Swansea Marina

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Oceanis

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We moved our boat from the Hamble to Swansea Marina earlier this year and we are travelling down on Saturday (4th Sept) to spend a fortnight on the boat. If the weather decides to cooperate we are going to sail down to Tenby and Milford Haven. SWMBO is a fair weather sailor so I suspect we will be hanging around for a few days until things settle down before heading across Carmarthen Bay.

So if you're in Swansea Marina and fancy a chat, gives us a shout on Sea Magic (Oceanis 411), T38 in Phase 3 (the one with the yellow sail cover).
 
Sounds like a fab plan. Shame about 'fair weather sailing'. Mind you, I think the seas should be fairly calm, although rather damp with the rain! Give it another day or 2 just so not to upset SWMBO.
 
Hi,

Just checked the 7 day forcast, and there should be no more than 15kts wind E of worms head, and no more than 20kts W of worms Head.

Starting with S winds, Veering W on the weekend. For W of Nash point I would expect no more than 15kts for the next 7 days! Sounds like E is the best direction to go if you want flat(ish) water.

Hope this helps.
 
Many thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

We did get stuck in Swansea for a couple of days while it absolutely poured down but then the sun came out and the seas settled down. Spent a night anchored off Tenby, bit rolly and SWMBO not very happy. Next day we sailed round to Dale and SWMBO loved it. Boiling hot in Dale for the first day and then the weather closed in and it poured down all the next day.

Friends arrived in the evening and got soaked getting out to the boat but......the next day the weather was fantastic again we went for a sail up the haven. Friends left and it poured again, then the gale warnings, so we moved up to Neyland Marina, perfect shelter and caught up on lost sleep.

Moved back down the haven and finished up back in Dale before a great sail back to Swansea with my GPS telling me we managed a max speed of 10.4 knots (SOG with a rising tide).

Evrn though the weather was mixed I really enjoyed the trip, SWMBO enjoyed it on balance and I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Milford Haven. :)
 
As a postscript, the April 2010 issue of YM has an article on cruising Milford Haven. It includes a walk around St Anne's Head which they say you can do in less than two hours.

We have done this walk and it is a fantastic trip around some very secluded and beautiful beaches but there is no way you can get round in less than two hours! You need to allow three hours just to get round and if you visit any of the beaches you need to add this time on top.

However, the beer in the Griffin in Dale tastes even better when you finish the walk. Food in the Dale Yacht Club is very good too. ;)
 
Clearly nobody warned you about the Tenby "rock 'n roll" !:) Happens most (all?) of time in my experience. Mate of mine was off to build a flopper-stopper (or whatever they're called) last time we were in there together. At least it doesn't sound like you got beat-up by St Gowan's Head anyway! Lovely area...we were there for two years in Milford Marina, and will be back in the future.
 
Ah St Gowan's Head, we couldn't get anywhere near westbound cos Range Control sent us south of St Gowan's Shoal and Turbot Bank to clear the Castlemartin range.

On the return trip we got across Castlemartin and round St Gowan's Head before that range opened but it was 1 hour off low water and neaps when we went round. However, Manorbier range caught us but thankfully they took us close in and then a quick dash across the range. Really didn't want to have to go 12 miles out to get round Manorbier range.

Then a jet fighter decides to try and perch on top of our mast on his way into Pembrey, bloody hell I could read the instructions on the fuselage and I'm sure he lined us up for a laugh!!
 
We had a very similar experience - I suspect your name must be more clearly visible than ours cos 10 minutes after the jet we had the patrol boat along side. Why they didn't call first I have no idea, it's not like there were loads of boats out.
 
Along with another yacht I was approached by a range safety boat when leaving the Haven recently. They came within 2m of my stern quarter while a nice chap asked my plans. At the time I thought they didn't radio as some people think that they are able to instruct you when to go and may hear the truth over the radio. In fact the reason was to use the safety boats position to put a radar marker on me, so they were able to call me by name two hours later, when I had tacked back towards their range.
Allan
 
They were perfectly pleasant with us. What I thought was puzzling was they contacted some boats by over vhf - vessel 9 miles SW of Caldey Island etc, which we heard, but they came over to us.

They sent us 6 miles past the shoal bouy, a bit unfortunate cos the families insides had had just about enough the roough conditions and that was the final straw. good job we have a cockpit shower!
 
WhiteMischief said:
They were perfectly pleasant with us. What I thought was puzzling was they contacted some boats by over vhf - vessel 9 miles SW of Caldey Island etc, which we heard, but they came over to us.

They sent us 6 miles past the shoal bouy, a bit unfortunate cos the families insides had had just about enough the roough conditions and that was the final straw. good job we have a cockpit shower!
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I hope you realise that all they can do is ASK you to divert. If I had crew who were sick, I would excecise my right of passage and head for safety. They have to stop if you are there. I have had "instructions" to change course off the Welsh coast and off Plymouth, in both cases I asked them under what laws are they instructing me and it turned into requests. Most of which I responded to.
Allan
 
Yes I had seen that on the chart, crew didn't get sick until after we diverted though. I hadn't heard of a right of passage, I thought that was a dodgy movie genre!
 
Allan said:
I hope you realise that all they can do is ASK you to divert. If I had crew who were sick, I would excecise my right of passage and head for safety. They have to stop if you are there. I have had "instructions" to change course off the Welsh coast and off Plymouth, in both cases I asked them under what laws are they instructing me and it turned into requests. Most of which I responded to.
Allan
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Being a bit bored one rainy day I did phone the range office to check on this. The range is governed by a set of bye laws and they make a provision for you to make a passage through the range but they also make a provision for the legal prevention of leisure boating. Quite where we fit in, the guy I was speaking to did not know

What he did say was that they would like us to go close inshore as that never gave any problems
 
Pembrokeshire ranges

It's all very confusing. I did carry a set of bye-laws on board that seemed to give us right of passage. The 'Boys in Blue' (well black SAS gear actually) in Milford reckoned that we had to comply if requested (with dire consequences if we didn't!). In the end, with night and weekend firing at times as well, I couldn't be bothered any more and turned right rather than left when we left the Haven for a few days. Got to know St Brides Bay and Jack / Ramsey Sounds very well!
 
It was certainly my understanding that they couldn't legally stop you crossing the ranges but when they've got the fireworks and the matches.......I wasn't going to argue.

They are very polite and do their best to be helpful and get you across with minimal impact to themselves as well as you. Certainly Manorbier range (ground to air missiles) try and get you across very close in as the other option is 12 miles offshore. Castlemartin on the other hand is tanks and they like you to go south of St Gowan's Shoal and Turbot Bank.

Castlemartin seems to be policed by fast range control boats who will either intercept or call you on channel 16 once they have eye-balled you. Manorbier uses some sophisticated radar and then call you on channel 16 "Yacht heading east at 7 knots at position lat and long, this is Manorbier range control over". If you don't respond they send a boat after you. There working channel is 73 and the ranges all "open" at 09:00 and close around 17:00. You can call them on the phone the day before and agree a time and route across as well. I found them to be very helpful, polite and reasonable especially if you play the game with them and do as they ask.
 
Oceanis said:
It was certainly my understanding that they couldn't legally stop you crossing the ranges but when they've got the fireworks and the matches.......I wasn't going to argue.

They are very polite and do their best to be helpful and get you across with minimal impact to themselves as well as you. Certainly Manorbier range (ground to air missiles) try and get you across very close in as the other option is 12 miles offshore. Castlemartin on the other hand is tanks and they like you to go south of St Gowan's Shoal and Turbot Bank.

Castlemartin seems to be policed by fast range control boats who will either intercept or call you on channel 16 once they have eye-balled you. Manorbier uses some sophisticated radar and then call you on channel 16 "Yacht heading east at 7 knots at position lat and long, this is Manorbier range control over". If you don't respond they send a boat after you. There working channel is 73 and the ranges all "open" at 09:00 and close around 17:00. You can call them on the phone the day before and agree a time and route across as well. I found them to be very helpful, polite and reasonable especially if you play the game with them and do as they ask.
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Useful info. Thanks.
 
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