Portland too cumbria 10th August

L

liam the novice

New Member
Joined
27 Jul 2025
Messages
2
Visit site
Hi all iam very new too sailing and I would appreciate some advice for my trip up to Cumbria from portland. Have recently bought a, catamaran dean 365 and plan on sailing her back home on the 10th of August was just wondering if the inside passage is best for a 1st timer or would I be better off heading out as I have seen of over comments. Have too keep this in mind she only will have one 10hp engine working ! Also is this something I need to address? Thanks for taking the time to read this the advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Welcome

That seems a very ambitious passage for a novice with a new boat that is maybe not best prepared if only one of the engines work. TBH getting round the Bill is the least of your problems - there are far more challenging bits further on. There are a couple of threads running on this forum with advice for rounding the Bill. It is probably the most written about passage in south coast sailing. From Portland just follow the instructions in any of the pilot books to pick up the tide as it turns south outside the harbour. You will not be alone!. Inshore is preferred starting from Portland because going south to avoid the race is hard work and adds considerably to the passage time. It is more commonly used by those coming direct from either the Solent or Poole on a non stop to the west country ports.

Suggest before you go anywhere you do as much sailing as you can to sort out any issues with the boat and particularly get the other engine working properly - you will need to do a lot of motoring on your proposed passage. what is your outline plan? as there are several choices, primarily about how you deal with the long exposed leg around Lands End and then north or north west. How much time have you allowed for the passage?
 
Tranona said:
.......
Suggest before you go anywhere you do as much sailing as you can to sort out any issues with the boat and particularly get the other engine working properly - you will need to do a lot of motoring on your proposed passage. .....
Click to expand...
As ever, wise words from Tranona.

So many delivery trips of recently purchased boats end up with severe problems, RNLI rescue or worse.
Unless a well proven boat and very experienced skipper (with full toolkit), the advice is always to sail locally for a few weeks to learn about the boat and fix the teething issues before heading further afield.

The second bit of advice is never to choose a fixed date for a trip round tricky headlands and/or stormy seas. Try to be flexible and ONLY go when the weather is suitable, not when it suits your work / holiday calendar.
 
Last edited:
I've made that trip, singlehanded several times, and continued on up to Scotland.
I found rounding Portland Bill using the inside passage easy. The difficult bit is getting across the Bristol Channel to Milford Haven.
I've always used the direct route from Penzance, you can detour up the Bristol Channel, but my feeling is that it only adds a lot of extra miles.
Which ever way you go it's a long passage and I've found that the sea state is usually confused, with several long Atlantic swells coming from different directions, and locally wind generated wave adding to the mix. This makes the crossing very uncomfortable.
I'd be very wary of crossing the Bristol Channel in a boat which is new to you, especially if you haven't got much experience. Plan "B's" are hard to find when you are in the middle of the Bristol Channel, probably out of VHF and Molile range.
I'd suggest that start with some short day sales back to a base, that has facilities to fix any which become apparent. Then do a couple of overnight trips, anchoring at night, to get use to the boat.
Then have really good think about how confident you feel about the trip.
And get the second engine sorted.
 
Tranona said:
Welcome

That seems a very ambitious passage for a novice with a new boat that is maybe not best prepared if only one of the engines work. TBH getting round the Bill is the least of your problems - there are far more challenging bits further on. There are a couple of threads running on this forum with advice for rounding the Bill. It is probably the most written about passage in south coast sailing. From Portland just follow the instructions in any of the pilot books to pick up the tide as it turns south outside the harbour. You will not be alone!. Inshore is preferred starting from Portland because going south to avoid the race is hard work and adds considerably to the passage time. It is more commonly used by those coming direct from either the Solent or Poole on a non stop to the west country ports.

Suggest before you go anywhere you do as much sailing as you can to sort out any issues with the boat and particularly get the other engine working properly - you will need to do a lot of motoring on your proposed passage. what is your outline plan? as there are several choices, primarily about how you deal with the long exposed leg around Lands End and then north or north west. How much time have you allowed for the passage?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice it's very much understood and taken on board, I am planning on sailing her up north all the way too barrow in furness Cumbria, where she is going too be taken out the water for possibly 2 years for a full refit ! I have given myself and my good friend who's saild before as well who's more experienced than myself about 4 days for the passage. Was planning on doing the sail non stop all the way if iam honest, I have been sailing my good friends Prout catamaran now for months getting the hang of things so have an idea and some sort of understanding on the sailing basics. Your advice is much appreciated thanks very much
 
Yes, as above. Get some sea miles locally so you know the boat. As a novice you need experience, get as much as you can. Get some training fromnyhe RYA. Getting on and off a berth, passage planning/navigation and so on.

Get the tools aboard that you may need.

Get the other engine going and service them both.

Take the appropriate seasickness pills befoe you leave on any longer expedition, and keep taking 'em. Kwells or stergeron.

This is the start of a long list.
How are you at fixing stuff. Cruising is fixing stuff. Every trip I've been on something essential has needed attention from rig, to engines, to electrics. Even simple stuff like shackles breaking. Have you got spares for everything? Carry spare fuel filters, impellers, drive belts. Nuts n bolts, shackles, jubilee clips, electrical repair kit, sailmakers needle thread and palm thimble.

I'm sure others can add to the list. Planning and preperation is key.
 
liam the novice said:
Thanks for the advice it's very much understood and taken on board, I am planning on sailing her up north all the way too barrow in furness Cumbria, where she is going too be taken out the water for possibly 2 years for a full refit ! I have given myself and my good friend who's saild before as well who's more experienced than myself about 4 days for the passage. Was planning on doing the sail non stop all the way if iam honest, I have been sailing my good friends Prout catamaran now for months getting the hang of things so have an idea and some sort of understanding on the sailing basics. Your advice is much appreciated thanks very much
Click to expand...
Sorry - even more scary. Of course experience on other similar boats is useful, but I am not sure you fully understand what is involved in this type of passage in a boat that needs a refit. Coastal hopping down the SW coast is a good start and relatively straightforward but as in post#4 once you get past Lands End you are in a very different world - exposed to the prevailing weather with no convenient refuge. Leaving on 10 August and expecting to do it non stop in 4 days is just hopelessly unrealistic. How far have you actually sailed your boat? and in what sort of conditions?
 
I've had a quick look at the design of the Dean 365. It look to be typical for the era it was designed in, emphasis on space on live aboard facilities, rather than performance. I doubt that it will sail that well to windward, it's reputed to require the engines to tack. They were built in South Africa and many have made successful ocean crossings.
However, it's not the sort of boat I choose to sail up the west coast of the UK on a restricted time table.
If the forecast wind has winds with any northerly component, between say WNW and ENE, you'll have great difficulty making any progress north under sail. If the wind is generally in the south the passage should be quite rapid.
The standard fit for engines seem to be Yanmar 1GM10's. These are will known engines ( I've had 2) and are generally easy to fix with a good, if expensive, supply of spare parts. With two 1GM 10's progress up wind, in a high windage cat will be slow, and I doubt you'd make much progress with one 1GM 10.
So you may be looking at having to wait for a good forecast. My assessment is that 4 days for the passage is optimistic.

1) On my last trip north we started from Chichester, made Portland Harbour the first night.
2) Up early the second day to catch the tide around the Bill.
3) Got to Penance the next day, and anchored off the beach.
4) Up very early the following morning, around Lands End via the inshore passage to Milford Haven, we didn't get there until after midnight, it was run not too much wind, very rolley in a confused sea. We anchored just of Church Bay out of the shipping channel.
5) The following day we got through the tidal gates at Skokholm, Skomer and Ramsay Island and anchored off Fishguard.
6) The next day we sailed north and anchor in Abersoch Roads.
7) Through Bardsey Island sound in thick fog to Hollyhead, the next day.
8) 3 days in Holyhead on a visitors mooring whilst a gale blew through.
9) We sailed up the east coast if the Isle of Man and anchored just inside the Mull of Galloway ..... roughly where you want to get to.

Bearing in mind that I was sailing single handed and needed to stop every night to get some sleep and food, and that I was sailing quite a fast 46ft monohull, doing at least 7 knots when there was sufficient wind. It took me 8 days of sailing and 3 days of sheltering from a gale.

So perhaps you can see why I think that a 4 day window for the trip with no contingency is, how should I put this tactfully, optimistic?
 
liam the novice said:
…….., I am planning on sailing her up north all the way too barrow in furness Cumbria, where she is going too be taken out the water for possibly 2 years for a full refit !
Click to expand...
If the boat needs a 2 year refit it increases substantially the risks of the planned delivery trip. Definitely need to do plenty of local short trips pre-departure.
liam the novice said:
I have given myself …….. about 4 days for the passage. …
Click to expand...
Unless you are very diligent and thorough in terms of checking long range forecasts before departure (very important), you could easily spend 4 days weather bound in one harbour waiting for a suitable weather window to do the next stage of the voyage
 
All enthisiastic keen sailors on here.

But get the drift!?

Join a local sailing club, get some experience.

Did anyone say that, GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!

That said, novices have completed amazing voyages in below par boats before (more down too luck than judgement??)

Good luck, let us know how it goes.
 
Last edited:
If you are sailing non stop then 4 days is about right - with a decent forecast. Staying offshore avoids the tricky headlands. My wife sailed our 34 foot yacht from Portland to N Wales last August in 3 days non stop and Barrow is only a bit further.
 
As many above have said above your plans, while doable, are not wize in an unknown boat with one engine out of order.

Once you turn the corner at Lands End there sod all shelter til South Wales. North Cornwall as a lea shore is not a place i would want to be should things start to go wrong.
 
Interestingly, I was in a similar position to you, a short while ago. New to yacht owning, not much sailing experience (just dinghy sailing ** years ago). Now the "proud" owner of an 1983 Moody 29 (fin keel monohull). My delivery trip was just about 1 1/2 hours, mostly within river estuaries, although including transit of busy .Falmouth. I sailed with an experienced friend for company/crew. So, a few thoughts with the benefit of my (limited) experience:

It sounds like you have limited sailing experience, so definitely take an experienced friend with you. The trip you plan will take a lot more than 4 days, and that's before you take into account the weather (which, even in August, can be "interesting"). I suspect two weeks is more likely, longer if you plan to anchor up overnight, rather than sail in the dark.

Your planned route will include rugged (unforgiving!) coasts, strong tidal currents, busy commercial shipping routes and "Traffic Separation Schemes". Either you or your sailing companion will need to know how to deal with these.

You mention the plan for a 2-year refit, and a single 10HP engine. Please ensure your yacht is fit for the journey. It's a long way/time to spend in a vessel that is lacking satisfactory facilities. Does the toilet work? Galley OK (not just the kettle - you will need to eat)? I'm assuming the rigging and sails are OK? 10HP isn't much to keep a 362(?) catamaran out of trouble. What do you know about the health of the engine? Mine has an ex-lifeboat 24HP Bukh with less than 20 hours use - one of the main selling-points for buying her.

You won't be the first to make such a trip, so it can certainly be done. A mate of mine bought a yacht in Scotland and sailed her to Cornwall - old and with an engine in need of replacement. He'd spent his younger years on a North Sea trawler and a lot of time at sea since, but (as far as I know) not much actual sailing. He survived.

Good luck!
 
mikefleetwood said:
The trip you plan will take a lot more than 4 days, and that's before you take into account the weather (which, even in August, can be "interesting"). I suspect two weeks is more likely
Click to expand...
The Fastnet Race 1979 and Storm Antoni 2023, which has me running for Falmouth and recording winds greater than 50 knots.
 
mikefleetwood said:
…….

You mention the plan for a 2-year refit, and a single 10HP engine. Please ensure your yacht is fit for the journey. ……..10HP isn't much to keep a 362(?) catamaran out of trouble. What do you know about the health of the engine? ….
Click to expand...
I am no expert in cats, but would a cat with only a small engine working in the windward hull be able to make any progress upwind, eg to clear a lee shore?
Eg if only the port engine worked, and a strong headwind on the port side, will the boat be able to make any progress or will the combination of windage and power on only one side mean the bows would simply blow downwind? In which case this could be dangerous.
As noted, no expert on cats, but I assumed the would need to use the leeward engine if running in single engine mode.
 
It depends on your acceptance of risks. The chap that bought my boat was very green but resourceful. He has been learning as he went. I would have been terrified of his plans, but he seemingly doesn't mind if he dies. He's making great progress.
 
Yes, it does depend on your attitude to risk. I sold my Eventide 26 (in Poole) to somebody who had his berth on the Severn estuary. He was very experienced with ocean passages under his belt. The boat had just finished a refit having been laid up for 8 years. Although the boat was very capable and had done similar passages in both my and previous ownership, much of the new stuff was untried. I would have put it on a truck but he was happy and got there in one piece.
 
Liam the novice. There is plenty of advice already provided that you should follow. Recently I moved my Westerly Fulmar, 32ft monohull, from Chatham to Pwllheli singlehanded. My original plan was to do this in 8 days but I actually took 9½ days. A report of the trip is here and the second part from Weymouth should interest you. I expect the boat speed you will achieve should be similar to my boat, but note how long my sailing days were.

Concerto

Thread 'Concerto is on the move'

On Wednesday afternoon Concerto finally departed from Chatham Maritime Marina after just over a decade. It was a sad day think that I would never sail on the Medway or Thames again. No I have not sold Concerto, but last year I moved from Kent to Cheshire. Finally after having to clear out my old business storage unit which I finished at 10pm on Tuesday, I started to sail to new waters and adventures.

On Wednesday I had a few pre-leaving jobs to complete and caught to afternoon high tide at 3pm. As I left I did not know whether I should just go down river and moor in Queenborough or sail...
  • Like
  • Love

I should mention I am very experienced and have completed a round Britain singlehanded via the top of Shetland. If you follow the link in my signature you will find plenty of links to working on a boat and sailing, including links to YouTube of some of my trips.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top