Helford passage is now only navigable to boats with a beam of 3 inches or less!

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

I did suggest looking at the chart first.....

You did indeed John. Most of our channel markers seem to be placed with several feet of safety margin, but of course the sand and the mud (especially) gets moved round a bit. The culprit was on a corner where my channel led off the main channel along the bay (the south end of Rutherford Inlet where it debouches into Bagge Harbour) --

It's a narrow channel through the mudflats, and I should have known better....

Mike

 

[john_morris_uk]

It all depends doesn't it? I suppose I should have said 'look at the chart and be aware of the rise of tide'. There are plenty of places where what you can do at high water and the liberties you can take with bouyage with a large rise of tide are very different to what might be prudent at LW. I worked for John Goode briefly many years ago and his attitude was that the green bits of the chart was where you should often be exploring in a small boat when the tide was high.

 

[Uricanejack]

I think to be fair Mr Morris referred to buoyed channels for big ships. Rather than buoyed channel for small boat harbours.
I can think of several locations in my vicinity where this applies for both senarios

I would suggest it is generally a well recommended practice to check the chart particularly for lateral marks which can be ambiguous where the general direction of flow and actual direction of flow can be different

 

[Sandy]

You will be able to get an entire fleet of racing dingies through there...

 

[JumbleDuck]

It all depends doesn't it? I suppose I should have said 'look at the chart and be aware of the rise of tide'. There are plenty of places where what you can do at high water and the liberties you can take with bouyage with a large rise of tide are very different to what might be prudent at LW. I worked for John Goode briefly many years ago and his attitude was that the green bits of the chart was where you should often be exploring in a small boat when the tide was high.

A good rule of thumb for my boat (draught 1.3m) on the west coast of Scotland is "If you can't see it at low tide you can sail over it at half tide".

 

[jwilson]

I can look out of my window at a couple of port hand buoys that actually dry out at LW on big springs. Often there's just 2-3 ft of water if you go close but "in the channel" - catches out quite a few yachts each year. Only mud to hit though, and sheltered water.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I can look out of my window at a couple of port hand buoys that actually dry out at LW on big springs. Often there's just 2-3 ft of water if you go close but "in the channel" - catches out quite a few yachts each year. Only mud to hit though, and sheltered water.

I suggest that my comment that the 'buoyage is there as advisory' is making more and more sense.

Look at the chart!

 

[john_morris_uk]

A good rule of thumb for my boat (draught 1.3m) on the west coast of Scotland is "If you can't see it at low tide you can sail over it at half tide".

One of the differences I find in sailing on the West coats of Scotland is that there aren't that many 'green bits on the charts'. Or if there are green bits, then they are not worth exploring. Go to some other areas and there's lots of green that you can sail on given enough rise of tide.

 

[westernman]

I normally used to do this too. Then one day I cut inside a port-hand buoy by about 6' and wound up having to climb over the stern and push her off. Now i stick by the rules....

Mike

In my home port a green buoy suddenly appeared more than 2/3 the way across the entrance.
I being obstinate and going round it on my way out, but my crew questioned my sanity. I went very close to the buoy on the right side of it and and still went aground.

The port entrance had been dramatically silted up in a storm a couple of weeks earlier. The new buoy was for real despite being there looking as if it had simply drifted there from somewhere else.

 

[JumbleDuck]

One of the differences I find in sailing on the West coats of Scotland is that there aren't that many 'green bits on the charts'. Or if there are green bits, then they are not worth exploring. Go to some other areas and there's lots of green that you can sail on given enough rise of tide.

This is true, but I was really thinking of rocks awash or lower for the bits I sail in now. The Solway offers many opportunities for those who wish to practice their tidal calculations.

 

[graham]

Real Men arent confined by buoyed channels Grow some balls ,sail where you like.

 

[BruceDanforth]

That is a nasty looking black cloud. Was it a bad squall?