The Bishops and Clerks, the Bitches, Skomer Island, Milford haven?

[hullabaloo]

Hello
The last time I brought a boat from Poole to Wales, I refuelled at Milford Haven,
I was given the advice of going around the Skomer Islands,
Well, I must say that was fun, I went up waves at 11 knots and down at 22 knots for about 12 miles.
Now this time, I am sailing my Targa 44 from Wales to the south,
Do I tackle the bitches? Can this be done at low water slack?
Or shall I go around Skomer Island? Or what do you think? help, please.

 

[Seastoke]

The worry is are you coming south on holiday or to berth

 

[hullabaloo]

The worry is are you coming south on holiday or to berth

Oh hello, you've only been down there for ten minutes and you think you are a Southerner!
haha, you're from up-north.
I want a bit of this southern weather too. and I'm coming down for good.
wales was good, but I have seen it, been it, and done it, there is no adventure left.
which way did you go? around or inside Ramsey? hw-slak , lw- slack. ??
Skomer in or out?
please spill the beans. (or did your wife navigate and drive).
also please tell me which marina you are in so I can avoid it (even if it's a Gale 9 and I have no fuel), LOL,

 

[Seastoke]

We are in Shamrock , we went around both 10 nm off , on hw slack . Ne t year wrong are thinking of buying a house selling the boat, then buy a season tickets to IOW ferry as that is what you will do , its like Caernarfon. Seriously the trip was great call in Torquay and I will buy you a beer. Ps are you leaving Deganwy because of BruceK and Quackers.

 

[tico]

Don’t know about Ramsey sound but I’d go through Jack sound rather than outside the islands. Just avoid at half tide on springs.
Call Milford pier head on ch14 when coming round the last buoy (cunjic)
Locks are every hour. They don’t do fuel during free flow 2 hrs before high tide until 10 mins before. Say hi when you call in.

 

[Seastoke]

I fell for that one off tico , he emptied my fun box and my beloved , Cockburns .

 

[Tremyporth]

I used to know a guy whose brother-in-law farmed Ramsey Island in the early nineteen fifties, before it became a nature reserve. They bought an army surplus amphibious DUKW to ferry things to and from the mainland, and built a concrete slipway on the island so theycould drive it ashore. Apparently, as you might expect, their use of it was somewhat weather-dependant, but if a large motorised bathtub was usable in Ramsey Sound, you should be OK in a Targa 44.
But please do not “ tackle the Bitches”: that would be like whitewater canoeing. Stay close to the mainland to avoid them.
As for Jack Sound, in a powerboat I prefer Little Sound. The approaches are more sheltered, the passage through is quicker, but you do need to be aware of a shallow rock a little way to the north of the gap. In a sailboat, the high cliffs on each side can cause troublesome wind shifts.
If conditions are not sufficiently benign, it would be prudent to stay well offshore, but then you will miss seeing some of the very best coastal scenery and wildlife in southern Britain. So if not in a hurry to get somewhere else, it might be worth a pause in the voyage to await suitable weather for a bit of ditchcrawling near the coast.
As for timing your passages through the Sounds for slack water, if you have ten knots or more on tap the timing is far less crucial than if you were in a sailing boat. A favourable stream is best, of course,as is an absence of large waves and overfalls.
Some years ago the Pembrokeshire National Park published a sidescan sonar picure of Jack Sound which helps to understand why this area can be so troublesome to boaters. Not just narrow and littered with rocks,but the rapidly shallowing seabed to the north seems to act like a venturi, speeding up the tidal flow and helping to generate whirlpools and overfalls, especially on the southward ebb.

 

[Kawasaki]

As per above
Little sound for me
Don’t think I’ve ever done owt else
Wouldn’t bother with the Bitches
In Yours you will be fine
Just don’t do ‘wind against’
More hazardous could be meeting up with Seastoke!