Isles of Scily trip

[C08]

Planning to go to the Isles begining of June for the first time. Read up on the area and talked to other boaties and one bit of advice I was offered was to look online at the Seven Stones weather buoy swell levels and if the swell is 1m or more to go another day. Does that sound about right?
My wife prefers easy sailing and gentle seas and I would not like to spoil the day by bashing seas all the way from Mounts Bay. Watching the Isles of Scilies ferry wallowing its way there on the Ade Edmondson seafaring series the other night did not help to reduce her aprehension, nor the nickname of the ferry which appently is "The Great White Stomach Pump"!

 

[jdc]

Pl...weather buoy swell levels and if the swell is 1m or more to go another day.

I've been to the IoS many times, most recently last weekend, in a variety of boats and never have I once looked at swell levels before setting off! The wind direction is more important as it can take a bit of time if you have to beat all the way there or back. But if you are going in June it's unlikely to be that rugged anyway, so I think you should just go for it. It's 100% worth the journey.

As for route, I find a diversion to Mount's bay not that useful: of course you may want to visit Mullion or Mousehole or St Maichael's Mount or Penzance anyway, but as a 'staging post' on the way to Scilly it's out of your way. Best imho to set off From Falmouth direct towards Scilly at local HW + 3 which gives a fair tide from Manacles on past Lizard and, assuming 10 - 12 hrs for the trip, gets you there still above 1/2 tide. 18 miles Falmouth - Lizard wpt, and another 42 miles from there to Hats buoy takes you 1 mile S of Wolf rock.

It will always be a bit swirly from Wolf to about 3 miles of the east of the Islands, but the good thing is that the islands have come up over the horizon by then and are getting visibly larger and one can start identifying landmarks like the daymark on St Martin's: this keeps morale up at this otherwise critical moment!

For what it's worth, and this is a personal thing I know, I like best to set off from Falmouth and make much of the the passage in the dark, arriving in the morning. That way the off watch crew get rest and with head down are less prone to sea-sickness (with us it's me who gets sick, not my companion). Same on way back: if you can chose a day with favourable E going tide at Lizard around midnight then an evening passage with a stop at anchor either side of the Lizard (eg Kilkobben Cove or Mullion Cove as wind dictates) makes for a very pleasant voyage.

 

[fisherman]

I would pay more attention to wind and tide, I have happily hauled gear in a 40ft+ swell off the Lizard, no wind, but give me a 5-6 over a spring tide, no thanks.

 

[KAL]

I would pay more attention to wind and tide, I have happily hauled gear in a 40ft+ swell off the Lizard, no wind, but give me a 5-6 over a spring tide, no thanks.

+1. Eurghhh!:grey: