Which Almanac?????

[theboywiggans]

Hi everyone,

We've just bought our first cruiser and will be mooring in Cardigan, West Wales, UK. I'm looking at which Reeds Almanac to get and need help making the decision please.

Do I get the Western which covers all the west coast of Scotland England and Wales as well as the whole of Ireland, OR do I get the Atlantic which covers the whole of Europe?

My thoughts are, we probably won't be straying too far so the western will suffice but at only £10 more is the whole of Europe a better buy? Will the level of detail for the western areas be better in the western almanac and condensed in the Europe almanac? Will the detail in the Europe almanac be just the same but far more of it?

Any help will be greatly received, thank you.

 

[[2574]]

Buy the Western Britain jobbie, cheaper and easier to stow in the locker. The full almanac is huge and is mostly entirely wasted unless you intend serious Elbe to Brest (including UK and Ireland) cruising. That cruise would take more than a year anyway so the almanac would be out of date!

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Agreed, you have to buy a new one every year anyway so pointless buying for areas you won't be visiting.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Haven’t bothered with a Reeds Almanac for years, I sail from Aberaeron and just carry ‘The Irish Sea Pilot’ and the ‘Lundy and Irish Sea Pilot’, both give the tidal differences for the various ports around the Irish Sea. All you need then is Tide tables for Milford Haven and adjust from there. Don’t rely too heavily on the Ceredigion Tide Tables there are always arguments about how correct they are.
If you have a chart plotter this will give you the tidal information as well. I have ‘Neptune’ tides in my P.C. which gives the calculated tides for years to come, so if you want the detailed tides for a particular port at any time of the year this will do it for you.
AnyawY welcome to West Wales sailing.