How long to motor from Upton on Severn to Cardiff by boat?

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ontheplane

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Hiya,

Don't know if anyone has done this but how long by water would it take to get from Upton on Severn (unsurprisingly on the river Severn) to the entry to Cardiff Barrage?

It's not massively far - but most of it is restricted to circa 4 -5 knts - and then there would be a section of unrestricted run on the Severn / Bristol Channel that would be at about 20knts or so..

Are we talking a couple of good days cruising or about a week?

Thank you.
 
Having done that journey myself, it's as follows:
Sticking to speed limits and no delays with locks or the bridges on river and then sharpness canal, it's 6 hrs from Upton to Sharpness.
Obviously tide dependent when you lock out from Sharpness, but from leaving Sharpness lock to entrance at Cardiff Barage at 20 knots is approx 1hr 45 mins.
 
Wow OK so less than a day tides dependant then - that's brilliant thank you. I assume there are moorings at Sharpness (Gloucester docks etc) if we wanted to split over 2 days
 
Have just read some notes from the sharpness area and my god there are a lot of warnings! It's says "it is strongly reccommended a pilot is used for the trip to Bristol"!

Is it really that difficult with an up to date chart and a plotter?
 
ontheplane said:
Have just read some notes from the sharpness area and my god there are a lot of warnings! It's says "it is strongly reccommended a pilot is used for the trip to Bristol"!

Is it really that difficult with an up to date chart and a plotter?
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No, but it might frighten you if there is any westerly in the wind against an ebb tide. And as soon as there are any lumpy bits of water you probably won't sustain 20 knots or anything like it.
 
Yes there's various mooring options available along the canal including Gloucester docks , and ending at Sharpness itself.
The warnings about the journey are more aimed at Narrow boats which sometimes make the journey to Bristol, stopping over at Portishead, and they have to have a pilot on board I believe. Note Portishead is a great destination to go to and is only 18 miles from Sharpness.
As mentioned by Jwilson the ideal forecast on an ebb tide is to have an easterly so wind and tide in the same direction.
The route from Sharpness, especially to the second severn crossing is basically pilotage with well marked transits, though having your course put in on a chart plotter and charts is essential in my view.
The Severn estuary / Bristol channel has a reputation due to it having 2nd largest tidal range and navigation needs to be taken seriously, but use the tides with the forecast and take your nav seriously, and with a well maintained boat you'll have some great boating journeys ahead.
 
I’ve done Tewkesbury to Sharpness, pootling at 5kn. Once through the lock at Gloucester, the canal is a lovely trip, but we were in a sports cruiser, so did not need any of the several swing bridges to open. We took a leisurely 6 odd hours, including a coffee stop at Gloucester. In a flybridge you may have to wait at the swing bridges, depending on road traffic. We never did Sharpness to Cardiff, but were based in Portishead for a couple of seasons, so Cardiff, actually Penarth Marina was a regular destination. We always used the tide to aid our passage both ways, and budgeted 90 to 120 mins for the trip. The barrage was quite daunting, the first couple of times we used it, and you must pay attention to your warps. We used bow and stern springs as the force of the water is substantial.
If you’ve not done the trip before, it may be worth seeing if an experienced ”lag” would join you at Sharpness? There is a serious drop in level at Sharpness, and I know of more than 1 vessel that had to cut its warps as it was “ hanging up”. Not nice!
 
I think I will be planning for this to take at least 2 to 3 days - perhaps get down to Sharpness area and then be able to run from Sharpness to Cardiff picking the tide. And if the wind is high or in wrong direction abort, leave the boat in a Marina and have another go the following weekend...
 
ontheplane said:
I think I will be planning for this to take at least 2 to 3 days - perhaps get down to Sharpness area and then be able to run from Sharpness to Cardiff picking the tide. And if the wind is high or in wrong direction abort, leave the boat in a Marina and have another go the following weekend...
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I don’t believe there is a marina at Sharpness? I don’t remember one. You moor up on the canal side. No facilities.
 
ontheplane said:
Hiya,

Don't know if anyone has done this but how long by water would it take to get from Upton on Severn (unsurprisingly on the river Severn) to the entry to Cardiff Barrage?

It's not massively far - but most of it is restricted to circa 4 -5 knts - and then there would be a section of unrestricted run on the Severn / Bristol Channel that would be at about 20knts or so..

Are we talking a couple of good days cruising or about a week?

Thank you.
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To add to other good advice,

Go slowly down the partings, as is shallow with lots of sunken trees on the bottom.
dont plan to travel in high summer , as the low bridge into the docks gets stuck, when it is sunny. we lost our summer holiday as CART closed it fore 10 days without warning after we had arranged passage, and had travelled to sharpness.

Sharpness sea lock has to be booked more than 24hours in advance.
Generally the lock staff call / arrange for you to be at the low bridge 2 hours before HW.
lock staff provide ropes, though rather thin ones, It is up to the crew to make certain you feed them out as the lock descends.
there are few facilities at Sharpness, though the dockers club is a good place for some light refreshment.
Chart plotters have made the trip down river so much easier, as side sets can be surprisingly strong, and it is easy to get disorientated. Pay particular attention between the bridges.

As to cardiff .
Tie up well in the lock as has a potential of a quick fill, though with your cruising speed the tide wont be as low as it is when we get there on my 8kn cruise speed.
 
ontheplane said:
What do you mean by “side sets”? Not an expression I had heard
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Where the current goes across the expected flow, such as in the run down the estuary the channel goes from one side to the other, but when the water covers the mud banks, the flow goes straight down river.. At times in a displacement boat , the heading could easily be 45 deg different to the direction of travel over the ground.
 
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