Lymington to Holyhead

deaks

deaks

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I'm helping a friend bring his new pride and joy up from Lymington to Holyhead over Easter.
Assuming we get reasonable weather (it's a Malo 36)
I was suggesting after we round Lands End we might head across to Arklow and then if the weather does turn bad we've got more chance of safe heavens and hopefully we won't be on a lee shore.
If anybody has done this trip, comments and information would be gratefully received. Example places to hole up in.
We aim to leave around noon on Saturday 11th April as the tide turns and we leave by the Hurst Narrows.
Then possible stop over Falmouth before waiting for the right time to catch the tide around The Lizard etc.
John
 
Day 1 & 2: Lymington to Helford River (much motoring in fog)
Day 3: Helford River to Falmouth (for crew change)
Day 4: Falmouth to St Mary's, Scilly Isles (in a pleasant F3)
Day 5: St Mary's to New Grimsby (for visit to Tresco)
Night 5 and day 6: New Grimsby to Kilmore Key, SE Ireland
Day 7: Kilmore Key to Holyhead (in a perfect F5-6 westerly)

Lovely trip, but don't forget your gloves.
 
Put effort into ensuring you get the tides right at Tuskar. OK, in a Malo 36 and moderate conditions it shouldn't be too uncomfortable if you get it wrong, but it'll be slow too. It'll be much more peaceful if you get it right.

Easiest to go outside Blackwater & Lucifer and Glassgorman and inside Arklow bank.

Arklow entrance can be quite awkward in any significant level of onshore seas, but I've always managed to avoid that.

The marina will be very tight for a Malo 36. If you have extra crew you might well be able to manhandle your way in.

There's a pontoon along the river which will take bigger boats, but sometimes there's little space and the moorings make rafting awkward. You could try ringing up to book something. A tip by the way, if you see no moorings on a stretch of the river or the boats are small, be very careful about the depth.

There's the fish dock too but it's a bit basic. I did hear one story of a fishing boat deliberately blocking a couple of yachts in but I don't know whether that was just a one-off or even true.

Further north there's Wicklow. If you berth up the river you really have to check whether you'll bottom out at low water, but they get most of the Round Ireland race boats in there, so don't necessarily discount it as a port of refuge.

And when you get to Holyhead don't cut round the breakwater head too sharply, it's quite shallow just inside.
 
Another tip. Don't take the charted position & depths of the banks on the E coast of Ireland as gospel. That's where they were when surveyed by leadline during the reign of Queen Victoria. They won't have moved far - if you want to be ultra-cautious allow half a mile.

In any event you'll be fine if you keep track of the bouyage. It's not difficult navigation, just marginally more than keep the land on the left.
 
Refuge:

Dont know about South Coast but, over the years, in a variety of yachts, I have used:

Milford Haven
Dunmore East
Rosslare
Fishguard
Wicklow
Dun Laoghaire
Howth
Abersoch/Pwhllelli
Porth Dinllaen

Others I know have also used Arklow and Kilmore Quay.
 
Moved from the other thread as I did not see this one, just some thoughts on the Welsh coast..

As we can dry happily, we have always tended to stop off in places like St. Ives, Padstow, Tenby, etc. This means I tend to be more of a whimp with weather as we don't have to commit until we are completely happy. Deep water and west coast tends to be a bit of an oxymoron.

If you were needing to dart into somewhere on the west coast I would suggest - Milford (excellent), Fishguard (excellent) and Pwllheli (moderate).

By excellent I mean in almost any weather, as these are big ship entrances and you can find shelter once inside, fishguard is great if you want to anchor. We actually left the boat in Fishguard for a week once, it has another advantage that there is a train that runs to move ferry passengers, the ferries are fairly regular.

There are two harbours at Fishguard, the 'Lower Town' and 'Goodwick' (24hr), if you can't take to the ground I would suggest goodwick, which is the main harbour and where you can anchor over night.

Pwllheli is a great stopping harbour, though if you are a tight wad sailor like us, call the HM when you enter and ask to raft on the piles for the night.. this will cost you around a 3rd of using a pontoon at the marina. Again, if you can dry out on the wall there are visitors moorings in front of the HM office, there is a bog and shower at the HM, but it is pretty horrid compared to those at the marina side. There is fuel at Pwllheli. Pwllheli has nearly 24 hour access, the books say 24hr but dredging has become a bit of scrappy affair since the council has been saving money, I can't tell you much more as it does not affect us, but I often passed keel boats anchoring at the entrance if I was going in at low water.

If the weather is good and you are looking to rest, New Quay is rather pleasant, but the visitors moorings, though deep are exposed to anything with west in it. Aberystwyth, although dredged inside is still very limited to tides to get in or out, maybe 2hrs either side if you draw much. There is fuel at Aberystwyth. The prices will even make you southern lads wince.

I think it is inevitable you will stop at Milford, probably anchoring at Dale, unless you are 'touched' you will miss the tides to pass through st. Annes and St. David's Head. For the trip you suggest, around St. Davids and almost a straight line to Holyhead. Thing about St. David's Head, if you don't know it, it hides a great deal, you can be sailing along, drinking tea, laughing, and then as you approach the head, bam, roaring 40's, batten down etc. This is when Fishguard will be handy, you can dart in an collect thoughts on the rest of the trip. You will find lots of local boats in both Dale and Fishguard as they go around the head, either waiting for tides or weather.

If you are into bird watching, I suggest getting close to skomer if the weather is good.

Fairwinds, it is a great trip, I hope the weather gods play nicely for you... I am trying to get my mast unstepped on Easter weekend, bah humbug.
 
Don't forget Padstow once you're past Lands End - great watering hole and a guaranteed welcome in the inner harbour - narrow channel needs concentration but scenery superb.
If you decide to forgo Ireland after Padstow, Milford Haven is a great stop, take the westerln channel at the entrance and then take the first left-hand channel towards Dale Yacht Club and you will find a free unserviced pontoon to berth to.
After Milford, Skomer Island and Ramsay Sound are scenic spectaculars, although you need to plan your passage as tidal streams can reach 8 knots at high and low water.
Beyond Ramsay Sound, New Quay is a delightful spot to stop - the Yacht Club also have a free visitor's mooring which is better sheltered than the vistor's moorings (so long as it's not occupied!).
Further North and approx 40 nm from Holyhead, Porth Dinllaen (about 10 nm past Bardsey Sound) has a sheltered anchorage and a great pub.
Best of luck.
 
That's almost my preferred route, have done it several times. Padstow gets some bad press but I have crossed the Doom Bar in quite testing conditions and found it to be pretty straightforward. From there to Milford Haven, which can virtually always be entered, unless there's a really big SW swell and ebb out of the haven. There's a very nice anchorage/moorings north of Skomer that is well sheltered from SW, or one on the south side with good shelter form NW. Porth Dinllaen is well sheltered from SW.
 
Many many thanks Gents, to every one for their valuable and probably hard won experience.
I've just done a cursory look over the ports/harbours mentioned, some I wouldn't have even thought to look at.
A few seem to dry but as long as there is somewhere safe to anchor that's the main thing.

I'll try and take along my camera and post a few pics of where we actually do end up!
I see no one as mentioned any decent pubs!! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Quite wise as I don't thing we will have the time for such things until we are safely berthed in Holyhead.

Lets just hope we do get decent weather as my last trip on the Irish Sea last August with The Wildbirds, Carol and Susie was....errr nothing like the weather forecast.
F9 for 3 hours right in the middle of the night.
When I asked how Susie felt the next day in Kinsale (see won't mine me telling you all this)
'Well I just imagined I was an Actress in that film The Perfect Storm' (thinking of George Cloony more like!)
At which I replied..... hang on....they all died in that and in real life too! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
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