Passage advice from Plymouth

[mr_targ]

Greetings, all. I've just purchased a Marcon Sabre 27 (my first boat!), currently berthed in Queen Anne's Quay in Plymouth. The berth is paid until the end of March, at which time I would like to sail her around to Portishead Marina, where I intend to keep her for the next year.

I am aware of the care necessary in rounding Land's End, but am particularly curious about the best route from there to Portishead, given the very fast tides of the Channel and limited safe havens on the Cornish and Devon coasts. Would it perhaps be better to sail across the tide to South Wales, then back across the Channel from Cardiff? How long would you estimate the journey should take? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Morpheous]

Sounds like a fun voyage, can't offer much advice on the sailing aspect of it. I recommend you get hold of the Bristol Channel and River Severn Cruising Guide by Peter Cumberlidge. This will help you plan your stops. The south Wales coast has a few more options if the tide is out, North Devon/Somerset coast has limited stopping facilities unless you can dry out.

Say hello when you get to Portishead

 

[Allan]

We recently brought a Mystery 28 from Plymouth to Cardiff and had a great trip. We sailed to Newlyn and had a break, then around Lands end and direct to Cardiff. Stopping at Newlyn means you can get to Runnel stone at exactly the right time to get all the extra tide up the coast. Some people time it so they get into Padstow but I don't like it as it can be a bit of a glue pot and adds a long time to the trip.
In my opinion you should not think of going to anywhere west of Barry on the Welsh coast unless you want to turn it into a cruise.
Although I have never done it, I'm sure it would be possible to go direct from Bull head to Portishead in one go. I have sailed on the ebb all the way up to Porlock, you have to stay very tight inshore all the way until the tide turns. I believe you could make Portishead before the tide turns again.
It is a wonderful trip, you should really enjoy it.
Allan

 

[Bosun Higgs]

If the OP uses the search engine he will find that this exact question has been asked and answered in detail twice before

 

[Daveybouy]

He was asking for advice, not sarcastic criticism.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Suggest Davebuoy that you buy yourself a dictionary and look up the definition of both " sarcasm" and "criticism" before you make further silly comments.

I was pointing out that this question has been asked before and answered before so the OP would find it useful to have a look at the previous posts where there were far more than the few answers he has received here.

 

[sarabande]

is that the twin bilge keel one ?

If so, lots of good, sheltered drying-out harbours on the N coast of Devon. Better views of the coastline than SWales - apart from Hinkley Point Nukular Power Station.

 

[mr_targ]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I had previously tried and failed to find previous discussions on this route; I'm not sure where I went wrong, as there are a couple of very informative threads earlier in this forum. D'oh!

I've spent weeks checking Mollymauk over and making her properly seaworthy - no small challenge. I have certainly learnt that there are no 5 minute jobs where a boat is concerned. We will be in Plymouth from Sunday making final repairs and preparations, hoping to set sail on Wednesday morning. I will make sure to update the forum with news of our journey.

 

[mr_targ]

ps - She's a fin, not bilge keel. I was thinking of going for a twin or bilge keel, considering my intended cruising ground, but this Sabre was just too good an opportunity to pass up. It is a shame I shan't be able to dry her out, though...

 

[Allan]

Good luck with the passage, I hope you have a great time, I'm sure you will.
Allan

 

[donm]

ps - She's a fin, not bilge keel. I was thinking of going for a twin or bilge keel, considering my intended cruising ground, but this Sabre was just too good an opportunity to pass up. It is a shame I shan't be able to dry her out, though...

Sabres dry out fine with legs as they have plenty of flat keel to take the ground. And leaning against a wall should be a doddle so don't be put off.

 

[karl74]

We've just got back from bringing my new boat from plymouth to weston-super-mare. The trip was good apart from a few issues with the new boat and the weaather against us. We went from Plymouth to Falmouth, Falmouth to Newlyn, Newlyn to Porlock to wait for the tide and then into Weston this morning. Good luck with your trip.

 

[PEEJAYSEA]

Passage Planning

Guys (Karl74, Allan & Mr. targ)

Just reading through this thread and wondering how long it took you to complete these passages?



I am considering moving Windthief from Barry in the summer and heading East as we live in Luxembourg. Probably looking at mooring in Holland or East Coast.

I don't want to scare the pants oput of SWMBO (and myself) but we have six weeks to play with in Jul and Aug. This will be our first summer on her so looking at options!

I am expecting Windthief to meander along at 5 - 6 knots max.

We had talked about doing the West Coast (Wales, Cornwall etc) and possibly going to the IOM so have plenty of options to consider.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Regards
Paul