Shoreham to Scilly

Iliade

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I'm planning to head from Shoreham to St.Marys via Penzance to pick up SWMBO & kids on Sunday evening/ Monday.

I may stop at IOW, Poole &/or/NOR Salcombe depending on how fast I'm going or how tired the boat and I am.

Anything unusual/entertaining/unexpectedly hazardous that I need to keep an eye out for?
 

Seven Spades

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A few years ago I did Southampton-Poole-Salcombe and that worked really nicely without any really long legs. So I would go Shoreham-Solent-Poole-Salcombe. Poole to Salcombe will keep you south of the Portland Race.

After that I cruised my way to the Isles of Scilly so I can't comment on a fast passage West from Salcombe.
 

Seajet

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If you still have a Centaur and without a crew of top soldiers or experienced sailors ( BTW I rate Centaurs good passage making boats ) you are taking on way too much !

I'd suggest Shoreham- Chichester - Yarmouth - Poole then - Brixham keeping outside Portland Race, then Brixham - Plymouth, then Plymouth - Fowey, then from there to Falmouth - and pick up the family there !

Those are optimistic legs based on good weather and the important bit is, will you have a strong crew or at least an autohelm ?

Without those this is almost a flight of fancy and will take much longer.

I don't know if it's relevant but it will cost a fair bit on harbour dues - and a bit on fuel - too.

' Sailing To A Schedule ' is aways a Bad Idea, let the family get the train back !

This is a bad idea, I don't want to be insulting in case you're genuine - but is this a troll ?
 
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ip485

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With no disrespect intended it does seem quite a lot to take on unless you are accustom to long passages. With the stops you are suggesting and the current long days I am guessing it is just about possible in daylight hours, but obviolusy with resort to the motor if the wind doesnt play fair. If it is a larger yacht then it may be a different matter. I have done Salcombe Newhaven in under 24 hours, straight out into the channel and south of the I of W, and I would happily go direct Scilly albeit preferably two up! I agree with the earlier poster, the Portland Race, the Looe off Selsey and off the Needles all have the potential for steep seas and unpleasant conditions but otherwise good. Inshore the tide is also going to be a big factor with timings, a lot less off shore. In shore I would far rather go with a full tide and aim to be sat with a glass of something by the time the tide had become foul.
 

Gwylan

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I'm planning to head from Shoreham to St.Marys via Penzance to pick up SWMBO & kids on Sunday evening/ Monday.

I may stop at IOW, Poole &/or/NOR Salcombe depending on how fast I'm going or how tired the boat and I am.

Anything unusual/entertaining/unexpectedly hazardous that I need to keep an eye out for?

Our itnerary for similar trips is sort of as follows.

Brighton to Swanage - anchor. Just get the window for St Cat's right,
If you are very clever on the timings you can go for Chapman's Pool and anchor there for a rest.

Swanage to Torquay, its cheaper and easier than Brixham.
Again get the window right for The Bill. Do the sums for the Bill to get the lift and go offshore to avoid the lumpy bits.
You can do Swanage to Salcombe, but that is that bit further and takes you off into the flesh pots of Salcombe.

Then we 'bite the bullet' and go straight to Newlyn. I have railed against Newlyn, but it is dreadful and practical.
Easy for crew to get from Penzance.
But do not look forward to facilities like decent showers. If you went to public school then you'll find then ageeable though.

Then you have but 'one small step for sailkind' to the Isles. Worth the effort.
 

dom

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My tuppence worth:

  1. Get boat ready ASAP. Watch the weather and when you see the wind anything greater than 50 Deg away from 220 Deg and less than around 22kts then Go, Go, Go!
  2. If crewed aim to do it in one or two shots -- those night time hours eat the miles and are good fun. Endless stopping for an 8 hour kip: sails down, negotiate a sand bar, set anchor alarm, check holding, review potential hazards, weigh anchor, sails up, get back in the rythm ...absolutely knackering!
  3. Don't over push or you'll get worn out.
  4. Possible Stopping places: Whitecliff By, Osborne Bay (if in Solent), Hurst, Totland Bay, Studland, Mupe Bay, Lulworth, Salcombe (don't bother going in, just anchor right inside Bolt Head, PM if not sure) and then Yealm, Plymouth, Fowey, Falmouth, Helford, poss Newlyn in an emergency and finally St Mary's !!) There are many other possibilities of course and don't forget that most of these are more of a detour than you might think.
  5. Re Portland Races: Beware, Beware, Beware ...of the BS ;). FWIW I regularly, including a couple of weeks back, choose a route about 1-1.5 miles offshore in a F5 or less and with no big swell. The horror stories are all true in F10 winter gales and all that, but I am often aghast at the poor sods departing Portland or Lulworth who sail miles out to sea. The inner passage has too many pots in the season and best confined to slack water. Seriously though; if it's at all rough (including and old long wavelength swell) then best to avoid the thing.
And finally: take some decent food, a couple of good books, download a few decent programs on the BBC iPlayer. Enjoy ;)
 

Iliade

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Thank you all. Yes, we still have the Centaur, though now with a Nanni. The last time I did this passage I took some crew as far as the Solent, then one carried on to Poole. The first actual stop was overnight at Salcombe because I had run the batteries flat and the outboard didn't have the beans to recharge them. I collected the family at Penzance, having stopped initially at Newlyn. We had to wait out a severe storm there so did the Eden project then on to Scilly. Incredibly the passage to Penzance was about 50 hours, including 6 hours in Salcombe.

The main passage west was done with near gale force easterly winds which helped a lot! The return journey was similarly windy from the west so I managed something like 13kt over the ground several miles off Portland!


I'm really asking about anything new? E.g. we now have a wind farm being built off Shoreham. Or anything we shouldn't miss, like the Pulling boat races we watched while in Scilly.

P.S. Summer must be here, my daughter's magnifying make-up mirror just set fire to a powder puff on her windowsill!
 
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That's a long trip in the current westerly winds. Without details of crew and yacht type you are asking people here to engage in a lot of guess work on your behalf.

My only tip is to ignore scheduled ports of call and aim where the wind allows, this might take you across the Channel. Alderney is a possible staging post if you can work the tide, Needles, Alderney, Salcombe could suit some wind directions.
 

DJE

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We did Portsmouth to Fowey in one (with a few hours at anchor in Plymouth Sound) last week. But we had light easterlies - becoming fresh northeast after Start Point, and a fast 39 footer. We were two up but the autopilot failed just past Portland just as it was getting dark!
The only unusual point (apart from the east wind) was that the navy seemed to be very busy - several warships behaving eratically without AIS transmissions. And somebody was firing something very loud on Lulworth ranges.

Have a good trip. We had the full moon last week so it will be a bit darker for you!
 

Iliade

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Yes thanks, watching wx with care; Will probably aim to cover the last leg on Wednesday once/if it has settled back a bit and assuming I have got that far by then. Will probably aim for St. Mary's Pool, Hugh Town for the first stop as we are not victualling much beforehand.

I agree about the extra miles, but SWMBO is not a good passage maker, so the fewer miles she has to sail the better for all concerned :0)
 

Iliade

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Come Monday evening, perhaps Tuesday unless the wind backs earlier, this time with #1 son crewing, I'm once again planning to head from Shoreham to Saint Marys via Penzance where we pick up SWMBO & #1 daughter.
We're not planning to leave Penzance until next Sunday or thereabouts so plenty of time to dawdle, especially as Iliade is a far more powerful boat than Sevenem.

Anything unusual/entertaining/unexpectedly hazardous happening along the way that I need to keep an eye out for this time? Megalodons off Bournemouth? Pirate attacks off Brixham?
 

Scillypete

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Come Monday evening, perhaps Tuesday unless the wind backs earlier, this time with #1 son crewing, I'm once again planning to head from Shoreham to Saint Marys via Penzance where we pick up SWMBO & #1 daughter.
We're not planning to leave Penzance until next Sunday or thereabouts so plenty of time to dawdle, especially as Iliade is a far more powerful boat than Sevenem.

Anything unusual/entertaining/unexpectedly hazardous happening along the way that I need to keep an eye out for this time? Megalodons off Bournemouth? Pirate attacks off Brixham?

good luck, nothing new this end of the civilised world has changed much. If you can take the bottom then Mousehole might be better than Penzance and if not then maybe Newlyn instead.
 

Iliade

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Hi Pete,
Thanks and yes, we do shuffle between the two. Penzance is more entertaining, but Newlyn more practical. Always previously done the last night in Newlyn before heading west as the tidal access is better.

Cannot take the ground yet and the ally tubes are late... If they don't arrive tomorrow I may have to make temporary legs from wood ???

Or a flopper stopper!
 
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