Southampton to Norn Iron

pmagowan

pmagowan

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Hi all,
If everything goes to plan I hope to become the owner of a nice sailing vessel in Southampton. I need to sail it back to Northern Ireland (Strangford) and have never before sailed those waters preferring to head North to Scotland. Since it needs done I intend to give it about 10 days and make a trip of it. I would love to hear recommendations of places to go and what to look out for on the trip. Nice restaurants, anchorages etc.

Thanks
 
Depending on the boat and weather expect you will need all of the 10 days to get there so not much time for sightseeing. If you are hugging the English coast and anchoring/marina at night then your progress is determined by the tidal gates around the headlands. Remember also you are going against the prevailing wind. Get a pilot and work out the headlands, then the stopping points sort of fall into place.
 
In my experience deliveries are not about nice anchorages and restaurants.

Learn all about your difficult headlands and their tidal gates.
Learn all about your all-tide, all-weather ports.
If you have good sailing conditions go for it, and keep sailing. Don't stop unnecessarily.
Take competent (night watch) crew. Don't take crew who get seasick - they'll become a demand on your resources.
Take all the diesel you can.

Good sailing
 
Dartmouth is well worth a visit, Plymouth if you are into history and Falmouth is a must. All three stops have some great pubs.
 
If it is a holiday my stop offs would be Poole, Lyme Regis, Dartmouth, Plymouth, Fowey or Falmouth, Penzance, Padstow, Milford Haven. But that is a minimum of 2 weeks assuming you get good weather, but 3 weeks would be better.
 
Thanks guys. I don't want to talk too much about the boat as I am going over to look at it on wednesday and don't want to count my chickens. I am certainly interested in history and naval history. Unfortunately my time is limited to 10 days but I don't need to make it back all in one go. I could go out at weekends and continue the trip if it looked like it was too good to rush. I am used to the Clyde Cruising Club pilot books for Scotland and I have the standard nautical almanac for the British Isles. Perhaps you know of a pilot book or online resource.

I, of course, will passage plan for the tidal gates etc (Scotland has me well used to that) but I am interested in what I shouldn't miss if I am in the area. I particularly like anchorages with a nice seaside town or village close by for a pint and some craic. I appreciate I might not get the seclusion and tranquility that the West coast of Scotland provides but I am sure there is some craic to be had.
 
Dartmouth, Falmouth, Scillies, Cork, work your way up the coast inside the Arklow banks. You could give the Scillies a miss and go to Padstow or direct to Milford then across the Irish Sea. 3 or 4 hard days but achievable with an engine and good to moderate weather.
 
pmagowan said:
I am used to the Clyde Cruising Club pilot books for Scotland and I have the standard nautical almanac for the British Isles. Perhaps you know of a pilot book or online resource.
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The obvious one for the first part of the trip is the Shell Channel Pilot. That will take you as far as the Scilly Isles. There are more specialised local pilots, but the Channel book will have plenty of detail for a one-off trip through.

Agree with the others that ten days seems very short for a cruise rather than a delivery passage.

Pete
 
If you want scenic then the Scillies are well worth the visit and they'd help break up what is usually the longest leg between the Lizard and Tuskar. The various inlets along the south coast of Devon and Cornwall are scenic albeit generally expensive. I think my favourite is the Yealm.

A great deal to be said for getting the right crew to do the longer legs straight off rather than going out of your way to attempt to day sail. It's at least 24 hours between Tuskar and the Scillies (probably more like at least 36 hours) and it's quite exposed. No point going to Cork as you'd have to turn around and come back along the coast. It's about 160NM Cork to DL.

Tuskar/Carnsore Point can be pretty uncomfortable when the tide is against the Atlantic swell. I always end up going outside Lucifer, Blackwater and inside Arklow Banks.

From Arklow up it is just day sailing, but I presume you know that area well.

PS To give an idea of timigs, it took nearly 4 days Dun Laoghaire to Hamble on a 38 foot boat non-stop. So Southampton to Strangford will be 5 days even if you do it non-stop and have the right weather. Maybe longer if you've bought a more sedate boat.
 
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Just done a similar trip, Dun L to Hamble. Padstow is the 'not to miss' destination for me. Newlyn is also good. I found Dartmouth a bit too twee but I supose that's a matter of taste. Dale, at the entrance to Milford Haven provides a free offshore pontoon and a waterside pub. Polperro is also worth a visit though make sire you have long lines for fore and aft moorings. Arklow is convenient and functional but not somewhere I'd want to holiday. Scillies definitely worth the detour if you have time- idyllic with very friendly people.
 
As has been mentioned, you will be going against the dominant wind, so you will have to make the best of the days that it is not bang on the nose. This will mean overnight trips when the chance presents itself.
Not to be missed as far as I'm concerned: Dartmouth, Falmouth, Isles of Scilly. If the weather is not suitable for Scilly, Newlyn is the obvious alternative. From Scilly/Newlyn one long hop to Kilmore Quay (or Milford Haven if conditions dictate).
The rest will be familiar, I suppose.
 
My daughter is doing a similar trip at the moment. 3 days from Plymouth to the Clyde, non stop sailing/motoring in a Nic 35 (take lots of diesel - they have no wind at the moment). If you are going to stop, take your pick from Dartmouth, Salcombe, The Yealm, Plymouth, Fowey, Falmouth and the Helford River along that stretch. They are all great in different ways. I'd chose Salcombe and Fowey and the Helford myself.
 
We have always found Weymouth to be a pleasant place to stop, either the town hard or the marina, and it makes it easy to time the passage across Lyme bay, though an anchorage or mooring in Portland Harbour would do as well. I haven't been to W for three years or so, but I expect that Floods fish restaurant is still good.
Dartmouth can, as said, be a bit twee but the entrance is very grand and there are fine walks, good eateries and Britannia Naval College to visit. To my mind, Fowey is the most picturesque place and is especially fine in the evening sun. Again, good walks, and the chance to catch a bus to the Eden Project or Mevagissey. I like Falmouth, though I find the maritime museum disappointing. Penzance is nice too, and has several good galleries. The Isles of Scilly are magical, but a bit weather-dependant. I have been to Southern Ireland, but I think we part company here.
 
With a new to me boat, I would consider stopping at places where chandlery etc is available.
Being based in NI would make me try to make the best of the South coast.
I'd assume Milford and maybe Padstow are places you might get to another year?
In my view a short hop on day one often works well, as actually leaving always gets delayed or complicated.
So maybe, short hop to Yarmouth IoW, stay on the buoys outside.
Weymouth is nice IMHO. As are most/all of the places suggested by others.
Personally I would not set off with too rigid a plan, no point stopping somewhere if wind and tide are fair to get to the next equally pleasant place.
No point fighting tide if it doesn't really advance the plan. E.g. I've enjoyed a stop at Brixham, having had too little breeze to sail to Dartmouth, and the next night been in Salcombe as planned.
I probably wouldn't choose Plymouth unless necessary, why go an hour inland when you can anchor at Cawsand?
Likewise Falmouth, I'd probably head straight for Helford.

If the weather is right I'd consider Scilly.
 
I think my focus would be to explore some of the places furthest away from you as they are by definition the ones that will be hardest to reach in subsequent years. You don't say if there are any place that you have already ticked off but Cowes should be call for any sailor although it it won't really progress your passage. Other alternatives would be Lymington or Yarmouth
Weymouth is nice and an easy day sail from the Solent. Would then push on to Brixham or Dartmouth. Salcombe is a must then maybe Fowey. AT that point you will probably be running out of time as that's 5 days to get to Fowey, leaving you 5 to then get to Norn Iron. Maybe Scilly or Newlyn depending on the conditions then long slog up the Irish sea, possibly non stop. All depends on good conditions of course but I see little benefit in pushing on early and missing stuff then finding yourself with time to spare and only being able to explore places close to home.
 
Thanks Guys, lots of info there.

I like the idea of spending some time on the South coast and then perhaps a long slog or leave the boat to get back to work and pick it up at the weekend. My problem is that the sailing is so good up on the West coast of Scotland (and convenient to me) that I probably won't be down that way again for a very long time so should maybe make the most of it. It is a pain that my time is so restricted but then I hadn't intended to buy a boat! My current boat is in the shed and I am still dismantling her before putting her back together so I eventually succumbed to the need to get back on the water.
 
In that case I'd go for the Scillies and spend a little time there, the rest of the south coast is pretty much meh, Falmouth apart perhaps. Depending on the boat and timing, Dartmouth is easy enough from the Solent. Or push on to Cawsand (Plymouth) and anchor for a rest, then carry on to Falmouth or the Helford, then to the Scillies. Stopping at Yarmouth, or anchoring inside Hurst Spit, makes a lot of sense as a first hop though.
 
Depends so much on the weather that you may get at the time.
If you can get your perfect weather window, as a non-local who passed that way recently, I would tend to recommend:
(a) negotiating a berth to stay in the Solent briefly and do a weekend cruise there to see the sights (Cowes, Yarmouth, a million Bavarias and two million mobos) and most importantly do a shakedown to find out what doesn't work
(b) then do a long hop initially to Dartmouth or Salcombe to get some miles on the clock
(c) if time permits pause to see some of the best places in the South West - and adwuk (below) pretty much summarised my thoughts also
(d) if at all possible spend some time in the Scillies - beautiful if the weather is right
(e) then head straight for Dun Loughaire (or beyond) - skipping the Bristol Channel and Wales for another time

Hope the boat deal works out and you get the voyage.

adwuk said:
If you are going to stop, take your pick from Dartmouth, Salcombe, The Yealm, Plymouth, Fowey, Falmouth and the Helford River along that stretch. They are all great in different ways. I'd chose Salcombe and Fowey and the Helford myself.
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Rather disagree with this talk about pottering around the Solent if you feel assured of a weather window. You say you have 10 days and no-one ever had a 10 day weather window, the forecasts are not good enough, especially for the Western approaches. So it depends on how rigid your timeframe is. If you can turn that ten-days-to-get-home into a couple of fortnightly cruises, then by all means begin with an epic passage to Yarmouth or Cowes :rolleyes:. I am glad to see that Newlyn has been mentioned (people will tell you not to go there- they are wrong) and with decent crew I would head straight for Newlyn where I would pull into a pub and assess my weather window for rounding Lands End and crossing. If it looks like a few days of good weather -maybe, just maybe go to the scillies or Padstow. If it does not, make for Kilmore Quay at the earliest possible opportunity. I'd have Milford as a refuge in case the very exposed crossing to Kilmore turned bad. Then cruise up the eastern Irish coast more sheltered from the prevailing wind. Agree with those who have pointed out this is quite a long trip and really in a ten day slot there's not much margin for error beyond a straightforward delivery, at least before making landfall in Ireland.
 
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