UK Circumnavigation

[Shanty]

This winter's pipedream is of circumnavigating the UK - don't know why yet - the reason will probably come to me later.

So far I've found three relevent logs on the Internet - Extravert's, a Sigma 33 called Boozeroo, and Ray Glaister's. Does anyone know of any others?

Also, any opinions on whether clockwise, or anticlockwise is preferable?

 

[webcraft]

I've just finished reading 'One Summer's Grace' by Libby Purves. It's an account of a relatively leisurely (4 month) circumnavigation clockwise from Suffolk. They had two young kids with them, which is why some people read the book - but I would class it as essential reading for anyone planning this trip.

- Nick

 

[Shanty]

Thanks Nick, I'd forgotten that one. I read it 2-3 years ago. My main memory is of great honesty about the lows as well as the highs. I will hunt it out & re-read it

Tim

 

[kimhollamby]

If you use the search tools accessible from the bottom nav bar of any ybw website (not the forum search tools) or go direct by dialling in http://www.ybw.com/search and enter Grand Tour in the News and features window (hit the arrow after you have entered the term) you should unearth a load of my turgid prose about a five month trip I did in 1999. You can also search by port name.

It was in a fast motorboat and a few of the passages wouldn't be possible/relevant for a yacht but there are logs and quite a lot of detail in them.

Don't know your starting point but I would opt for clockwise as a preference; global warming is making everything guesswork but my experience tends to be early season presents north easterlies that make hard work of progress up the east coast but an easier job of the West Country and onward. You'll be amazed at the many things you'll find along the way and if I was doing it for myself I would be even tempted to do it over two years, over-wintering about half way round.

Associate Publisher ybw.com websites kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[Gazza]

Like you I decided to do this trip for little other reason than it seemed like a good idea. It's also a good way to pack in a lot of sailing (or motoring) in a relatively short space of time.

I did a British Isles circumnavigation (up the west coast of Ireland) in the summer of 1999 in our Westerly 33. I did most of it single-handed (Jo enjoys sailing for a while, but then gets bored!). It took me from June to mid-October, although I did come back from Scotland by train for a ten day break in August.

The consensus seems to be clockwise; the theory being that you pick up SW winds at the beginning of the season, and NE winds for the return leg. This is my case was very much theory. I day sailed most of it, with the longest leg being about 100 miles, and the shortest 4.

It was a wonderful trip, and my advice is that if you have the time, then go for it. Give me a ring if you would like any more detailed information.

Gary Miller
01752 837116

 

[Shanty]

Thanks Kim. Just had an interesting couple of hours piecing together the first part of your trip. Will return for more when I have digested this lot.

Unlike most circumnavigators, my starting point will be in the North of Scotland - near Inverness, so I suspect the prevailing winds theory indicates that I should go anti-clockwise - still thinking about that one.

 

[kimhollamby]

Whereabouts is Shanty based? I very much enjoyed my stays both at Caley Cruisers and also at Lossiemouth and Peterhead

Associate Publisher ybw.com websites kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[Shanty]

During the summer, Shanty lives on a swinging mooring in Fortrose Bay - just to the West of Chanonry Point. You would have passed between the lighthouse at the end of the point and Fort George not long after leaving the Caledonian Canal.

Shanty spent a winter up at Caley Cruisers while I was sorting out a high moisture problem - very helpful & knowledgeable folk.

Lossiemouth makes a good weekend trip from Fortrose - for us raggies. Good harbour with pontoons & a helpful harbourmaster.

 

[Bergman]

Is that group of dolphins (pod?) still resident round the point.
When I passed a few years ago they put on a great show for people on beach and then did one for us on the boat.

Lovely

 

[Shanty]

Yes the dolphins are still very much in evidence - from Chanonry Point along to the Sutors (mouth of the Cromarty Firth). They can be seen from Chanonry Point, or from one of the dolphin boats operating out of Cromarty or Avoch, or (best of all) from a sailing yacht. They will quite happily play around yachts under sail - don't seem so keen if there is an engine running though.

Do dolphins have a sense of humour? I think they may have. The channel off Chanonry Point is deep (30-35mts). On several occasions I have been sailing along this channel, only to discover that, according to the echo sounder, I was in 4-5mtrs of water. The first time this happened, panic very nearly set in, until a dolphin surfaced alongside with a grin on its face - and I was back in 35mtrs. The dolphins seem to like sitting directly under the boat. I don't know whether they can detect the echo sounder pulses, or whether under a boat is a good place to be if you are a dolphin.

 

[Juggler7823]

The Pwlheli boat x-ray ted has a circumnavigation site at http://www.xrayted.freeserve.co.uk/

Roy

 

[Shanty]

Thanks Roy. Thats the one I meant when I referred to Extraverts log - maybe I shouldn't be so cryptic. Its a good site though, with lots of useful stuff about charts used etc.

Tim

 

[Juggler7823]

My post refered to the X boat X-ray Ted, who/what is Extravert? What is the URL?

Roy

 

[Shanty]

Yup - same boat, same URL - circumnavigated in 2001. Extravert is a user on this forum who posted something that pointed to that circumnavigation

Tim

 

[extravert]

I'm still alive and occasionaly reading the forum.

The previous poster is correct, my forum id is extravert, and my current boat's name is X-Ray Ted. My previous boat was an Extravert class, deliberately mis-spelled, hence the id.

Anyway, which way to go. I had two reasons to go clockwise...

Firstly, Pentland Firth and its fearsome reputation. Reading I'd done indicated that it is easier to go East than West, to avoid the Merry Men of Mey overfalls which only appear on the West going stream. I expect anyone based in Inverness will know a lot about this anyway.

Secondly, the prevailing winds are Westerly, and normally stonger in the North than the South. I guessed it would be better to be going with the winds where they were stonger.

So were either of these suppositions right?

Pentland Firth caused no problems our way, I don't know what it is like the other way, I haven't done it. Anyone been through Westwards?

The prevailing winds theory didn't work out at all. We had Northerlies all the way up to Cape Wrath (3 weeks of beating), Not a lot along the top, mostly Southerlies down the East, and finally got South Westerlies along the South coast, beating again. We used the spinnaker twice in 9 weeks.

What was everyone else doing? Just about everyone we met doing the trip was going clockwise. The only time you get to know that other boats are on the same trip is in the remote parts. Everyone from Lochinver to Scrabster seems to be on the same trip.

What should I have done in hindsight? The best area by far is all the West coast of Scotland. We hurried through because it came at the start, and we had so far to go. In hindsight I would have gone the other way from North Wales, so that the best bit came last when there was time to dawdle.

What would I do from Inverness? Go clockwise. Get the East coast out of the way. Whatever the pilot books say, it is dull and boring. Leaves plenty of time to linger on the best bit.

 

[lezgar]

I have read your web (very interesting) and I would like to know if you have sailed in the East coast more that you explain in your voyage, because you only went for the border without to know her rivers and creeks and you are given a opinion about something that you don't know.

 

[extravert]

I didn't mean to insult the East coast. I lived in Norfolk for 19 years so I know that part of the coast. It's where I learned to sail. I know that there are many interesting creeks and rivers, but these are not accessible to a deep fin keeled yacht. X-Ray Ted has a draft of 6 feet, and can't dry out. If you look in the pilots of the East coast there are very few places this kind of boat can stop. Some of the places that are available between the Forth Estuary and Lowestoft are not the prettiest, for example Hartlepool and Grimsby. Therefore on our trip, making 100 mile passages along a coastline with little to see (not being able to go up the rivers) and ending up in somewhere like Grimsby is rather less exciting than, say, sailing up the coast of the Isle of Skye.

 

[vyv_cox]

That was very much the opinion of Libby Purves too. She didn't seem to enjoy much of the east coast, especially south of the Scottish border.

 

[Shanty]

Local opinion on the passage Westerly through the Pentland Firth is that it should be attempted through the Inner Sound (South of Stroma) with the first of the W. going tide, but not if there is a five or higher in the forecast.

As regards the prevailing winds theory, I have read somewhere that Thames barge skippers used to talk of going "down to the North", suggesting something about the prevailing winds. Having said that, the "East coast is boring for a fin keeler" theory sounds like a relevant one - Shanty draws 1.6mtr - still thinking.

BTW - an excellent account of your trip, with much useful information - many thanks

 

[bedouin]

Strangely enough we've also been pondering this - brought on perhaps by reading about "Jalcyon" and "X-ray-ted" journeys.

Over Christmas I went as far as sketching out a plan. The conclusion was that the East Coast was going to be very boring. My idea (contrary to received wisdom) was to go Counter-Clockwise. This would give a more favourable wind for the long legs up the East Coast, and enable us to linger on the more pleasant West Coast, where I expected to do shorter days, and so a favourable wind was less important.

However I am not at all sure that the East Coast is worth it and so we may go out-and-back instead (perhaps up the west of Ireland)