble to Cowes without a liferaft or not going out in a new motorboat at all in case it catches fire. Another clear case of worrying someone unnecessarily. I'm surprised you take a boat out at all if you worry about an example such as that...
 
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henryf said:
What short coastal hops would you suggest for Weymouth to Brixham ?

No, it isn't a transatlantic crossing. But at 6-7 knots through the water, less across the ground if you get the tide wrong means you're committed to quite a few hours in the water. The weather can change, there are a couple of really significant tidal races en route, the OP has no experience and the boat is very, very old. It wouldn't be beyond the realms of imagination to envisage a mechanical fault or two cropping up.

The dogs may well love the boat and it may all go swimmingly but why not stack the odds a bit more in the OP's favour ?

The key words in your post are "Probably" and "if".

If you cross the road with your eyes shut you will probably make it safely to the other side. Call me a boring wet fart if you will but I always have my eyes open and look both ways twice.

Henry.
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You can go round the bay as well as straight across it, the OP says he has a week and most boats that cross the bay do it at less than 6 or 7 knots. Taking the dogs is hardly "stacking the odds" against him. I did make reference to mechanical reliability and weather as considerations. I think your attitude to boating is somewhat over cautious, there are many well founded boats of that age that are perfectly capable of such trips - more so than some modern boats.
 
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