Isles of Scilly and when to clear out...

[EdEssery]

At the beginning of next week we are starting a cruise from Plymouth, hoping to get out to the Isles of Scilly before returning back to the Solent.

All the advice seems to be that you need a few days of settled weather to consider it and that you need to clear out back to the mainland if it looks like the weather is worsening.

Exactly how settled does it need to be to have a comfortable time on a mooring or anchored in St Mary's roads? How severe does the forecast need to be to warrant clearing out.

There'll be two of us on a solid 34 foot boat. SWMBO won't appreciate a really rolly anchorage.

Advice welcome.

Ed

 

[boguing]

I've only been once, but my memory of it is that you really want calm for the approach (and to a lesser extent, the departure). The tide only waves/swell were significant when I went in a flat calm.

Can't remember for certain, but there are a lot of safe anchorages within the islands - would have thought you could find somewhere if push came to shove.

 

[Skyva_2]

St Marys can get very rolly, even though it is a nice place, and do not moor alongside another boat... don't get tempted into a 3 day stay by a discount, be prepared to move around - which also improves the view...but the whole area is outstanding, go for it if you can.

It does not have to be flat calm to approach St Marys, its easy in daylight.

 

[FAITIRA]

Agree with all you say, if you are prepared to move a bit, tide permitting in some cases, there are sheltered places from pretty well any wind direction, great place been a few times, the approach is no bother. My favourite is The Cove, St Agnes.

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

As has been said, St Mary's is an uncomfortable place to stay, always rolling around.

No particular problems with gales, as long as you are in the right place.

New Grimsby harbour is our favorite, and also the Cove at St Agnes. we stayed in The Cove in a force 7/8 (W to SW I think). Light sands though, and anchor dragged a bit!!

Whenever I have approached New Grimsby, the seae have been uncomfortable to say the least, a seabed with attitude.....

This time of year the Islands are usually very crowded with our French cousins(!). Maybe with this weather, they might be a little less crowded.

We hope to visit the Scillies later in August.

Enjoy your trip

 

[bilbobaggins]

The comments of others above are ( mostly ) valid. In the past, a lack of rock-solid visitors' moorings meant reliance on one's anchoring technique. That's changed - there are plenty of solid visitors' moorings, and the charts show their whereabouts, as does the helpful harbourmaster at St Mary's.

As for rolling, well, the Scilly Isles are in the Atlantic...... it's a fact of life.

/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[jeanne]

The only anchorage with all round shelter is New Grimsby between Bryher and Tresco. The holding is good for the Scillies, that is, not too much kelp, there are moorings to be had at a price, and even a fresh wind from the north , which is the one direction that looks open on a chart, produces a wind against tide chop,not a swell.
The passage from St Marys is shallow, and one needs to do it for the first time around HW, with a good pilot book in your lap, but the tricky bit is in shelter.
On our first visit , we took an island trip boat to see the passage close up before we did it
If the weather looks unsettled on your arrival in the islands, the north entrance is safe in any summer weather, so go straight there. You pass Round Island light, and turn in when you see Cromwells Castle. No lights inside, so that is daytime only.
Treso is the prettiest island, and Bryher the friendliest, so I am not sure why anyone goes to St. Mary, anyway.

 

[boguing]

Agreed. St Mary's was where we made a set of 'flopper stoppers'. Triangular boards with a weight on one apex, equal lengths of rope to each apex, one hanging either side from the boom and spi pole. Not sure whether it was the effort or the product that gave a good night's sleep.

Or, perhaps, the night in the pub. A good reason for stopping off at Hugh Town. The locals are great musicians.

The bottom is sand between Tresco and Bryher, and shoals at the narrows. This gives a wave break at low water, so might be handy for a lunch stop, depending on tide times.

 

[Goldie]

I think Mark Fishwick's West Country Cruising Guide lists anchorages in the Scillies appropriate for each wind direction (can't check - book's on the boat), We were perfectly snug in Watermill Cove throughout a SW gale - snug enough to go for a walk ashore!

 

[Scillypete]

As the weather is looking good for the early part of next week you should have no problems geting here.

At the moment it is not what I would call busy with visiting yachts but that will change quickly with the forthcoming improvement in the weather, and moorings soon fill, but it baffles me why when there are so many good anchorages with no charge.

Its up to you but normally its only cruise liners and other ships that anchor in St Mary's roads, for yachts there are many more options, even in gale conditions.

 

[boatmike]

I used to keep a boat in Falmouth and visit often.
Advice?
1. Buy a good detailed pilot book before you go to show all the different anchorages and transits.
2. Make sure you have good ground tackle. Most of the time you will be on good holding ground in hard sand. There are now bouys in Hugh Town but nowhere else and it can be very lumpy in there in a SW gale. I have found a good CQR best, but make sure it's big enough and you have plenty of chain. Many of our French cousins who anchor on a piece of string and dinner fork have come unstuck so in a gale try to anchor upwind of them!
3. There are NO anchorages that provide shelter from any wind. New Grimsby as someone else said is very good but open to a northerly gale. With the wind from the north Porth Cressa and south of St Martins are best. Listen to the forecast and be prepared to move.
4. Don't be tempted to run home in a gale. If you do, make for Newlyn, Penzance or Mounts Bay. DONT be tempted to go close in to the Lizard in a gale. Keep well offshore if rounding it to get back to Falmouth unless it's good weather. There is a safe passage close inshore with local knowledge but if you get it wrong......
5. Don't be put off. It's a challenging place certainly but has many rewards.Enjoy!

 

[rickp]

And although Pete didn't mention it - his "Sailor's Guide" is a very useful addition to the library, giving clear photographs of the transits for getting into and around the islands. We found ours most useful.

I popped into the shop to say thanks Pete but you weren't around - hope the message was passed on...

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Sybarite]

I really enjoyed my 5 visits there. However there was one little detail that rankled. It's the only place I have ever been charged for water. That includes visiting such arid little islands as Porquerolles and Port Cros in the Med....

I usually head for Porth Cressa having passed a few uncomfortable nights at Hugh Town. However its a bottleneck if the wind turns to the South.

Also do not leave in a wind against tide situation - from sad experience.

John

 

[phanakapan]

Spent a couple of nights on a mooring bouy off Tresco- New Grimsby a week or so ago; it was indeed sheltered but one windy night it was so rolly I had difficulty staying in my bunk. It was £15 for a 33' boat per night. We had come across from Ireland so it was easy to sail straight in from the north. Other boats seemed to anchor with no great difficulty.

 

[MisterBen]

If wind & weather allow you to sail westwards, don't hesitate. Go. The Isles of Scilly are, IMHO, as near to a yottie's paradise as it is possible to find - spectacular scenery, beautiful anchorages, crystal clear water, deserted beaches, good amenities and exceptionally pleasant and helpful locals. The phrase, "The natives were friendly" might have been invented for Scillonians.

When my wife and I were there in June it was our 25th consecutive annual visit, all in boats much smaller than yours, and on every occasion when those little lumps on the horizon solidify into bits of land it has been one of the big moments of the year. But - and I admit it's a major qualification - all our boats have had bilge or triple keels so that in foul or rolly conditions we have always been able to dry out in safety and comfort on Green Bay, Bryher. (Really, I can't imagine why any cruising boats are built in any other way).

Without that advantage, there's no escaping the fact that you might be unlucky and suffer a rolly night or two. As has been said, you are in the Atlantic and a storm a thousand miles away will create ripples (aka swell) which may well not be from the same direction as the wind in the Scillies at any given time. But on the other hand you can be perfectly safe; the heavy duty moorings in St Mary's Hbr and New Grimsby Sd appear to be bomb-proof, and £7.50 per head per night is really not a lot for peace of mind.

The forecast is quite good for next week. Take a chance - I bet you won't regret it.