Swansea -> Penzance

Do you really have to? If not wait for longer daylight - then it's great trip, possibly not as cold too.
Agree about starting with the tides at Lands End and then work backwards.
fishing boats with attitude make night sailing a bit demanding

Padstow is limited by onshore winds - just plan to make the trip in one hit. Lundy will provide some shelter - but if you need shelter then maybe you should not have set off.
I'd be worried about keeping warm this time of year.
Safe travel if you do go!
 
I do this run (or to be accurate the Cardiff / Falmouth) at least twice a year in a similar sized boat and one a bit bigger. I wouldnt fancy it at this time of year mostly because the days are short and its bl**dy cold out there. Just handling the sails is likely to be cold and unpleasant at best - and the problem is that if you wait for the weather to warm up, that implies a low pressure system with the likelyhood of stronger winds. So you need to chose your weather windows carefully and be prepared to stop in port for a week or more if something nasty comes along. With that proviso, then its a straightforward run.

At the time of writing the wind speed off lands end is 24kn easterly. I would suggest this is a bit much for a long run in your boat. A forecast of 15 kn is what I would be looking for because with the short days and long run you will be moving in the dark and dont want to be motoring through the pots off north cornwall.

With easterlies and starting off from Swansea you have a decision to make whether to anchor off north devon for a night or go for it. Normally I would go for it but I suggest you make the decision when you see how well you are coping with the cold.

Padstow is an easy entrance in the dark and there are non drying moorings you can tie up to if you miss the harbour gates openings.

Rounding lands end needs good tide timing and reasonable conditions - I certainly would not do it in the present wind strengths. Penzance is a good port to head for with buoys (albeit a bit rolley) outside if you miss the lock entrance. You can park at Newlyn but I dont use it so am not sure of the facilities.

So to summarise - if you have to go, go for it but plan carefully and be prepared to hole up in somewhere like Padtow for a weather system to go through. If you can put it off till March / April, you will be more comfortable. Either way, weather forecasts are key
 
Me too. Far to viscious and childish!!

re the passage, its easily done in good and warm weather. To do it at this time of year I would certainly wait for 36 hours of calm weather. As has been said, you will get a good sail in these strong eaterlies, but when you get the full force after rounding Lands End you will be in tricky waters.

My previous boat was a H27, great sea boat, but a little small and light IMHO for sailing into serious weather.

As for Padstow, I have never had a problem with the entrance, but then have only attempted it in reasonable conditions. Mind have sailed out of there in the high water slot, and have met some quite big seas, but again its been no particular problem.

I understood the name of the Doom Bar is nothing to do with Doom (and Gloom), but has another meaning??

All said, passages down the North Cornish coast at this time of year do need great care and planning, as they do in the summer.
 
I would happily do it but then i have a wheelhouse and heating. Wrap up really warm and i guess it will be fine.
Why not split it up and stop at St.Ives.
 
You won't want to be in St Ives if any sort of ground swell comes in, you'll have broken legs. Hayle, you would need to ask for guidance given the current state of the bar and channel. Newlyn has pontoons but no other facilities, barring those associated with fishing.
 
Go for it, the boat if well prepared is certainly capable of doing it anytime of the year. The big question is can you stand the cold. Short watches will be the order of the day and night, 1/2 hour or an hour at most and below when off not sitting in the cockpit.
Be prepared when you turn the corner it will not be all that pleasant trying to beat past the Runnelstone and into mounts bay, depending on the wind it will be hard going in easterly and harder if there's any south in it.
Forget trying to get to Falmouth if it is easterly (f4 or more) unless you are a total masochist.

Whatever you do take hotwaterbottles to stuff down your salopettes.
 
Re: Swansea -> Penzance

[ QUOTE ]
forget about drying out legs, the Bristol Channel doesn't have many refuge ports.

[/ QUOTE ] He could aim for the Taw/Torridge estuary on the first leg, which is about 40m depending on where he is starting from. This gets the channel crossing out the way, and then down to Padstow on the next leg which is another 40+ miles.

This would avoid doing the whole thing in one, and allow forproper rest, warming up and eating along the way.

As Bilbo says, the weather looks set fair for a few days so there would be time for stopovers as above.
 
Get a grip on what is being asked! The passage is as safe as any passage at sea, as long as plan it correctly. Padstow is fine as has already been said, so is St Ives, Ilfracombe and Lundy are all ports for shelter. The of course you have the S Wales coast, but itt is long passage from Milford around Landsend.

Tides, use them they will give you a good lift for the initial leg from Swansea. The further out into the channel you get the less tide you will have until you start approaching the Devon/Cornish coast. Leave about 2 hours before high water Swanseda to get the best tide going WxS.

Keep a check on the weather and go for it.

There are plenty of people in Swansea Yacht Club who make this passage a couple of times a year, speak to them and take thier advice on timings ports of refuge etc. This is thier cruising ground 12 months of the year. I know as I was a founder member of the club and have done this trip a few times.
 
Re: Swansea -> Penzance

I'll echo what someone else has said. The fact that you feel the need to ask the question in the way you have implies that you don't have the experience necessary. I would make all my own decisions in a matter like this and that's not to say that I would go or not. It could be the easiest trip ever or you could all die. Things can and do go wrong, is the boat up to it? are the crew? The other thing to bear in mind is that your clothing will need to be the best you can buy. Can your equipment and you cope with being outside in a blow at minus whatever without going down with exposure? Don't forget, all the crew will need to be similarly equipped.
 
Sorry, St Ives can be distinctly NOT fine in winter. Somewhat open to the NE anyway, and subject to ground sea, drying throughout, hard sand bottom. I've seen a fishing boat alongside the wall going ahead and astern trying to save his mooring warps and samson posts, then grounding hard several times before the tide left him. I would check magic seaweed (which is forecasting 12-14ft swell for Sunday and Tuesday) or any surf website, before relying on it. Entering Hayle could be flood tide high water only, and take advice first. The upside is there will be very little fishing gear about for the same reason (it gets smashed by ground seas).
As others say, it's a workable passage, but fraught with 'possibilities'.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, St Ives can be distinctly NOT fine in winter.

[/ QUOTE ] And not a lot of use in summer except for settled weather.

Coming from Lundy down that north cornish coast you have to plan on calling in at Padstow alone unless the weather is pretty settlled, and if its rough then even Padstow can be out
 
Interesting thread

I don't know the harbours along this coast but if I were planning the passage I would consider the possibility of being unable to enter any of them for some unexpected reason, engine failure, wearher change.

I would then consider how prepared I was to do the trip in a oner.

Having been out sailing this week three times I would take the temperature very seriouly, Ice on deck, stiff ropes etc.

Easy to keep warm for half a day, but for perhaps 48 hours?
Do you have any heating on the boat?

Good luck
 
Theres a lot of good advise on here about this route, Bristol is/was my home port so have made this run a number of times,both in power boats and sail, even on a RIB once.

I wouldnt rely on getting in or out of ANY of the harbours or anchorages on that trip.

prep the boat and more importantly the crew for three days of hell if it turns out better you got a right result ( or you planned it right ).

With Easterlys you'll be fine till you reach Lands End then you'll get hit by the swell thats been out there building for weeks and the wind on the nose, thats when you'll probably regret leaving.

trouble is then you have no where to go ! If you turn back St Ives dries and isnt an all weather harbour by any means, next stop is Penzance or Newlyn ... Penzance is a waste of time for leisure boats and last time I was in Newlyn (Aug 08) is was crammed with long term residents.

Have you sailed in the winter months before ?

I took a friend out over New Year , I said " This is going to be the coldest you have ever been" to which the reply was "Ive spent time in Canada in -18 " an hour later they were below in a bunk wrapped up in a quilt shivering.

If you prep it right any trip is possible..... good luck.
 
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