Irish Sea early in May

[Nuku]

Hi there,
my husbund and me are considering to sail our boat (38 feet) from the scottish west coast (Firth of Clyde) to the Netherlands. We'll start on May 1st and have 3 weeks time. We don't know the Irish Sea at all. Maybe weather conditions, waves are too rough at that time, and the Caledonian Canal would be the better and more secure choice?

 

[dt4134]

There's no reason to avoid the Irish Sea in May. Lots of people go cruising on it in May and they can't all be mad.

Just keep an eye on the weather forecast. There's enough ports along the way if you need to make shorter hops.

Between Tuskar & Land's End when you're in the Celtic Sea there can be a bit more swell from the Atlantic but unless you go out in heavy weather there should be nothing to worry a 38 footer. If you've got the time & weather visit the Scillies.

 

[Lady Campanula]

There are lots of Scuttlebuttery peeps who know their parts of the Irish Sea well, and have up to date info - and probably invites - to offer you.

I'd point you towards a heightened awareness of the coldness of much of the water at that time, and consideration of the effects on you and your decision-making. That certainly had an impact on several delivery trips, where some peeps didn't bring 'winter' clothing along.

I would encourage you to have a look at Sea Surface Temperatures charts, and the Proudman Labs here probably have what you'll want. Below is a clip from their 2009 animation....

You'll see that the coldest areas are where there's been substantial 'melted snow' run off from adjacent mountain areas, which hasn't warmed up. In particular, expect really cold water all down the North Channel/Antrim coastline, and east of the Isle of Man. You'll also see that, once into the Celtic Sea below St Georges Channel, temperatures improve markedly.

For me, that early-season trip would involve double balaclavas, double gauntlets, double woolly 'unmentionables' - and deliberately-short days at sea.

Also, I'd consider running down the Irish Coast to Baltimore, then depart/cross from there to the Scilly Isles, with a fair 'reaching' forecast - rather than 'beating' from Tuskar Rock direct to Lands End.




ps I had tried to get similar info on actual Sea Surface Temperatures for you from the Met Office website, but there one quickly runs into warnings and caveats that come close to comment on the problems of measuring 'ocean warming'. That's a subject that is now firmly censored on these forums, so here we have discussion of a legitimate sea safety question limited and constrained by well-intentioned, but ineffectual, censorship/moderation.

I'd encourage you to look at the MetOffice and Proudman labs websites for yourself, and ask them the questions that we're discouraged from discussing on here.

'Brave New World'

 

[Kilter]

We sail quite happily through May and don'y usually have to wrap up quite as much as lady c suggests. Perhaps she's just a delicate little thing?

 

[vyv_cox]

We always launched part way through April when Anglesey based. Sailing every weekend we had some memorable cruises in May, across to Ireland or to IOM. Irish Sea is certainly no worse than anywhere else, with the option in fresh westerlies of coming down the Irish side to keep out of the worst of it. Tides are strong but plenty of nice places to stop and wait.

 

[boatmike]

Hi there,
my husbund and me are considering to sail our boat (38 feet) from the scottish west coast (Firth of Clyde) to the Netherlands. We'll start on May 1st and have 3 weeks time. We don't know the Irish Sea at all. Maybe weather conditions, waves are too rough at that time, and the Caledonian Canal would be the better and more secure choice?

Certainly the Caledonian Canal would be the most secure choice. As far as weather is concerned, who feels confident to forecast? Not me! However If it were me I would think the possibility of beating to windward all the way to the Scillies was quite high and with only 3 weeks I would either go north around Cape Wrath or take the canal and stop for a few beers along the way! The western approaches can be a bit nasty at that time of year and the possibility of having to ride out a gale or three in Ireland or Cornwall are quite high.
The predominent S/SW/or W winds at that time of year are far more conducive to crossing from Inverness to Netherlands but of course you may well get Easterlies in which case beating up the Channel won't be fun either!

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

Sailing in the Irish Sea can be a fantastic experience, and May should be absolutely fine. The main thing is to be prepared for some very fast tides, and busy shipping. Make sure you have a good passage plan, using the tides to good effect. The weather is crucial, so ensure a good forecast before you set off; I use passageweather.com which will give you an indication of what to expect for the following seven days (rarely accurate beyond 2-3 days, but still a useful tool in helping you decide when to set sail). Take an up to date Almanac, which will give tidal stream info, and will offer pilotage guidance for all the potential ports on route. If you can, I recommend visiting The Scillies. Milford Haven and Falmouth can be good stops; especially if you need supplies.

On a passage of this length I would highly recommend that you take at least one other crew member. I always sail with at least 3 onboard... fatigue or sea sickness can often take effect, and the best way to keep up morale is through good food and plenty of sleep. Run a sensible watch system, and stay alert and the trip will be fine!

 

[bazobeleza]

Last year I had an early may sailing week out of kip marina, anchored off sanda island, round the mull of kintyre (flat calm, sun, perfect!) over to Islay, plenty of scotch and up to croabh haven to leave the boat for the coming charter season. Best time in scotland I've had for years, my mate, who's boat it is, said every time he went back last year it rained, incessantly. So give it a try.

 

[dt4134]

The Irish Sea may be a bit chilly in May but whatever the weather is it is going to be warmer than the North Sea.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wind. Of course SW does predominate but it comes from other directions too. You just need a window of circa 24 hours to get from say Kilmore Quay to Land's End. I wouldn't bother heading west along the South Coast of Ireland unless there are places there you want to visit.

There's plenty of places further north to stop over if you have a bit of adverse weather.

 

[wotayottie]

In early May its not uncommon for there to be a lot of easterlies in the channel so the run to Holland could be quite hard work.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

It can get a bit rough off the south west coast of Wales; if there is a storm in mid Atlantic it takes a couple of days for the swell to reach the west coast. The wind is predominantly westerly.

 

[fjarvis]

Another option to consider would be the Forth & Clyde canal - it's MUCH cheaper (£6/m and £16.50/m!) than the Caledonian Canal and although the locks are unmanned, a team of lock keepers follow in a van and operate all locks for you.

Issues may be that depth is only 1.83m and max headroom (air draught) is 3.0m so getting the mast down and stowed is a must! There is a mast crane at Bowling and one at Grangemouth (after exiting the canal and transiting under the river carron bridges) or use the crane at Port Edgar marina.

It would shave quite a distance off the trip. I move between the Forth and Clyde quite regularly and really enjoy the canal trip.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

My bad luck perhaps but for me St Georges Channel is one of the worst stretches of water around the UK. The combination of strong tides,big swell and exposure to Westerlies make good passage planning crucial.I have planned to go from Arklow to Falmouth but have twice had to bail out for a night entrance to Milford Haven. Then you have the dubious joys of the English Channel with tides, shallows and shipping.
Why not be kind to yourself and go via the Caley Canal. I'm sure it is a shorter route anyway, and it might save your marriage!

 

[SAWDOC]

Hi there,
my husbund and me are considering to sail our boat (38 feet) from the scottish west coast (Firth of Clyde) to the Netherlands. We'll start on May 1st and have 3 weeks time. We don't know the Irish Sea at all. Maybe weather conditions, waves are too rough at that time, and the Caledonian Canal would be the better and more secure choice?

Have you done any calcs on distance? i would estimate the canal must provide a significantly shorter passage. Presumably you need to arrive in Netherlands after your 3 weeks ie it is not an attractive option to be holed up somewhere on route? I think that would point me towards canal.

 

[Nuku]

Irish Sea Ealy in May

Thank you so much for all those valuable advice and website links which were up to now unknown to me and quite useful.

The way via is Irish Sea is around 150 nm longer than the way through the caley canal. Going through the caley canal would also mean shorter distances from one harbour to the other, there's only one longer distance, around 100 nm, from Lowerstoft across the North Sea to Ijmuiden.

I did already some passage planning for the route through the Irish Sea starting in Inverkip with stops in Campletown - Bangor - IoM - Holyhead - Pwllheli - Milford Haven - Padstow - Scillies / Newly - Salcombe - Poole - Brighton - Dover - and so on. Most distances are around 60 nm, I think we can do that in about 10 to 12 hours. The longest distance is Milford Haven - Padstow. With the tides on our side I am not sure how long the passage will take.

 

[boatmike]

Milford - Padstow is 68nm so depending on departure time with fair tide it will take around 13 hours at 5 Knots or 12 hours at 6 Knots. Padstow to Scillies requires careful tide planning and can be horrible in a SW wind too.... Don't underestimate the overfalls north of lands end...

Frankly if you are planning on so many stops en route you are pushing it in 3 weeks. I was once storm bound in the Scillies for 7 days in July! In my opinion you should NEVER plan a passage that means you MUST go to sea to meet a timetable. If there are only 2of you and you only intend to "day hop" then go Caladonian. As wotayottie said the chances of meeting easterlies in the channel is fairly high in May. (I suggested that in my original post) I would agree that the Forth/Clyde canal is an alternative an even shorter if you don't mind unstepping your mast, The Caladonian does not require that and is prettier but more expensive.

 

[dt4134]

I did already some passage planning for the route through the Irish Sea starting in Inverkip with stops in Campletown - Bangor - IoM - Holyhead - Pwllheli - Milford Haven - Padstow - Scillies / Newly - Salcombe - Poole - Brighton - Dover - and so on. Most distances are around 60 nm, I think we can do that in about 10 to 12 hours. The longest distance is Milford Haven - Padstow. With the tides on our side I am not sure how long the passage will take.

It's well worth considering a route down the E coast of Ireland.

Peel (which I guess is your most likely stop on the IoM) is tidal, so you'd need to arrange your arrival and departure to suit the tides over the flap gate. If you do a web search you should find the times on the web.

Ardglass is well situated as a passage port as an alternative.

Pwllheli, Milford haven & Padstow are all a bit out of the route. Dun Laoghaire is a good alternative to Holyhead & Pwllheli (albeit visitors rates are up at English south coast prices).

Arklow or Kilmore Quay are good hopping off places for the leg to Cornwall, but to get around Land's End in one hop you'd need 24 hours or so.

Don't be put off by the banks on the E coast of Ireland, they provide good shelter. Get a fair tide past Tuskar but do be particularly aware of wind against tide and any leftover swell from the Celtic Sea. The TSSes are not very busy at all compared to those in the Channel & Southern North Sea.

 

[dunedin]

Last May we came back from Tarbert to Largs - via Ardglass, Howth and IoM in 5 days.

Perhaps my navigation was a bit erratic, but the weather was great and some fantastic sunshine passages with the kite up ;-)

So Clyde to Netherlands via Irish Sea is equally erratic long-cut navigation wise, but can be fun

 

[Heckler]

Thank you so much for all those valuable advice and website links which were up to now unknown to me and quite useful.

The way via is Irish Sea is around 150 nm longer than the way through the caley canal. Going through the caley canal would also mean shorter distances from one harbour to the other, there's only one longer distance, around 100 nm, from Lowerstoft across the North Sea to Ijmuiden.

I did already some passage planning for the route through the Irish Sea starting in Inverkip with stops in Campletown - Bangor - IoM - Holyhead - Pwllheli - Milford Haven - Padstow - Scillies / Newly - Salcombe - Poole - Brighton - Dover - and so on. Most distances are around 60 nm, I think we can do that in about 10 to 12 hours. The longest distance is Milford Haven - Padstow. With the tides on our side I am not sure how long the passage will take.

My Bene 381 was delivered from Ardrossan by the previous owner to Holyhead, I took it from there to Pwllheli.
They set off from Ardrossan to Bangor NI, stayed the night there, then left at 4.00 am for Holyhead where they arrived 12 hours later. You need to stop at Holyhead ( a bigger all weather port to aim for) and then pick your times to go thru Bardsey sound to Pwllheli. Leave HH about an hour before high water to hit south stack at hi water then you get a good push all the way to Bardsey and get there to get the last of the ebb and slack water if necessary. Then take a breather in Pwllheli (come and visit us!) Next work out your tides to get to Milford haven (Jack Sound and Ramsey Sound) and overnight in Dale or Milford while you wait for a decent forecast to go across the Bristol Channel and around Lands End, some one else can take you from there.
We actually helped deliver a Moody 46 from Cardiff to Pwllheli in March, did the Dale to Pwllheli in 12 hours. It was cold and bright, I had jeans, t shirt, jumper, fleece and then oilies on with a woollen hat and gloves and was more than warm enough.
On both the legs described on both boats, the donkey was kept running at 2000ish revs to keep the power up and the average speed up. Basically, Ardrossan to Bangor 12 hrs, Bangor to Holyhead 12 hours, HH to Pwllheli 8 hours, Pwllheli to Dale 12 hrs.
Stu

 

[Nuku]

Ardrossan to Bangor 12 hrs, Bangor to Holyhead 12 hours, HH to Pwllheli 8 hours, Pwllheli to Dale 12 hrs.
Stu

That sounds really good. With the weather and tide our side the single legs won't be too long for our small crew.
Any idea how long it would take to go around Land's End directly from Dale or Milford Haven to Falmouth?

I hope for the right weather (moderate easterlies) so that we can do that passage.

Nuku