Roughly how long to sail from essex to holyhead in a 26footer?

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steve yates

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I say holyhead as i figure lots of folk will have been there as opposed to cumbria. I know i am 2 or 3 days to Maryport from anglesey.
Just trying to get my options clear in my head.

The other side of the question is, anyone got an idea of the cost of transporting a boat from essex to cumbria?

Being able to look for a bargain down here radically opens up the possibilities compared to clydeside/north wales.

Thx
 
How many hours a day do you plan to make way?

What is your average speed over the ground?

What sort of conditions are you happy to be out in?
 
I'd allow a week for the sail accounting for bad weather and the likely head winds along the S Coast. Guestimate for Hiab transport would be £700ish.
Alternatives would be sail to Hartlepool and truck across or possibley Trent Mersey canal, though no idea on the details of this.
 
I took my Moody 31 from the Clyde to Essex (Titchmarsh Marina) via the Caledonian Canal last year; I guess it's a comparable distance. I took 3 weeks; I think it worked out at about 12 days at sea. I planned on a speed of 5 knots and found that on average I was making a bit less than 6. Of course, I worked the tides as well as I could, but on the whole it didn' make much odds as I was at sea over a full tidal period. I used the engine whenever sailing would have been slower than I could do under engine, or when headed by the wind. Sailing would have taken a LOT longer, as we encountered headwinds a lot of the time!
 
AntarcticPilot said:
I took my Moody 31 from the Clyde to Essex (Titchmarsh Marina) via the Caledonian Canal last year; I guess it's a comparable distance. I took 3 weeks; I think it worked out at about 12 days at sea. I planned on a speed of 5 knots and found that on average I was making a bit less than 6. Of course, I worked the tides as well as I could, but on the whole it didn' make much odds as I was at sea over a full tidal period. I used the engine whenever sailing would have been slower than I could do under engine, or when headed by the wind. Sailing would have taken a LOT longer, as we encountered headwinds a lot of the time!
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I think this sounds like a reasonable timetable but I'd bank on 4 knots rather than 5 for most 26 footers, especially punching into a likely SWesterly down the South coast, plus a bit of contingency for a week weatherbound here and there. With a good weather window, using the tides for each headland and a crew happy to overnight whenever conditions are favourable you could cut that down a bit.
 
I got quoted 1200 to transport a centaur from ipswich or thereabouts to poole. Can't remember which site but it was an online quote service like Shipley but for boats.
 
I'd be a little bit cautious about setting off on that trip in a newly-purchased "bargain" boat. Many boats fitting that description have been languishing unused for a while, and may well experience mechanical or fuel-bug issues when they're next taken to sea. Unless I could afford the time to spend a couple of weeks checking things out in Essex before setting off, I'd send it by road.
 
I think the OP needs to indicate whether he is talking about non-stop ( which requires willing crew), day sailing and stopping every night or somewhere in between.

hence the advice varying from one to three weeks.
 
davidej said:
I think the OP needs to indicate whether he is talking about non-stop ( which requires willing crew), day sailing and stopping every night or somewhere in between.

hence the advice varying from one to three weeks.
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And you are unlikely to be able to go anything close to non-stop in a 26 footer round all those corners and tidal gates and without hitting some adverse weather - with SWesterlies I can imagine the Lands End to Anglesey in one go if it's fairly benign but the South Coast stretch may be much more hassly to do compared to a few stops.
 
steve yates said:
I say holyhead as i figure lots of folk will have been there as opposed to cumbria. I know i am 2 or 3 days to Maryport from anglesey.
Just trying to get my options clear in my head.

The other side of the question is, anyone got an idea of the cost of transporting a boat from essex to cumbria?

Being able to look for a bargain down here radically opens up the possibilities compared to clydeside/north wales.

Thx
Click to expand...
I did Falmouth to Newlynn 1 day, Newlynn to Padstow 1 day, Padstow to Dale 1 day, Dale to Fishguard 1 day,
Gives you a flavour.
Stu
 
JumbleDuck said:
As the owner of a 26 footer, I agree. A hundred miles a day is a nice easy figure to work with, and generally seems OK.
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A hundred miles at 4 knots is 25 hours.
OTOH 3 weeks for 550m is an average of 26 miles per day.
'26ft boat' can be anything from a lightweight day racer to brick outhouse designed to laugh at the Atlantic.

Allow a few days for poor weather, a day or two for breakages, a few days where you want to stop off and not be on the boat 24/7?
Do we want to enjoy it, or just get it done?

Are we talking keen crew or short handed?

Shorthanded, if I had to put a finger in the air, I'd suggest 11 50 mile days plus an allowance for poor weather.

26ft boat I would consider borrowing a mate with a LandRover and borrow/hire/acquire a trailer?

OTOH, if I knew I had a month off, I would sail it and visit a few places.
 
Between 9 and 14 days as long as you don't hit really bad weather assuming that you are not going to continuously sail / motor if you did it could be shorter
Essex -Eastbourne- Solent- Dartmouth-Fowey-Penzance/Newlyn-Padstow-Milford haven-Holyhead So a minimum 8 days assuming you made good progress. You might have to divert into Poole or Weymouth or Plymouth or Falmouth so a few more days there so allowing for weather and rest it could easily rack up to 3 weeks.
 
davidej said:
I think the OP needs to indicate whether he is talking about non-stop ( which requires willing crew), day sailing and stopping every night or somewhere in between.

hence the advice varying from one to three weeks.
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you are quite right, but actually it would depend :)

I am assuming singlehanded day sails, prob leave it once or twice and go back to work, or if I had crew might push it harder.

Thanks for the replies, As long as 3 weeks of sailing time sounds reasonable I'd rather sail than trail.

It's just to give me more options, my first choice is a longbow ketch in scotland, which in truth is bigger than I need presently, I just love the idea of having a ketch :) but if that doesn't pan out I'll look at anything else.
 
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