Sailing from River Dee

[imptish]

Hello All,

There is a potential chance that I may be moving to the Chester area and am wondering about places to keep my boat once there. I have absolutely no knowledge of this area, all my sailing has been from the South Coast, and would welcome any advice regarding suitable places for mooring and cruising.

My boat is 30' with 6' draft fin keel. My boating is on a tight budget so I am assuming a swinging mooring.

Thanks in advance.

Giles

 

[Guest]

Giles
I agree with Fatipa. There is nowhere to keep a fin keeler on the Dee , the biggest boats there are lifting keel Hunter Deltas. The nearest swinging moorings to Chester are Conwy which has a fierce tide and 2/3 access. The straights are about another 30 min drive and offer better sailing options. Liverpool is only useful for Winter racing really. I am currently in Conwy marina but am looking to move next season, there is a new marina under construction at Beaumaris as well as a the one almost built at Deganwy so choices are starting to open up.
Andy

 

[oldharry]

Had one season at Heswall around 1980: from memory, 3 + miles from the sea at LW, and the sea appeared around 2 hours before High. On springs this was spectacular as it would come up the channel in a wave about 2 foot high, and within 5 - 10 minutes from dry the boat (BK 2'9") draft would be afloat....

The moorings off Kirby used to have deep water in those days - very probably less now, but were effectively open Irish Sea at HW after the banks covered.

And the Irish Sea can be a very wild place.....

I then moved the boat round to the Welsh coast until work demanded a move South - planning to retire back there though if SWMBO agrees. Good sailing, magnificent scenery, interesting harbours.

And it rains - a lot!

 

[extravert]

And as well as the places mentioned, a bit further away are Pwllheli and Abersoch, which I would guess together is the biggest sailing centre of Wales, and where I sail from. Absersoch is moorings only which are exposed and not suitable for winter use. They have a useful water taxi service though. At Phllheli there is a large marina with a waiting list, and pile moorings in the river which are sheltered enough for all year use and a lot cheaper.

Sailing in Tremadog and Cardigan Bays is excellent, loads of stunning mountainous scenery, plenty of space, castles and little tidal stream (Bardsey Sound excepted). Ireland is a day away.

Acess for you at Abersoch would be all the time, and at Pwllheli nearly all the time. You may have to wait an hour if you got the timing wrong at Spring low tides. It's a lot better this year than last though.

Travel from Chester is about 1:45 to Pwllheli, but the A55 can get really busy on Sunday evenings, and the tunnel at Penmaenmawr (between Llanfairfechan and Abergwyngregn, just below Dwgyfylch) being down to one lane for the forseeable future doesn't help at all.

 

[salamicollie]

Absolutely agree with fatipa, would also suggest holyhead sailing club - moorings are relatively cheap c£400 a year for a 30ft'er and 24 hour access to the Irish Sea. Depends on the type of cruising you do - if you wish to potter and are willing to live with the tidal gates then Menai Strait is great (btw Swellies Slack water is Liverpool HW- 2hrs) - I spent three seasons based in Port Dinorwic on the Menai (a small locked dock with access c +-3Hr HW) and loved it but found we wanted to do more offshore passages which made Holyhead a better bet. You don't often need a dinghy at Holyhead as the club launches run 0900 to 2100 during the week and 0900 to 2300 at the w/e

I live about 20 mins to the E of Chester and Holyhead is only 1hr 45m with Dual c'way all the way from Chester.