Route check - Portishead to Chepstow

vodzurk

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Hi All,

So given all the faff with getting the (mobo) boat looked at, we aren't gonna have time this weekend to overnight in Cardiff.

As a second-place, I remember my previous discussions with you guys n' gals, and the highlighting that Chepstow is possibly the easiest place to get to (other than Clevedon and Bristol).

Soooo, with that in mind, and still being rather new to this whole thing... our plan, if we have no hiccups, is to exit Portishead @ 1500h tomorrow (sunday 17-Sept), and follow this route, hopefully maintaining 10kts in either direction with the tide helping us, as HW is 18:01 so we won't be punching. Navionics puts this at ~1hr10mins each way.

Manual Navionics Route Link (clicky)

So my questions...

  1. Does this seem unreasonable?
  2. Am I swinging too close to the entrance to the River Avon? Just, we've touched those spoiling grounds previously and the water was nuts around it, setting our sonar off with 2ft of water (possibly due to our own wake and the boiling/roiling water), and the boat was all over the bloody place when we touched it! Alternatively, should we aim for the west of the Spoil Ground (and east of Cockburn Rock)?
  3. The entrance to the River Wye looks a bit worrying on either side (of Waypoint 17)... if we hit it approx 1 hour before HW @ 11.3m (Portishead tide table), I should be fine if i stick dead centre and slow to 5kts, right?

The idea will be to reach the castle, take some photos, turn around, park up at the Boat Inn for a tasty beverage, then head back at 20 mins before HW (to get a head start and give ourselves an hour margin to get back before dark).

Just called Boat Inn, and they're happy for us to use their jetty :).

And apologies to all for so much pestering... If we go ahead with this, it'll be our longest trip so far @ 26 miles there-n-back (beating our previous 19 miles)... so we're probably unduly nervous.

We have backups galore... spare engine, spare navionics, spare phone, spare VHF, flares, lifejackets and even Kendal Mint Cake.

Sooooo... whaddaya thinks?
 
No, not us. We came back from Cardiff, 1700 lock in
Did you go up to Chepstow?
Got some nice pics of the castle from the water, don't know how to post them though!
 
No, not us. We came back from Cardiff, 1700 lock in
Did you go up to Chepstow?
Got some nice pics of the castle from the water, don't know how to post them though!

Ah, ok... we were coming from the north and on the 18:45 lock-in... only noticed the vessel when they got alongside us, looked a similar size and build to yours, so we waved and got waves back... will have a look at the gopro footage of it later.

Also got lots of vids/photos of the castle... it's a nice reward for reaching it (in addition to a pint at the Boat Inn). Will post one later tonight if pub doesn't call.

Overall, it reeeeally got us back into loving boating :). Possibly Cardiff next :). Though boatshow visit might be in order at the weekend and a friend is leaving the country... choices choices choices.
 
This is the boat I thought might be you...

company.png

And here's our best trip yet... YouTube-ified :)


We really should remember to tie some string on to our mid-fenders to allow us to pull them up!
 
Absolutely no excuses not to go to Cardiff, what are you waiting for. The weather forecast is good for this weekend. You;ve invested all that money! Get down to the boat now and get prepped for tomorrow, sod the boat show, I was there last weekend and it was crap.

You might have kids in a few years time and thatll make things much more complicated. Go Now!!!!!
 
Looks great, and the aux doesn't interfere at all whilst motoring.

Do you not carry spare fuel or just don't fancy topping you tank up on the way?

Enjoy, I'm ever so slightly jealous!

Yep, the aux just gets a bit of splashing at slow speeds, so quite happy with how that's turned out :)

We did take a 20L jerry for the aux, but I don't know how to get it into the main tank whilst out... the fuel cap is on the outside, on the side, where I can't get to at sea. I might try pulling the floor up next time I'm onboard, just to see if there's an internal nozzle.

Lol, dunno what you're jealous at, Sundance looks pretty awesome! As you say, your boat could take you around the globe! Ours can just do 50 miles before needing £200 more petrol :). Your blog seems to put you at about the same stage as ownership as us... a year in, and endlessly throwing money at it, desparate to make use of it!

Absolutely no excuses not to go to Cardiff, what are you waiting for. The weather forecast is good for this weekend. You;ve invested all that money! Get down to the boat now and get prepped for tomorrow, sod the boat show, I was there last weekend and it was crap.

You might have kids in a few years time and thatll make things much more complicated. Go Now!!!!!

Lol, that proper made me laugh :encouragement:

This weekend sadly, is a right-off for us boating. Had a friends "leaving for Ireland" drinks last night, so mostly queezy today. She's Irish, and could drink a bloody rhino under the table. Also, the wife is hyped about the boat show, so kinda gotta go now. It is tempting though... could get to Cardiff and back for the 1900h lock-in tomorrow. Wifey did seem to very much like cruising into the sunset.

Nah, think I'll stick to the BS (boat show ;)) plan. We intend to keep going out through autumn. I only start getting edgy if we don't go out every 2nd week. Hopefully the weather'll be alright next weekend because it looks awesome today!
 
Yep, the aux just gets a bit of splashing at slow speeds, so quite happy with how that's turned out :)

We did take a 20L jerry for the aux, but I don't know how to get it into the main tank whilst out... the fuel cap is on the outside, on the side, where I can't get to at sea. I might try pulling the floor up next time I'm onboard, just to see if there's an internal nozzle.

Lol, dunno what you're jealous at, Sundance looks pretty awesome! As you say, your boat could take you around the globe! Ours can just do 50 miles before needing £200 more petrol :). Your blog seems to put you at about the same stage as ownership as us... a year in, and endlessly throwing money at it, desparate to make use of it!

Pretty much, and lots more money to throw at it, but yes about the same stage of ownership I would say. I've had a speedboat before so appreciate the speed, I love sailing but sometimes 5kns is very slow if you just want to get home, I wouldn't have another one mobo now though.

If you can get to the fuel cap whilst on the water but not able to haul a jerry can over the side, have a look at a jiggle syphon on Youtube, nice long pipe, fast, easy and mess free to refuel at sea (and cheap). Have you tried motoring on the aux to get a feel for it?


Enjoy the boat show, we did.
 
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