St Albans Head pushing tide, overfalls etc.

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frlrubett

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Looking to anchor/moor in Swanage evening of Tuesday 10th and take advantage of Easterlies to get to the West Country.

Setting of Wednesday 11th early morning and ideally hitting Portland outer passage around around Midday and ride the Westerly flow over Lyme Bay.

This would mean Peveril Ledge, Durlston Head and St Albans Ledge with the tide on the nose and the wind forcast Easterly F2-3 in the morning. Springs approaching 14th June.

Am I correct in being overcautious and coming three+ miles offshore to avoid anything nasty?

Current plan would be to navigate due south from the Peveril Ledge Buoy by about 3 miles before turning WSW, on passage to Dartmouth. Maybe turn earlier if conditions out there look benign.
 
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Met a guy in Poole who had all the bedding out to dry. He had gone thro' St Albans race and said it was a pussycat, so on the way back he went inshore (not close) and said that a 30 foot hole suddenly opened in front of him and the boat shipped green as far as the cockpit.

The real issue was the forepeak hatch was ajar and his wife was below having a snooze and received a deluge in her ear and over the bedding. He said mournfully that it was costing him a fortune in fine dining and expensive perfumes as his missus had the fixed belief that he did it on purpose. He still hadn't been forgiven.
 
As a general principle the tidal rate is stronger the further up-channel you are, as are the hazards of headlands in general, so I'd typically plan to take advantage of a fair tide for the first part at least. Also assuming crossing Lyme Bay is an 8hr exercise (for my small yacht at least!), that spans more than just one flood or ebb tide, which is also weaker the further west you are, so that's less critical in terms of the overall passage time.

With that mild easterly forecast (assuming it transpires) I wouldn't worry about wind over tide etc, but overfalls can still be tricky, so standing offshore an adequate distance is probably a good idea at the start, especially as you're skipping Weymouth etc.

frlrubett said:
Current plan would be to navigate due south from the Peveril Ledge Buoy by about 3 miles before turning ESE, on passage to Dartmouth.
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I think you meant WSW for Dartmouth.
 
Babylon, thanks for this insight. Have amended the E/W confusion....the basics...

Having finished the passage plan now, leaving early would be pushing tide over St Albans meaning a 14+ hour journey. Leaving later, close to slack tide over the Ledge leads to a 12 hour passge but with a night entrance on the other end.

I would fairly assume, slack/gentle tide over St Albans will be fine in a light wind?

I would sacrafice a day light entrance for a drama free headland passage anyday!
 
As I have said before I have found St Alban's head more of an issue than Portland Bill. I would tend to prefer to get going and be well out at St Alban's but maybe keep closer to Durlston Head for the weaker tide and possible back eddy (but I have not done this myself).

If you do go later, I have entered (and left) Dartmouth in the dark and the navigation is well lit with leading lights making normal entry easy, but you do have to watch for lobster pots and speeding fishing vessels with banks of lights that destroy night vision.
 
frlrubett said:
I would fairly assume, slack/gentle tide over St Albans will be fine in a light wind?

I would sacrifice a day light entrance for a drama free headland passage anyday!
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Yes, slack tide over St Albans shouldn't present any dramas.

Dartmouth is pretty straightforward for a night entrance. It is all very clear in terms of leading lights and buoyage, and l assume you've got full electronic navigation kit to aid you further. I also assume you'll have crew so a chance for plenty of rest beforehand - you wouldn't be quite as tired as I'd be singlehanded!
 
Daedelus said:
Met a guy in Poole who had all the bedding out to dry. He had gone thro' St Albans race and said it was a pussycat, so on the way back he went inshore (not close) and said that a 30 foot hole suddenly opened in front of him and the boat shipped green as far as the cockpit.

The real issue was the forepeak hatch was ajar and his wife was below having a snooze and received a deluge in her ear and over the bedding. He said mournfully that it was costing him a fortune in fine dining and expensive perfumes as his missus had the fixed belief that he did it on purpose. He still hadn't been forgiven.
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Who goes sailing with the forward hatch ajar? Deserved everything they got. The last time I went through St Albans race my Fulmar dropped off a wave and slammed down. No water below, but in the past green seas elsewhere have forced their way in via the static deck vents.
 
Concerto said:
Who goes sailing with the forward hatch ajar? Deserved everything they got. The last time I went through St Albans race my Fulmar dropped off a wave and slammed down. No water below, but in the past green seas elsewhere have forced their way in via the static deck vents.
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You might consider opening a hatch occasionally, just most certainly not near some famous overfalls.
 
As the ranges generally stop firing after 1700 and don't restart until 0900 why not give yourself a substantial head start and take Anvil Point out of the day's equation and anchor in Worbarrow Bay? You could use Lulworth but there's much more room at either end of Worbarrow. You're then well-placed to take either the in or offshore route around the Bill.
 
Concerto said:
Who goes sailing with the forward hatch ajar? Deserved everything they got. The last time I went through St Albans race my Fulmar dropped off a wave and slammed down. No water below, but in the past green seas elsewhere have forced their way in via the static deck vents.
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Well, he did!

I think he was misled by how flat it had been on his outward trip and for all I know his wife had found it a bit warm below and had opened the hatch a little for some freshers without him noticing. I think had he said to his missus she deserved all she got his sailing days would have been over - possibly his life too.
 
If you do choose to keep to the onshore passages then do stay very close to the land. When passing very close inshore I’m often puzzled why boats seemingly proceed inshore but stay out sufficiently to have a bit of a hammering in the race.
 
LiftyK said:
If you do choose to keep to the onshore passages then do stay very close to the land. When passing very close inshore I’m often puzzled why boats seemingly proceed inshore but stay out sufficiently to have a bit of a hammering in the race.
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The instinctive fear of a lee shore? You’d think most 20th century or later boats could sail to windward in anything below 30kn, but people often revert to square rig thinking.
 
Wight Leopard said:
As the ranges generally stop firing after 1700 and don't restart until 0900 why not give yourself a substantial head start and take Anvil Point out of the day's equation and anchor in Worbarrow Bay? You could use Lulworth but there's much more room at either end of Worbarrow. You're then well-placed to take either the in or offshore route around the Bill.
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Well, I considered this. The wind seems F1 overnight but did not want to roll constantly (heard horror stories about the swell) but looking at the forcast and the swell is 0.7 decreasing not sure how significant that would be close to shore?
 
frlrubett said:
This would mean Peveril Ledge, Durlston Head and St Albans Ledge with the tide on the nose and the wind forcast Easterly F2-3 in the morning. Springs approaching 14th
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I would avoid at all costs pushing against the tide from Swanage to Portland. Personally, I would leave later on a fair tide and if necessary stop in Weymouth or Portland.
 
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