New Beginning in the UK

[gracia]

Hi everyone,

Nowadays my sea and sailing love fired again I have experience ~5000 nm around Marmara and Aegean Sea for 5 years. We used to live in the boats 3 months in the summers. We have moved to UK in 2016 and till today I am just remembering my those old days

Our last boat was a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47. I want to re-start sea sailing with a 28-30 feet sailing boat. But I have no experience on tidal seas and marinas in the UK. I live in Manchester and can travel 1-2 hrs away if needed for my sailing love

Can anyone help me where and how can I start. I know its a huge question but any idea or any help can be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[NealB]

It sounds like you are probably reasonably competent in the basics of: boat handling, sailing, passage planning, colregs. and so on.

Most of those are, of course, just as relevant in the UK as they were in the Med.

The biggest difference is our wonderful tides, with some big ranges (high to low water), and some serious tidal streams.

I guess the main ways of gaining that sort of knowledge are:

- books. Loads of good books around to show you the fundamentals of how to use tidal information for depth, course to steer, passage planning.

- an online course

- a practical course, though, right now, this is probably not a realistic option, of course

- asking questions on well known sailing fora. There's some very knowledgeable, helpful, experienced people around who are happy to share their thoughts.

 

[JimC]

I would visit all the local clubs and chat to the members, you'll learn a lot that way. Clubs I know off that are within two hours drive of Manchester are:

Liverpool Yacht Club
Ribble Cruising Club
Fleetwood Harbour Yacht Club
Blackpool and Fleetwood Yacht Club
Glasson Sailing Club

There may be more. I live in Saddleworth which is near Manchester and I'm a member of Glasson Sailing Club. It's about one and a half hours drive in average conditions.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Here is an informative article on how to mentally calculate the rise and fall of tide - The Rule of Twelfths:
eOceanic - 'Rule of Twelfths': a simple method for estimating intermediate tidal heights.
This is suitable for most practical purposes when used with an accurate tide table such as is found in Reed's Nautical Almanac, a book which should be on board every cruising boat, as i contains a wealth of information.
There is a more accurate method, which calculates the time and height of tide to two decimal places, but this is only really required for a Yachtmaster Theory Examination
Top Tips: Tides | Navigation | Cruising Tips | Knowledge & Advice | RYA - Royal Yachting Association
There are plenty of sailing manuals available, which explain and illustrate all aspects of the art and science of sailing, the best of which considered to be "The Complete Day Skipper" and "The Complete Yachtmaster", by Tom Cunliffe.
I note you mention that you are undergoing training....Good!
Best of luck in your quest for the right boat, but don't be in too much of a hurry. Get some experience on other peoples ' boats, even (specially) if it involves paying for training courses, as this will help you to form opinions as to the right boat for you.

 

[PTB]

Look at NW Venturers YC in Beaumaris, Anglesey. I am bias however.

 

[Halo]

If I lived in Manchester I would sail out of N Wales or W Scotland most likely Conwy or the Menai. You do need to get the tides right in these areas but given your experience that just needs a little time and effort.

 

[Skylark]

I live in south Manchester. Over the years, I've sailed out of Liverpool, Conwy and in The Menai but none compare to Holyhead in terms of 24 hour access to the water. That said, Holyhead has very significant tidal gates when heading clockwise, Carmel Head, and anticlcokwise, The Stacks, around the island. It is the best location, imho, as a base for cruising Llyn Peninsular, Ireland, IoM, Scotland west coast etc. I only left because the marina was destroyed a couple of years ago by Storm Emma. The sailing club moorings may be an option.

Ports on the English NW coast are very restricted due to tide. The Clyde is a fairly reliable 4 hour car journey from Manchester. The scenery is breathtaking and the people are very warm, friendly and welcoming (perhaps with the exception of our SNP obsessive troll Webbie ). It has only weak tides so would be an ideal introduction. There's a good choice of marinas.

In my retirement I also spend a lot of time on Lake Solent. It is a very unreliable drive from Manchester and takes anything from 4 to 7 hours. By comparison to The Clyde it is very congested and significantly more expensive. It's also tidal and there are more hazards to catch the unwary and ill prepared.

 

[TSB240]

Your timing is not great!

The best area for a taste of tidal sailing for you would be around North Wales and Angelsey. There is the national water sports centre at Plas Menai. This is run under the guidance of the RYA and used to offer "taster" sessions of sailing around Angelsey or over to the IOM. They like all sailing schools are currently closed. In addition there are other independent sailing schools North Wales Power and Sail based out of Port Dinorwic or Boom sailing based out of Conwy who may offer the same.
All will be waiting for Wales to be opened up to visitors hopefully in July. They may be limited to day sailing . This would still give you the experience of understanding and using the tides to your advantage.

There are many local clubs that offer support for newcomers to the area should you make a decision to purchase and Wales is fully open to english mancunian invaders!

I can recommend the Royal Welsh Yacht Club for support if you intend to have a base on the best part of the Menai Strait.

There are alternatives of the NWCC at Conwy and The NWVYC at Beaumaris.
There isnt a 24 hour sea access marina in North Wales given the loss of Holyhead.

Most limited access marinas are pretty full (Victoria Dock, Port Dinorwic, Conwy and Deganwy) but it is still worth asking if they have space.
There are seasonal deep water swinging moorings available at Holyhead, via Caernarfon Harbour Trust, Port Dinorwic Marina or Gwynedd County Council around Angelsey. I am not sure but I think Conwy CC are responsible for moorings in Conwy.
There are half tide seasonal moorings in the River Seionte at Caernarfon and Beaumaris that are suitable for boats that can take to the ground.
Steve.

 

[gracia]

Thanks to everyone. I know timing is not good nowadays but I am just warming up Seems local sailing clubs will be a good starting point. Hope to meet you somewhere near the sea very soon. Thanks again.