Stuck at Ilfracombe

[steveej]

tomorrow looks good for a reach to Swansea provided sea state ok

 

[mattonthesea]

If highish water is needed to get off the wall then would Lundy a good place to wait for next favourable tide? That is, if S Wales is OPs preferred option for the winter.

 

[Tranona]

The OP has gone quiet. Boat seems to still be on the slipway in the same place
visitilfracombe.co.uk/webcam/

 

[steveej]

If highish water is needed to get off the wall then would Lundy a good place to wait for next favourable tide? That is, if S Wales is OPs preferred option for the winter.

That may work, its about 20 NM to lundy from Ilfracombe and the next obvious place to go from there is milford. He is then looking at 36NM to Milford entrance. Have done the passage in summer time about two years ago and it was lumpy but fun.

If I was in his position as a novice, I would want to get the boat somewhere which is easier to get to from home. Then pick weather windows and do short hops (that's relative I know) to get it back to Aberystwyth or at least somewhere closer to home for the winter - its an old boat, it may be a good one but most need a ton of work doing to them.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Weather looks OK at the moment what's forecast for the next 24 hours?

 

[steveej]

top end F4 W / WSW pushing into bottom end 5 by Sat afternoon.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

top end F4 W / WSW pushing into bottom end 5 by Sat afternoon.

Should be OK to go then.

 

[nortada]

My advice in this situation is to go and have a look outside as the sea conditions can often be favourable even when the forecast is awful. There's no shame in coming back!

In this location a walk up The Capstan to look at the sea could prove fruitful.

 

[SaltyMoose]

Hi guys,

I’ve been meaning to update this thread but it keeps slipping my mind! I’m still in Ilfracombe!

Tormorrow is looking very good to get to Swansea so I think I’m going to take the opportunity while it’s there! All being good in the morning I’m going to slip the lines and make a run for it!

Wind/Wave predictions all looking good, probably zero sailing but I’ll take it and don’t mind motoring, 90 litres of diesel on board so should be fine

I’ve managed to recruit the help of a skipper with plenty of experience to help me with the final leg, just need to get to Swansea and then we’re going to take it from there!

Put in very long springs or get someone to help you. Maybe near twice boat length if you can as the surge is fierce. The breast ropes are the least important part there IMHO

The take solace in the Pierhead or Ship& Pilot if you can

As you cant get into or out Portishead till near high tide, I would go for Cardiff, with great lagoon inside lock gates and excellent nightlife (quite unlike P head)

Mumbles is even nearer ( and better for your final run) and Swansea Marina has much to recommend, though you will have to wait safely tucked up in the river Taw until the tide is high enough for the locks

PS the waves are often easier further out to sea. The sea between Ilfracombe and Bull Point is like a washing machine till about half a mile out. So coast hugging can make matters worse.

Wind seems to ease early next week, Good luck

I’ve been having to baby sit this boat and reset lines and fenders quite often, sometimes the spring lines would go under the fenders and lift them up and leave me bare against the wood on the wall.

Managed to get it in to a better configuration though and so far it’s working!

The PS above is particularly relevant.On one memorable o0ccasion our rubber dinghy attached by rope took off in Combe harbour but when we left and got decently offshore the conditions were fine for a trip to padstow.

There is good shelter in Swansea and Milford. The trip round the corner to Aberystwyth is quite exposed so you need to grab your opportunities when they come, as of course they will. I wouldnt recommend going anywhere else and certainly not to Portishead or Cardiff which are well out of your way and leave you with even further to bash against prevailing westerlies. Combe to Swansea is an easy 24 miles whilst Combe / Milford is 48 so mabe Combe to Swansea and then to Milford. Milford to Aberywstwyth is 80nm and the only possible IMO stop is Fishguard. Never been impressed by the latter when I have stopped there, but 80nm is a long way for a single hander in a boat thats new to him.

I'd be tempted to overwinter the boat in Milford

The current plan is to get to Swansea and from there go to Dale/Milford (depending on weather/sea state and wait for a good day to get around Skomer aiming to get to Fishguard and hopefully a final run to Abber from there.

It’s late in the season to be poking one’s nose out into the Atlantic swells. Surely better to stick with Plan B and hole up in Cardiff for the winter?

OP, we often (myself included) get fixated on the wind forecast and forget to look at the wave forecast. Wind is rarely a problem of itself, it’s the waves that cause the problems - as you’ve discovered.

Cardiff did seem like a good option but I’d prefer to get to abber. Going to have another pair of hands on deck soon so we should be able to make it to Abber, next weekend looks like a good window to do the final hops.

The wind and wave prediction certainly was not in reality when I checked but it’s taught me to be more aware of that.

If I may be so bold, being a mere motorboat skipper, I would say the biggest problem in the Bristol Channel is wind over tide, at least in the upper reaches where the tidal flow is strongest. When I have made passages westward with the tide the darn wind always seems to blow towards me and I saw the biggest waves of my life on one such passage. Bruddy frightening but as usual the boat just bobbed up and down and it was only the skipper who was perturbed.

Question for SaltyMoose - what would you like to do, get to Aberystwyth this year or get a winter berth somewhere else and tackle the trip in the Spring? It does make a difference.

I’d like to get to Abber this year, really want to get her closer to home so I can give her the love she needs over the winter.

The challenge he has got this time of year is getting a weather window.

Does he have a day job / family to get back to / retired? - can he get to the boat at a moments notice?

I had flat millpond conditions on passage from Cardiff to Porthcawl in mid november between the two covid lockdowns so it is possible to get a window, but that was locking out at midnight and anchoring for enough water to get into the drying harbour at porthcawl. He will need to sieze the opportunity at a moments notice and he could be waiting some time at this point in the year.

With limited experience he really needs a helper of some sort, even if he has to pay a commercial skipper.

I would want to be getting off the wall at Ilfracombe wall as soon as possible and getting to somewhere safer on the welsh side - location depending on sea state, wind strength / direction and duration of the better conditions before they turn for the worse - I wouldnt particularly care where, but this means he may not get the boat back to Aberystwyth any time soon - possibly not until next Spring.

He needs to avoid the overfalls and wind overtide as much as possible and it is getting darker so night sailing highly likely.

And how reliable is the engine? He may be able to motor sail - but does he know how?

The other issue he has got is he will need most of the flood just to get out of the harbour at Ilfracombe, which makes heading west easier than heading east, but the passages are longer and the prevailing wind is south west, which makes for wind over tide.

If he gets a window, he could motor over to combe martin and anchor there before catching the flood up to Porthcawl and get into the marina there. Then Swansea, then Milford.

Lots of ways to do it but they all depend on the weather.

It aint like driving a car!

From Ilfracome.....

Porthcawl 21 NM
Swansea 24 NM
Milford Entrance 46 NM

He could stay at all these for the winter if needed but all will allow him to do shorter hops westwards when the whether allows.

Yeah, I have a job but thankfully I work from home so this boat has become my home for now.

I’ve just managed to get a skipper to help me with the final leg of the Journey, I just need to get her to Swansea and he’s going to help from there.

But yeah, we’re just going to have to take the tiny windows as they come but next weekend looking like a good couple of days at least to make some progress all being well.

My advice in this situation is to go and have a look outside as the sea conditions can often be favourable even when the forecast is awful. There's no shame in coming back!

Absolutely, I’m going to take the binoculars down to the harbour wall and spend a bit of time observing the sea state and make a decision from there, forecast looking good for tomorrow.

The OP has gone quiet. Boat seems to still be on the slipway in the same place
visitilfracombe.co.uk/webcam/

I’m still here Nice place, lots of kind and helpful people here but hoping to go tomorrow.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Hi guys,

I’ve been meaning to update this thread but it keeps slipping my mind! I’m still in Ilfracombe!

Tormorrow is looking very good to get to Swansea so I think I’m going to take the opportunity while it’s there! All being good in the morning I’m going to slip the lines and make a run for it!

Wind/Wave predictions all looking good, probably zero sailing but I’ll take it and don’t mind motoring, 90 litres of diesel on board so should be fine

I’ve managed to recruit the help of a skipper with plenty of experience to help me with the final leg, just need to get to Swansea and then we’re going to take it from there!

I’ve been having to baby sit this boat and reset lines and fenders quite often, sometimes the spring lines would go under the fenders and lift them up and leave me bare against the wood on the wall.

Managed to get it in to a better configuration though and so far it’s working!

The current plan is to get to Swansea and from there go to Dale/Milford (depending on weather/sea state and wait for a good day to get around Skomer aiming to get to Fishguard and hopefully a final run to Abber from there.

Cardiff did seem like a good option but I’d prefer to get to abber. Going to have another pair of hands on deck soon so we should be able to make it to Abber, next weekend looks like a good window to do the final hops.

The wind and wave prediction certainly was not in reality when I checked but it’s taught me to be more aware of that.

I’d like to get to Abber this year, really want to get her closer to home so I can give her the love she needs over the winter.

Yeah, I have a job but thankfully I work from home so this boat has become my home for now.

I’ve just managed to get a skipper to help me with the final leg of the Journey, I just need to get her to Swansea and he’s going to help from there.

But yeah, we’re just going to have to take the tiny windows as they come but next weekend looking like a good couple of days at least to make some progress all being well.

Absolutely, I’m going to take the binoculars down to the harbour wall and spend a bit of time observing the sea state and make a decision from there, forecast looking good for tomorrow.


I’m still here Nice place, lots of kind and helpful people here but hoping to go tomorrow.

Have a good sail. The weather looks a slight SW and your sails will only be for show according to forecast. 90L fuel will take you practically Scotland so you can motor to your hearts content. Certainly prudent to look at the sea, but as I commented earlier, the further you are from the N Devon coast the slighter will be the waves.

If your assistance is familiar with the area go inside Ramsey to avoid the Bishops, all you have to remember is that slack is about 2 hours after high, so dont fight it if still going wrong way, and if carrying you through on the rise need to wait 2hrs after low or go through on the last of the rise 2hrs before HW

Next weekend also promising, so Good Luck, Bon Voyage etc.

 

[SaltyMoose]

While I’ve been here I’ve been trying to keep myself busy, mostly working on the boat.

She had a metric tonne of growth under her, having her tied to the wall is the first time I’ve been able to take a good look at her, the previous owner just left her sat in water for who knows how long.

This is her before scraping:

And this is her after:

Still sone way to go, the rest is green stuff which is harder to remove than the barnicles, need a pressure washer to finish the job but I’ve removed a lot of growth.

The keel was thick:

Looks much better now:

Still some way to go to get her clean but I can sort the rest at the other end with a pressure washer

The spray hood looked like it belonged in a scrap yard, all torn at the seams, covered in growth and mould and faded:

The windows looked like someone had tried to clean them with a rake:

I scrubbed and cleaned the life out of it, took a couple of days having a go at it but managed to buff out most of the scratches with rubbing compound and clean it enough to warrant dying it with soft top renovator, dyed it dark blue!

Windows look much better:

Looking much better after dying:

Certainly worth the time and effort! The proofing I got proved to be useless when the rain came in today so going to look for a more paint on proofed rather than spray but so far so good!

 

[john_morris_uk]

Well done. You’ll go a lot faster if and when all the fouling is off. It REALLY slows a boat down.

 

[SaltyMoose]

Have a good sail. The weather looks a slight SW and your sails will only be for show according to forecast. 90L fuel will take you practically Scotland so you can motor to your hearts content. Certainly prudent to look at the sea, but as I commented earlier, the further you are from the N Devon coast the slighter will be the waves.

If your assistance is familiar with the area go inside Ramsey to avoid the Bishops, all you have to remember is that slack is about 2 hours after high, so dont fight it if still going wrong way, and if carrying you through on the rise need to wait 2hrs after low or go through on the last of the rise 2hrs before HW

Next weekend also promising, so Good Luck, Bon Voyage etc.

Thank you very much for the advice and thankfully he’s got experience with the area, just a case of finding a good window but the weekend looking promising!

Well done. You’ll go a lot faster if and when all the fouling is off. It REALLY slows a boat down.

Hopefully she goes like a rocket now and gets me home faster! There must have been a lot of weight on there

 

[john_morris_uk]

I think you’ll find the weight doesn’t make that much difference. It’s the drag. I’m sure you appreciate there’s a reason why top racing boats dry sail and polish their hulls.

Enjoy your passage across to Swansea. It’s a passage I’ve made a long time ago. (I used to live just up the valley from Swansea.)

 

[SaltyMoose]

I think you’ll find the weight doesn’t make that much difference. It’s the drag. I’m sure you appreciate there’s a reason why top racing boats dry sail and polish their hulls.

Enjoy your passage across to Swansea. It’s a passage I’ve made a long time ago. (I used to live just up the valley from Swansea.)

Very excited to get her sanded back and smoothed out and repainted and see how she glides!

 

[Dellquay13]

After Swansea, I wouldn’t put much faith in Dale in October, it can be quite a lumpy anchorage with little ashore out of season. The seasonal shore pontoon will be taken away for the winter imminently.
Milford marina is only 30 mins further, with full marina facilities and a supermarket, pharmacy and train link only 400yards away. Access through the lock is via Pierhead on ch14
Wherever you stop in the haven, listen in to Milford VTS on ch12 to stay aware of the considerable port traffic

 

[SaltyMoose]

After Swansea, I wouldn’t put much faith in Dale in October, it can be quite a lumpy anchorage with little ashore out of season. The seasonal shore pontoon will be taken away for the winter imminently.
Milford marina is only 30 mins further, with full marina facilities and a supermarket, pharmacy and train link only 400yards away. Access through the lock is via Pierhead on ch14
Wherever you stop in the haven, listen in to Milford VTS on ch12 to stay aware of the considerable port traffic

Thanks, I think Milford definitely seems like the best option also considering I might need to refuel!

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Very excited to get her sanded back and smoothed out and repainted and see how she glides!

Citric acid solution made from powder is what shifts the green. Cheap and cheerful and doesnt harm the seas

 

[SaltyMoose]

Currently underway, set off from Ilfracombe at 09:00, ETA at Swansea is 14:00, no wind for sail as predicted and sea sate swelly but mostly calm! So far so good!

On my way!

Citric acid solution made from powder is what shifts the green. Cheap and cheerful and doesnt harm the seas

Thanks for the tip! it was certainly harder to remove than the barnicles l, I’ll try that out when I get time to properly clean her.

 

[38mess]

Currently underway, set off from Ilfracombe at 09:00, ETA at Swansea is 14:00, no wind for sail as predicted and sea sate swelly but mostly calm! So far so good!

On my way!




Thanks for the tip! it was certainly harder to remove than the barnicles l, I’ll try that out when I get time to properly clean her.

Safe travels