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Alcyone

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Louise and I are taking Ishtar to Dale this week, leaving Thursday, overnight at Oxwich then to Dale Friday. Sailing the haven or Islands til Sunday. If anyone is about, say hi.

Please note, I don't carry any alcohol, so if that's your game, go somehwere else.......:D
 
Hope you have a good trip.

We are going down to the boat on Friday for the weekend. Either get out of the marina on Friday night or early Saturday morning. With the current forecast we will probably go to Skomer on Saturday but if the weather isn't as great as forecasted we will go to Dale or Watwick. I need to get my wetsuit on and release the speed log wheel as its become fouled up over the winter :(

Maybe see you at Dale or Skomer!!

Ian
 
Alcyone, I see that both Manorbier and Castlemartin ranges are firing this week. I looked it up as we intend to go from Milford to Skomer at lunchtime on Friday, then back along the coast to Barafundle (or thereabouts) for Friday night as the weather promises to be so benign. So we won't be able to go past Linney Head until about 1630 on Friday unless we travel miles offshore.

Presumably you've taken this into account?

Good luck with your passage. The forecast is for light winds so I hope you have plenty of diesel!
 
THanks for that coaster, we usually call them on the radio. I was going to stay offshore anyway, we had a rough ride at St Gowan's last year, and I was below (listening to the British Lions....). We also caught a foul tide near crow rock, so being further out may help with that.

Cheers.

Hi Matt. Quite fancy the islands. Keep an eye for a 28fter with a bald bloke and a blonde. Boat is Ishtar.
 
W/E

Hi Martin
We'll be down there over the w/e and may well scoot out to skomer, but first i need to dive on our mooring at Dale to check it, hope the watrs warmed up a bit. then possibly some scallops from nearby. Have a good trip, looks like the weather will be nice
wave if you see us
P
 
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Coaster said:
Alcyone, I see that both Manorbier and Castlemartin ranges are firing this week. ............ So we won't be able to go past Linney Head until about 1630 on Friday unless we travel miles offshore.
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Not correct. Whilst you may well want to be helpful and go outside, ranges in the UK are not prohibited zones and if you wish to do so you can ignore the range boats and plough straight through. They have to stop firing.

That's official info from UKHO when I used to go to meetings there a few years back.

Personally I go offshore if I can - no point in being deliberately difficult. But if the cost was a day stuck where I didnt want to be then the MoD can stop playing soldiers whilst I go through.

P.S. Out of curiosity I rang the range at Manorbier and they confirmed the above. You aren't allowed under the 1941 byelaws to use the danger area for fishing or pleasure purposes but you are allowed free navigation. The man I spoke to ( very civil and helpful) explained that ideally they would like us to go well south ( about 13 miles) but if we had to cross could we do so as close inshore as possible to minimise time taken - the danger area for Manorbier is a fan of 36 degrees from the headland so an inshore route makes the crossing much quicker.
 
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Bosun Higgs said:
Whilst you may well want to be helpful and go outside, ranges in the UK are not prohibited zones and if you wish to do so you can ignore the range boats and plough straight through.
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I appreciate that there is a right of navigation. However I take the view that our armed forces and our allies need these ranges and I would generally respect their requirements for live firing. As the ranges state their proposed firing times I try to plan passages to avoid disturbance.

You may have less respect for the armed forces.

Our taxes pay for the armed forces. I'd like to see the money spent well. It seems silly to interrupt military exercise unnecessarily.
 
tico said:
Hi Martin
We'll be down there over the w/e and may well scoot out to skomer, but first i need to dive on our mooring at Dale to check it, hope the watrs warmed up a bit. then possibly some scallops from nearby. Have a good trip, looks like the weather will be nice
wave if you see us
P
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Yes, I need to do a couple of dives too. I dived last weekend, 27m depth, off St Davids head. It was cold. Good vis, mind. Good scallops, too.

See you there.
 
Coaster said:
I appreciate that there is a right of navigation. However I take the view that our armed forces and our allies need these ranges and I would generally respect their requirements for live firing. As the ranges state their proposed firing times I try to plan passages to avoid disturbance.

You may have less respect for the armed forces.

Our taxes pay for the armed forces. I'd like to see the money spent well. It seems silly to interrupt military exercise unnecessarily.
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What part of " Personally I go offshore if I can" do you not understand Bishop? :)
 
Spoke to Castlemartin earlier. They suggest we keep 4 miles S of St Govans. Rang Manorbier but no reply. The way the tides are, I wanted to be enterting the Haven by 16:00 ish, Friday. Looks like wind will be at a premium, so, with the detour, will be a long day.

On the good side, it will be a long day, on the boat! :D
 
Have a great trip, hope to be heading that way early July. Stopping at Oxwich is utter bliss - hoping for better fishing next time though!
 
Severnman said:
Have a great trip, hope to be heading that way early July. Stopping at Oxwich is utter bliss - hoping for better fishing next time though!
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Yes, We didn't catch anything there either.

Right. Off to the boat now. See ya.

:D
 
Memories

Aaaaahhhhh Dale Fort. Is the field studies centre still there?
I spent the summer between 3rd and 4th year at Uni there (we do 4 up here). Crewed Lord Hurcombe, an ex RNLI vessel. Twin diesels below a central wooden hatch is all I can remember.
Took students out to Skokholm, Skomer, and Grasholm. Robert Dougal (erstwhile newsreader and ornithologist) fell out of the dinghy and pulled almost half my hair out in his frantic efforts to haul himself out of the water (legs still in dinghy, head backward under water).
Remember also going to a yacht club on the oil terminal side of the haven and worrying some posh folk with my Billy Connolly drunk Scot impersonation (I didnt drink then!)
That would be... oooer about 1978.
Anyone remember the boat? It was my first experience in a boat.
Tell me it's all just as it was. Dale was idyllic.

Just checked Google. Shows the Centre away from the point. My memory was that it was the fort at the jetty right at the point. Am I wrong or has it moved, or is Google wrong?
 
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'Lord Hurcome' still around, saw her puttering out yesterday.

Yacht club probably 'Pembrokeshire YC', name of the bay escapes me for now.

Dale fort up the hill from Dale pontoon, about 15 mins walk.

Martin... sorry to miss you on Sunday, BiL phoned and came down early so off to Neyland to pick them up. Went out the the heads and watwick.
Dived on Saturday to check the mooring, all OK but vis was pretty lousy (or is it just me more used to diving abroad)
 
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