Moving a yacht from Newcastle to Milford, which way?

[Big Andy]

I've only had a few weeks sailing experience or at least will have before this trip so would like to ask the more experienced hands for advice.

I have done a fair bit of boating with fishing and diving in my past but not much with sails other than as crew. I'll be doing a two week sailing course in greece this month leading to day skipper then want to bring my own boat home. I know there are no tides in the Med to deal with but have had to deal with and plan for them many times while organising dive trips. It's not navigaion or even boat handling while motoring, it's sailing I have to learn and that won't happen in two weeks I know.

That's the scenario, so any input would be good except for don't do it. I have the option of a weeks sailing drop it of at a marina and return two weeks or so later for the next leg and repeat as necessary. This would allow me to do a bit of work in between (I'm semi retired so optional) or just go for it and accept sitting in shelter/marina when weather makes it prudent to do so.

The first decision is should I go North then cut through Scotland inland or go South and through the channel. North would be less merchant traffic and far better scenery but with a higher chance of interesting weather.

The boat by the way is a Westerly Corsair and crew will be the Mrs with even less experience than me, although friends may join us from time to time.

 

[Motor_Sailor]

. . . and crew will be the Mrs with even less experience than me, although friends may join us from time to time.

Well, the most important thing is to make sure you both want to continue sailing when it's all done and dusted! So take it steady and really work out a strategy that will work for you both.

Going north or south both have their advantages, but also some long stretches which are far from easy.

I think you probably need to garner some more resources before attempting this. Relying on friends who 'may join you' from time to time probably isn't good enough. I would consider starting with an instructor on board followed by more guaranteed crew for the trickier legs.

Either route with the right support and back up has the potential to be a great learning experience and the start of a brilliant sailing adventure. But get it wrong . . .

 

[Pinnacle]

Take it by road?

Serious suggestion.

 

[Stemar]

I've never gone either way round, so make no claims to expertise, but here's my 2p'th

The boat's fine for the trip and you'll be fine. You clearly understand the sea enough and will have a fair idea of how the sails work after your DS course. The important thing is not to frighten the Lady Admiral, so I'd look for a hand on the long passages. A local sailing club would be a good palce to look, or there are websites like Crewseekers where you can advertise for crew - just don't plan a difficult bit with untried crew.

Going North is shorter and Marinas, generally, are cheaper. I believe the Caledonian and Crinian canals can be done mast up. The Union canal, between the Forth and the Clyde cuts out a big chunk of the N sea, but would need the mast to come down. (Not 100% sure on the mast for either route) My choice would be the Caledonian, just because it's so lovely, provided I got a good weather window and crew for the bit between the Forth and the Moray. The Caldonian would be a great place to break your good lady in gently, too!

 

[vyv_cox]

Wind direction is often the primary consideration. It assumes mostly prevailing south-westerlies but my experience on the west coast and the North Sea is that it's north-westerlies that cause the greatest inconvenience, although you could have winds on the nose all the way along the south coast of England. I think I would go anti-clockwise, bearing in mind the dodge we have used many times of crossing the North Channel and coming down the Irish side of the Irish Sea to improve comfort. It's an easy crossing to Milford from that side.

 

[adwuk]

Another vote for going North. You'll be protected from the prevailing winds most of the way, and have plenty of places to hide if the weather turns. The same cannot be said about the Bristol Channel.

 

[[3889]]

North, but I'd be very cautious about introducing your wife to UK sailing with a trip like that, assuming it will be an introduction.

 

[Caer Urfa]

Another vote for going North. You'll be protected from the prevailing winds most of the way, and have plenty of places to hide if the weather turns. The same cannot be said about the Bristol Channel.

Your trip to Milford Haven from Newcatle is fine but I suggest due to lack of experience you should do your homework carefully.

Taking the Northern route is fine IF you plan it carefully, however I disagree with the above as from the Tyne to lets say Anstruther there is not that many 'bolt holes'.

• From the Tyne you have an easy run Blyth and Amble, then make sure of your next weather window as its to the Farnes which depending on the wind can offer some shelter but not always.
• From the Farnes is another long stretch maybe Berwick but next stop would be Eyemouth, however not advised to attempt in really bad weather.
• From Eyemouth its to Dunbar then another long stretch to maybe Anstruther.
• Don't also make the mistake the Forth is ok weather wise and also a busy shipping area.

As said do your homework weather wise and have a safe trip

Good luck

 

[bitbaltic]

Truck it. 100%. There is a good chance of your missus insisting you sell it before you get it to Milford if you take either route with little experience of making progress under sail.

If you must sail it go north. But really, just truck it and enjoy the Haven this summer rather than land yourself with hassle.

What happened to that rather cool plywood boat??

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Wind direction is often the primary consideration. It assumes mostly prevailing south-westerlies but my experience on the west coast and the North Sea is that it's north-westerlies that cause the greatest inconvenience, although you could have winds on the nose all the way along the south coast of England. I think I would go anti-clockwise, bearing in mind the dodge we have used many times of crossing the North Channel and coming down the Irish side of the Irish Sea to improve comfort. It's an easy crossing to Milford from that side.

+1

 

[[70521]]

Truck it.

I bought my first boat on the Bristol Channel and after carefully considering a trip round Lands End to the Exe took the easy option and stuck it on the back of a truck.

 

[JVL]

Go north through the Caledonian canal you shouldn't have any serious problems ! the canals a break for both of you. once you exit the canal at Corpach four to five days will see you in Milford! use those tides!

john

 

[Concerto]

Strongly advise joining the Westerly Owners Association, its a bargain at £15 per anum. You can the place a free advert on their crew wanted page. Also the WOA Forum is worth joining, and its free! You will have access to lots of specialist knowledge on the Corsair and owners who can help with advice.

Knowing your sailing experience, I would make sure you have someone with a lot of sailing experience to assist you for the whole journey. It will help you learn and give confidence to the Ladt Admiral. If you are still not sure then road it for speed and ease, then get more sailing time in your planned area.

If you have not arranged insurance yet, then have a serious look at the Westerly Owners scheme as it has many extra benefits over a standard policy and has a discount as well.

 

[RIBW]

I've only had a few weeks sailing experience or at least will have before this trip so would like to ask the more experienced hands for advice.

Dear Mr Big,
Based on 50+ years on the water, if I had the problem, these would be my favoured options in order of preference:-
1. Road Transport.
2. Delivery crew on fixed price.
3. North about {Caledonian) with a large budget for marina stays 'en route', not less that three qualified watchkeepers (i.e. Skipper + 2) on every leg an no 'passengers'.
4. South about with a huge marina budget, 3 watchkeepers and a crew for Newlyn to Milford that know the issues on that leg.
Good Luck
Bob

 

[Iminei]

I was in a similar situation moving my new (to me) boat from Fareham to Weymouth. All went well but I had the benefit of regular ports of refuge. It was hard enough though as a relative newbie with DS. Is there a compromise? Maybe truck to somewhere on the Lancashire coast?

 

[Kwik Decision]

You could consider the delivery trip to be a half circumnavigation of Britain. Take it reasonably slowly by breaking it down to day sails, enjoy visiting various places en route, and go home for breaks as required by the weather or need to work. That's more or less what we did on our round Britain a couple of yrs ago, and it worked well. You could even get a head start in by recruiting a couple of experience crew, and charging up to Inverness in one hit (~250 NM or around 48 hrs in favourable weather) before the Admiral joins you for the scenic Scottish bits. I've assumed going via the Caladonian canal with this plan....

 

[Fascadale]

Easy..........north about

There are two very long "legs" between Newcastle and Milford if you take the southern route: there are no deep water harbours between the Humber and Lowestoft so you have almost 100 miles of sandbank dodging with no safe refuges. The second long leg is another 100mile plus passage round Land's End and across to Milford, again not many convenient bolt holes. You also have the challenges of crossing the Thames estuary, sandbanks and heavy traffic, and then getting through the eastern end of the channel, more sandbanks and more traffic. Added to that the North Sea coast is mega dull, and the eastern channel not much better.

Going north about your longest east coast passage is less than 50 miles from Eyemouth to Arbroath. The Moray Firth is attractive with plenty of attractive harbours. The Caley canal (mast up, as is the Crinan) is easy, Fort William to Ulster very beautiful, the Irish Sea dull but with enough ports of refuge and bingo, you are at Milford. No long passages, not much traffic, except around Aberdeen and Peterhead, great scenery and the chance to sail through some of Britains finest cruising areas.

If your wife is not a great sailor then the suggeston for her to join you for the Caley canal is an excellent one. If she is enjoying it she could carry on down the West Coast of Scotland but may want to jump ship before the Irish Sea.

South about you will need a strong crew and it will be a chore, north about is easy shorthanded cruising

North about, its a no brainer

 

[Big Andy]

Well the consensus seems to be the Northern route and through the canal. That was my thought as well so that's good. I had thought of trucking it across but what's the point if when it gets there it'll go in the water and be sailed by the same crew. If there was a timed schedual to work through that could cause problems and presure but as it's basically an extended holiday, weather shouldn't be a problem , we can just sit in the marina/pub until all looks good then move on. There's not many good things about being old but this retiring lark looks OK to me. I will keep you updated with things as it progresses for those of you like me who enjoy a good laugh at other peoples expence. Thanks to all for your advice, even the ones I didn't take, just hope that's not a mistake.

 

[Big Andy]

What happened to that rather cool plywood boat??

I'm afraid it didn't do to well in the survey, it could be done but wouldn't be ready for this season, also it was cedar strip plank not ply.

 

[Stemar]

this retiring lark looks OK to me

Oh it is, but if you want it to stay that way, close your email account, change your phone number and throw away the mobile :encouragement: