Trickiest harbours in the UK to sail to...

[johnalison]

I’ve never dared, but Tollesbury must be a bit of a so-and-so

I once sailed a Sadler 29 with a failed engine after a blown gasket from Maylandsea to Tollesbury in a gale when my potential assistants all chickened out. It was quite interesting and I had a lot of ropes and anchors at the ready. We had already been allotted a berth on A but as we made our way in under bare poles it looked as if there were no spaces on A, so we decided on discretion and slotted into a berth on B. With nobody around, we checked in at the office, who said "can you move round to A-whatever", and we replied "No we bloody can't, not without an engine thank you". No witnesses, of course.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

A very interesting question, I have no answer to the UK section..

if Norwegian candidates are allowable, we ghosted dead downwind into Kristiansand last week, about 5M, close between the rocks, and got within 1/4M of the gjesthaven before the wind died completely, so near but so far, and anchored after valiant attempts at kinetics and dynamics (wagging the tiller and manually flapping the sails..)

After 150M crossing the Skagerrak from Denmark to Norway, I was unable to enter Risør one time under sail as the wind was blowing straight into the harbour, and I could enter in fine style but not guarantee stopping..so had to do a U turn, sail out, heave to and have a sleep, until the wind veered onto the beam 12 hours later.
This kind of delay I think would have been normal before engines, it's a good school to put yourself through, seeing pilotage problems through different eyes. And it's for fun, you don't have a hold full of herring beginning to smell, an excise cutter in the offing, just..good luck making it into the office at 9AM tomorrow..!
Dinghy racers as crew seem relatively accepting of doing stuff under sail alone, maybe having more faith in their ability to use the wind..
good subject to discuss!

 

[langstonelayabout]

Wouldnt be allowed now

Of course it's allowed. Just that you'd be met with the same 'unwelcome' that we were a few years ago at Shepards Marina when we sailed into our allocated berth in the middle after our engine failed. The guy organising the berthing wasn't impressed, even though by some miracle we arrived and berthed perfectly and under control.

You just can't please some people

 

[chrisedwards]

Bucklers Hard,Hamble, Keyhaven, Shephards, Ashlett, Newtown and Shamrock - done all these singlehanded under sail in a junk rig. Knowing that all sail can be dropped and engine on in one second is a great confidence booster.

 

[Poignard]

Bucklers Hard,Hamble, Keyhaven, Shephards, Ashlett and Shamrock - done all these singlehanded under sail in a junk rig. Knowing that all sail can be dropped and engine on in one second is a great confidence booster.

I watched you sail your junk-rigged ketch ("Dragonfly"?) single-handed into Newtown Creek and come to anchor in 2010 and I was very impressed by the skill you demonstrated then.

 

[Hial]

I think Lybster harbour would be very tricky under sail.

 

[NormanS]

At home, I have an old map of a harbour town, complete with sailing directions for entering the harbour
......."Ships of Burden should steer boldly in, keeping the Iron Craig exactly between the two Heads, until the ship strikes the bottom, which is soft mud and ooze"........
Presumably only to be attempted on a flood tide, when it would make a lot of sense, and as the tide rose, the ship would be warped into her berth.

 

[Genoa]

I reckon Keyhaven would be a challenge.

Done that one several times... fine if you have a <30ft length <3ft draught, and sails like a big dinghy!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Most Harbours had conveniently placed warping points and posts where a long line could be taken and the vessel warped closer.

I saw a Thames Barge as a kid doing just that in Ramsgate once.

I think a lot less was done purely by sail power than people imagine.
Horses, capstans, manual force were all used frequently.

"Racundra's First Cruise" (Arthur Ransome) makes it very clear that even small vessels a) expected to use warps to manouvre in harbour and b) expected to lose paint on a regular basis! And Ransome had a professional mariner on board, not to mention the anonymous "cook", who was Trotsky's secretary and (at that time) Ransome's Significant Other - but not married as he hadn't divorced his first wife at that time!

 

[dgadee]

Aberdeen. They allowed me in but I had to wait an hour before they slipped me in between two supply boats. Wouldn't have let me in if they saw sails, I suspect. So, pretty tricky.

 

[LadyInBed]

Seaton at the mouth of the River Axe isn't easy.
Except for people from Seaton YC

 

[Kukri]

Aberdeen. They allowed me in but I had to wait an hour before they slipped me in between two supply boats. Wouldn't have let me in if they saw sails, I suspect. So, pretty tricky.

Best answer!:encouragement:

 

[zoidberg]

Here's the approach to Berneray harbour, which is at the top left.

Yon Berneray's a whole lot easier on a BA chart....

As for ports 'n harbours accessible under sail, it's not so very long ago - still in living memory. Ask Saint Tom Cunliffe - that most commercial goods were shifted around the UK and also to and from European ports by sailing barges without engines. That implies there were thousands of masters of such craft who were skilled in working their lumbering, laden craft up river, creeks and pills, on the rise of tide, and back out again.

Fully-rigged ships used the tide to work up-river into Bristol and, no doubt, to many other places.

As mentioned above, that includes 'drudging', a technique still of occasional use to us, even today.

 

[Stemar]

I once had to sail into Portsmouth when the engine died in a lumpy 7. The wind was coming over the forts and couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to come round from the south, round from the north, over the fort from the west or curl over to attack me from the east. I had every variant, swapping at random. Then Brittany Ferries decided they wanted to play. Not nice...

 

[capnsensible]

I once had to sail into Portsmouth when the engine died in a lumpy 7. The wind was coming over the forts and couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to come round from the south, round from the north, over the fort from the west or curl over to attack me from the east. I had every variant, swapping at random. Then Brittany Ferries decided they wanted to play. Not nice...

Have sailed twice into Pompey on two different yachts with fouled propellor problems, one of them a beat.

Both times called QHM who gave permission to enter and delayed ferry traffic until we had rounded ballast buoy and reported. Top geezers!

 

[zoidberg]

Have sailed twice into Pompey on two different yachts with fouled propellor problems, one of them a beat.

Both times called QHM who gave permission to enter and delayed ferry traffic until we had rounded ballast buoy and reported. Top geezers!

Were you then, by any chance, sailing floaty things with RNSA or White ensigns? Did you have the QHM's private mobo number...? Was there an admiral's son on board or, better still, an admiral?

 

[davidej]

Try Whitehills in the Moray Firth.

I (motored) into the entrance wondering if there really was a harbour or if it was a dead end. Then miraculously a gap appeared on port side and one of the smallest basins I have been in.

 

[capnsensible]

Were you then, by any chance, sailing floaty things with RNSA or White ensigns? Did you have the QHM's private mobo number...? Was there an admiral's son on board or, better still, an admiral?

Nah. One was a brand new Jenneau that I had picked up from the Hamble after its very first splash and the other was one of my own charter yachts.

You just have to ask politely. :encouragement:

Fred drift but if you want to seriously concentrate the mind, sail into Grenada marine up a wriggly channel lined with coral. To get the best rush, do this on your liveaboard yacht containing all your worldly goods including an oil soaked engine compartment from a blown rocker box cover gasket.

Tip, get your wife to steer the yacht in a series of short tacks whilst you operate the headsail sheets and lean over the side watching for coral heads.

 

[Jonny A]

Once had to sail into Nelson's Dockyard with a broken gearbox - during Antigua Race Week. Got a nice round of applause.

 

[jdc]

By sail to, I mean by wind alone, not chugging along with the main up. ...For Wales I reckon Menai Bridge from the south west...

Here's us under Britannia bridge aiming for Menai; it's a standard 3-peaks passage.