Port Dinorwic or Rowan Bay

[dave220]

Hi. I have been offered a swinging mooring just off Port Dinorwic or in Rowan Bay. Just looking for some advice on the most sheltered and easiest to get out to using a small outboard powered tender. I was thinking Rowan Bay looks more sheltered and that i could leave the car near the pub on the coast road and ferry supplies and family from there. It is obviously a bit further though and dont want to half drown the wife and kids if its a little rough. I know there are a few on here with knowledge of the Straits and i would appreciate their wisdom. Thanks

 

[Searush]

Rowan bay is indeed delightfully calm almost all of the time, but you will need to dinghy from Felinhelli (PD) anyway & it is a few hundred metres. If you take a mooring off PD it is marginally less sheltered but the dinghy trip is much shorter.

Both locations offer non-drying safe moorings, but PD is handier for nipping ashore to the pub if you like that sort of thing. If you can take the ground, then a mooring in the river at Caernarfon is much handier & more sheltered, but possibly dearer at around 80squid a mtr- ish. You get a free parking spot & space for the dinghy too.

 

[dave220]

Thanks Searush. Its a motorboat so deep water is better for us. Looks like PD would be the better option then as the pub does sound attractive and with it still being sheltered would be fine. How muddy/rocky is the shoreline to launch the tender at low water? One of the reasons to take a mooring this year is to avoid only being able to launch +- 3hrs of high tide and get more use from her

 

[Philiz]

A mooring off PD would be my choice, much easier to reach by tender. At low water boats are quite close to the shore at Rowan Bay and kids play on the beach there a lot. Although I've not heard of it happening I've often though they could reach the boats with a very short swim if they'd a mind to.

 

[TSB240]

Hi Dave

Welcome to the forum and welcome to PD....

Launching a boat at PD is not great much more than 3 hrs after high.....

The only place which is not either muddy or very slippery is off the pebble beach Caernarfon side of the Dinas Slipway.

Alternatively you could launch from the outerdock pontoon and get to a mooring very quickly off the wall there.

Phil has put you off Rowan bay but we have a friend who has a mooring there and has not had a problem with raids on his boat.

The tidal flow through the moorings in Pd is greater than Rowan Bay.

There is a very active social bunch of Forumites at PD. Look out for Phil and Liz On Shaiban. Steve and Bev on Bluenote 2, Various others on Koutsouri, Plus other on Lotus Rose and Jeremy on Thea. We are often exploring the bottom ....................
of a bottle or two somewhere around the island or if we can manage it out of the dock!

 

[Philiz]

Rowan Bay is definitely more sheltered, just always looks a bit vulnerable to me. Perhaps I need to be a bit more trusting!

Anyway, its SÌABAN.

 

[Seastoke]

kwackers manages it with his little tender and he will raid your boat anywhere its moored.

 

[TSB240]

Rowan Bay is definitely more sheltered, just always looks a bit vulnerable to me. Perhaps I need to be a bit more trusting!

Anyway, its SÌABAN.

Dickslecsic keyboard sorry Phil!

 

[Searush]

Rowan Bay is definitely more sheltered, just always looks a bit vulnerable to me. Perhaps I need to be a bit more trusting!

Anyway, its SÌABAN.

Danny Jo was in Rowan for a while & had no problems. I think the kids just hang out on the beach with a few beers & a joint or two. I've never seen anyone swimming there. In fact there are very few places around that coast where you even see the holidaymakers going swimming, never mind the locals. We are considered weird for swimming off SR & one has to be VERY aware of the tidal currents everywhere.

 

[dave220]

Thanks for all the replays, they are all very much appreciated. It's looking like a mooring off PD would be best for a couple of reasons, one for easy of getting out and we don't really want to see kids having a party on the beech when we could be quite close.
Looking at Google earth there is a slip at the marina near the dock gates, can this be used by anyone or just marina berth holders? Looks like a good place to ferry supplies etc to and from. Does it dry at low water? Thanks again for all the help, can't beat local knowledge

 

[LittleShip]

As you say local knowledge is best......... but, you will need a good tender for the moorings off PD.

The tide can run at several knots and can be challenging. Depending on the size of your boat you may find picking up a mooring at flood difficult.

Now a Warining watch out for the. North Wales Mob and hide your fun box.

Tom.

 

[TSB240]

Looking at Google earth there is a slip at the marina near the dock gates, can this be used by anyone or just marina berth holders? Looks like a good place to ferry supplies etc to and from. Does it dry at low water? Thanks again for all the help, can't beat local knowledge

Two Slips Largest one in outer Dock/marina
If you can carry your tender from the car and slide it under the barrier you wont be charged! The Key is held at lock office. Slip is very muddy after half tide at the bottom. This is when the pontoons on the inside of the outer harbour wall can be used. (vertical ladder access) Possibly at low water neaps (Phil will know better).

There is also a very small slip and beach to the north east (Menai Bridge) side of the Lock but this is also pretty slimey and muddy at most states of tide! Good spot for picking mussels though!

One thing you will soon get used to is Menai MUD! It Sticks and Stains like S**te

 

[TSB240]

As you say local knowledge is best.........
Now a Warining watch out for the. North Wales Mob and hide your fun box.
Tom.

Funny that has not been a problem since you left Tom!

I would suggest your training has paid off as it seems the norm that invited guests proffer 1 if not 2 bottles before boarding now....
The only problem is the glass recycling bin is always rammed full when you want to dispose of a cockpit full of empties the next morning.

The uninvited just get threatened with being dumped in the dock (Roy has more style than you!)

Thanks Tom your years of training are finally paying off!

Mind you I have not witnessed a Kwackers raid yet!

 

[LittleShip]

I would suggest your training has paid off as it seems the norm that invited guests proffer 1 if not 2 bottles before boarding

I knew my time there wouldn't be in vein !!!

(Roy has more style than you!) Hmm no not having that

Mind you I have not witnessed a Kwackers raid yet!

Ahh..... Kwacker..... Oh well at least you have something to look forward too !!

Tom.

Ps. James new boat should be there this evening. ??

 

[dave220]

As you say local knowledge is best......... but, you will need a good tender for the moorings off PD.

The tide can run at several knots and can be challenging. Depending on the size of your boat you may find picking up a mooring at flood difficult.

Tender is an inflatable with a 5hp on, I think it should be ok as long as we don't load it to heavily. Boat itself is a 8m mobo and my driving skills aren't brilliant sometimes so maybe time arrival at slack.


Now a Warining watch out for the. North Wales Mob and hide your fun box.

Tom.

Thanks for the warning Tom, I will keep it well guarded but it doesn't last that long with us anyway!

Two Slips Largest one in outer Dock/marina
If you can carry your tender from the car and slide it under the barrier you wont be charged! The Key is held at lock office. Slip is very muddy after half tide at the bottom. This is when the pontoons on the inside of the outer harbour wall can be used. (vertical ladder access) Possibly at low water neaps (Phil will know better).

There is also a very small slip and beach to the north east (Menai Bridge) side of the Lock but this is also pretty slimey and muddy at most states of tide! Good spot for picking mussels though!

One thing you will soon get used to is Menai MUD! It Sticks and Stains like S**te

I think I need to get down and have a proper look around as I only have a rough idea of the places your talking about. The tender would fit under a barrier and we can carry it, just, so slip might be better as we also have a dog to transport and he defiantly won't do vertical ladders!

 

[Searush]

(snip)
I think I need to get down and have a proper look around as I only have a rough idea of the places your talking about. The tender would fit under a barrier and we can carry it, just, so slip might be better as we also have a dog to transport and he defiantly won't do vertical ladders!

I THINK that Steve (TSB240) is talking about PD the dock/ marina.

There is also a slipway by the sailing club & another in the Dinas Boatyard that may be worth checking out. As to picking up moorings I do it singlehanded & have only had to give up once. I would guess the current is seldom above 4-5 kts and usually far less, but wind over tide can be an issue with a small short chop. If you have two aboard the current will not be a problem if you can motor slowly into the tide under control & the bow hand gives readable signals to you. Once the bouy is picked up I generally go forward to add muscle for getting the strop onto the cleat.

 

[dave220]

I THINK that Steve (TSB240) is talking about PD the dock/ marina.

There is also a slipway by the sailing club & another in the Dinas Boatyard that may be worth checking out. As to picking up moorings I do it singlehanded & have only had to give up once. I would guess the current is seldom above 4-5 kts and usually far less, but wind over tide can be an issue with a small short chop. If you have two aboard the current will not be a problem if you can motor slowly into the tide under control & the bow hand gives readable signals to you. Once the bouy is picked up I generally go forward to add muscle for getting the strop onto the cleat.

You certainly make it sound easy, just hope no one is around when we moor up the first few times! Any time anything boaty has gone wrong there has been an audience, whenever it's all perfect no one is around to witness it.
We are only an hour or so away from PD so now we have decided on there rather than Rowan Bay I think it's time for a proper look around ourselves. Must say everyone seems very helpful on here and there looks to be a lot of knowledge of the Straits. I am very grateful for all the advice Thanks

 

[Juggler7823]

Rowan Bay is delightful. We kept our Fulmar there for several weeks some years ago. However with the wind in the west and an out going tide it can be very wet in the inflatable getting to the boat from PD. Also left boat on mooring late Sun evening and returned Fri pm to find only one strand of the 20mm nylon mooring left intact!

 

[obmij]

You certainly make it sound easy, just hope no one is around when we moor up the first few times! Any time anything boaty has gone wrong there has been an audience, whenever it's all perfect no one is around to witness it.
We are only an hour or so away from PD so now we have decided on there rather than Rowan Bay I think it's time for a proper look around ourselves. Must say everyone seems very helpful on here and there looks to be a lot of knowledge of the Straits. I am very grateful for all the advice Thanks

If you are an hour away from PD then you're also an hour away from Rowan Bay as they are right next to each other! In effect they are the same place, the Rowan bay moorings being quieter and less choppy but a little more of a schlep in the dinghy. Not that much of an issue if you're using an outboard.

Access to the water is key. You can store your tender at Dinas boatyard for £100/year, but take a look at the ladder during a few heights of tide. Not so bad on your own but could be quite hairy carrying the outboard.

Best option I found for Rowan Bay was to head to the mooring and pick up any passengers / provisions from Rowan Beach (there is a path through the woods from the road) Likewise, when heading back drop 'em off there and suffer the ride back yourself.

Also - if you're a bit nervous about parking, Rowan Bay has 1 line of ten moorings with good spacing. PD has around 60 odd in banks of 3 and as well as being closer together there is quite a bit more tidal influence.

 

[akyaka]

The standard CHT mooring buoys only have eyes so ensure you set up a pick up arrangement