2025 June 21st, Day 84. To Dale and cruise stats.

The mornings Facebook post with a few edits:

Another change of plan. I thought it might happen when I saw the models last evening but was tired so left it till the morning to run the numbers.

The ecmwf and ukmo agree that the only days in the next week without 15 knots or [a lot] more of SW wind will likely be today (before evening) and probably Wednesday with a gale Thursday/ Friday.

That would be at best uncomfortable getting south so I am heading for Milford today and will sort out the marina issue later, possibly going into Nayland for the gale, sounds daft but cheaper than loosing my free month at Milford.

Ramsey Sound this morning then either outside Skomer or wait till this evening to go through Jack Sound this evening, probably the former as F5 is forecast this evening or overnight. The bad news is mist or fog ahead [and rain], but that should clear before it’s a problem, also there will probably be some rain c mid day.

Going round in 15 + knots of wind would take 2 - 3 times as long due to "stopping" seas, having to take a longer route as short cuts would likely be dangerous and not being able to get round in one tide.

I was away at 07:20 having checked the tides etc. There was a bit of mist, no wind, calm sea and the prospect of rain but with the following tide I made very quick progress past Strumble Head.

Unusually Strumble Head light flashes all day.

Ramsey Sound needs care but is not difficult even at half tide when it is strongest - providing it is with you! One day after neaps I had time to take some videos whilst the autopilot and plotter did the hard work using my pre-planned route from the last time I went through.

St Davids Head and the entrance to the Sound.

Entering The Sound, "The Bitches" reef ahead.

Ramsey Sound, with the neap tide there was only 
1-2 knots of tide most of the way through and
only briefly 3 - 4 knots near "the Bitches".

It had started to rain as I exited the sound and the new oilskins and boots got a test, they kept me completely dry 😊. The rain was patchy until Skomer then it was a straight forward sail down Broad Sound and although I missed the tide at St Ann's Head the adverse tide was only a little over a knot so no big deal in the calm water. This time there were no pot buoys to contend with so I was able to go close in and was at anchor on Dale Shelf at 14:00.

28 miles in six and a half hours.

Well I guess that is the official end of this years first cruise, back where I left from at the end of March, 1,602.1 nautical miles over the ground. And 8 years to the day since I launched Sancerre the day after assuming ownership.

And as a birthday present to the boat I just found Diesel bug in a fuel can, my Facebook Post:

Diesel Bug! Earlier I decanted some diesel into the tank and in the can were the remains of diesel bug. Hopefully dead as I always put a double dose of Fuelset in with it. I haven’t had any red diesel in it since Kirkwall and only once before this year at Howth outbound, so unless it has been lurking there since and I have not seen it, then it has come from a roadside fuel station.

It’s in a new yellow plastic can and the crud was easily visible so I don’t think it’s been there long.

I have put a precautionary massive dose of Fuelset into the tank (you can’t overdose) but I am going to have to get 40+ litres of fuel out of the tank, open it up and clean the whole system which will be a big and very awkward job but at least it is possible with the new stainless tank, unlike the previous bladder tank, and I’m close to base and not 500 miles away.

Again

I suspect there will be a post or two about that after I have frittered away the time before going on to my berth. 

This Cruise:

• 1,602.1 nautical miles over the ground (1,843.7 statute).
• 43 stops.
• 26 locations visited for the first time leading to a lot of changes and updates to my review of anchorages!
• 44 days sailing out of 84.
• Only 27 night hours as many of the longer legs were in what counted for high summer in Scotland which missed the heat waves.
• 28 days weather bound.
• 37 expensive days in a marina or on a buoy.

After arriving at Dale poor weather and generally strong winds, although no gale, meant there was little incentive for local cruising and I stayed where I was except for an excursion up the Haven to Hobbs Point for shopping. 

I went onto my berth as planned during free flow on the 1st and got a train at 11:00, like the last trip home there was significant disruption to rail services, this time knock-ons from points problems near Reading but by changing trains 5 times rather than three and going via Bristol Parkway, Swindon and Didcot rather than Reading I ended up at Oxford earlier than planned only to find the next 2 trains to Bicester cancelled because of problems at High Wycombe!

Just as I was contemplating getting a bus they announced a "special train" had been put on that would get me home and the masses of people waiting on the platform who were presumably heading for London Marylebone headed off to Reading and Paddington so I was able to get on the short train and was home by six thirty.

Update:

My wife did no get her operation until early August so it will be a while before I can go sailing again, but hopefully I'll be away in September before the boat gets lifted on October the 22nd - booked well in advance as there are very limited dates when there is sufficient water for the lift and re-launch, particulalry this year when in November and December the spring tides fall on or close to weekends and the Christmas holiday.

Click  here is the first post of two on the fuel bug.

2025 30-31st March, Days 1 & 2 to Dale and Wicklow.

I left on Sunday evening during free flow (for convenience, it turns out the lock gates were fixed but for some reason I was not on the appropriate email list and no one thought to put a follow up note on the Facebook post to say it was fixed) with a promise from the models for a week of good weather and helpful winds. The first prophesy still looks correct but the wind forecast changed for the worst that evening and at the time of writing (Tuesday pm) still looks problematic, more of which later.

A present but cool trip to anchor off Dale for an early start next morning.

To Dale

Dale anchorage, later in the season there would

be quite a few boats anchored here when the

wind is from the west.

With the highest, and lowest, tides of the year I anchored a bit further out than usual as the forecast, which was wrong again, said the wind would turn easterly, light but enough to swing me into shallower water.

I was up and away at 04:15 with no wind and a smooth sea. Butting out against the tide was a bit slow but the tide turns westerly off St Anne's Head well before high water in The Haven.

I over estimated how quickly the west doing tide increases in strength and was half an hour late to my waypoint off of South Bishops but things then speeded up in a big way:

Making 5 knots through the water and almost 12 over the
ground thanks to the highest tide of the year.

Unfortunately none of the promised wind arrived and it was an 18 hour motor.

Despite the curved track I did not change course by
more than 5 degrees from passing the S Bishop Lt
west of St David's Head until north of the Arklow
bank a few miles short of Wicklow.

Sunset over Arklow Bank and its wind farm.

Anchoring off Wicklow was risking a disturbed night and a possible early exit as there is no shelter from the easterly wind forecast for the area but the evening download of the main models suggested a wind slightly south of east on this bit of coast so I opted for some needed sleep and was lucky, there was little or no wind and I had a quite night and 6 or 7 hours of rather broken sleep, it being particularly cold and I could not get my feet warm.

Wicklow anchorage in the morning.

Contrary to the forecast yesterday, quite a bit of wind is coming, and on Wednesday or Thursday likely from the NE - realistically I can’t get to Ardglass before it arrives and there are no anchorages I would want to be in with a F6 SE backing NE so if the forecasts are the same in the morning I will sail to Howth just N of Dublin in a promised fresh breeze and stay in the Marina, probably till Friday.

96 GPS miles in 18 hours from Dale. Sunny most of the way, even warm at times with a spot of sun bathing but cold early and late,

Click here for Wicklow to Howth.

2024 August 15th Day 1. Milford Marina to Dale.

The UK Met Office forecast for Monday on
Thursday morning, from Predictwind.

Off again, and as usual a change of plan. The forecast for next week is not good with strong winds likely on Monday and Tuesday and south westerlies thereafter making the trip to Land's End difficult and probably delaying me by at least several days. However, on Tuesday morning it seemed likely that there would be a window of very good weather for the trip from Friday through Sunday.

With approval from management (she is mobile again) I packed in record time and was at Milford by late afternoon and loaded the boat getting very wet in the processes. On Wednesday morning I went shopping and got some diesel, fitted new gaskets around the fore hatch, and did the return trip in about four and a half hours. 

Thursday it was six and a half hours back to the boat by train, and some time to ready the boat. 

I locked out at 18:00 two hours earlier than planned and am now at anchor on Dale Shelf, cooking a Beef bourguignon for dinner with another portion to eat on route Friday. I'll leave at or a bit before first light, depending on when I wake up, I'll not be setting the alarm too early and I'd like some sleep in the bank before leaving on a long trip.

Head to Dale Shelf into a brisk headwind.

The question is where am I going? The forecast for early next week of a W or SW wind followed by NW precludes a stop off on the north Cornish coast. If the forecast improves it might be Scilly but, especially in high season, shelter from a SW backing NW wind will be in very short supply, or more likely I will end up in Mounts Bay for Saturday night, or if the forecast it to be believed an extra 15 miles or so to get around the Lizard to Coverack leaving a short sail on Sunday to shelter in the Fal.

Click here for the trip around Land's End.

2024 May 6th Days 38 and 39, To Beggars Reach and Dale Shelf.

Up the River

With northerly winds forecast there are no sensible anchorages available in Ireland short of Sorento Bay, Dublin and Fishguard is exposed to the North, I will not be leaving until Wednesday, rather than stay at anchor all that time I headed up the the river for a night, leaving at lunch time to make use of the flood tide.

Nayland marina, together with the surrounding anchorage a
hot spot for Achilles boats - they were made not far away at
Gowerton near Swansea

Claddau Bridge the "Air draft" is 33 metres
at high water, why does it look so close to the
top of my c 12 metre mast when near low water?

I had intended to anchor off Williamston Pill as recommended in the Pilot but space between the moorings was very limited, there was a spot just north of them but with possible issues with shallow water so I pressed on and found a good spot near the bottom of Beggars Reach at a turn in the river, I would also get some shelter from the occasionally brisk wind. The down side was the strong flood tide running across the wind. 

Having anchored the wind backed and was coming straight down the reach and fighting with the tide for control of the boat but things remained quite comfortable. The tide turned, very quickly, at 18:00 and I was then pointing directly into wind and tide. Not a place to anchor in a storm or with poor ground tackle and insufficient rode to cope with almost 7 meters rise in the tide.

Beggars Reach looking north.

12 miles in 3.5 hours.

To Dale Shelf

As usual when on the boat with no curtains over the windows, I was awake early with the wind noticeably increasing from very little overnight. The tide was about to turn so rather than struggle to get the anchor up with no one to drive the boat up to the anchor against the wind and tide I decided to leave as the tide turned, a very narrow window as I had seen the night before but even if I missed the turn I would have half an hour or so with relatively slack water so I got up and made the boat ready to move. 

I was lucky and just as the kettle boiled the flood tide stopped, as expected some minutes after published HW which it 8 miles down the river.By the time I had made the coffee and started the engine the boat was half way between the positions with the full flood and ebb and almost over the anchor so I was way just after 06:00 on a chilly overcast morning - despite the domestic weather forecast, it did not start to warm up until after lunch.

Going down river, Claddau Bridge in the distance.

The wind was rather fickle, ranging from almost nothing to F3 and from NW to NE in direction so the engine was on and off for the trip to the Dale Shelf anchorage that has reasonable protect from winds from all likely directions and is a good start point when leaving.

Up and back.

The plan is to leave Wednesday morning around 07:00 but I can leave earlier with a fair tide once out of the Haven if awake earlier as is likely. Winds are likely to be light and variable but with a southerly and westerly component so I may have a choice of anchorages and destinations in Ireland, I will be heading for Carnsore point that I have plenty of time to get too but if I have to use the engine more than I would like there are a couple of places further north that I might divert to. Then there should be several warm days to gentle sailing in light winds, or if there is no wind a dash up the coast under engine, with reasonable start times with north going tides starting around 07:00.

12 miles in 3.5 hours.

Click here for the two attempts to get to Ireland.

2023 April 28th, Day 14 & 15 Newlyn to Milford Haven

A bumpy start motoring directly into wind and waves to the Runnel Stone, ideally I would have left at about 02:00 for the best tide around Lands End but I compromised to get more sleep and left at 04:45 which would allow me to clear Cape Cornwall before the tide turned and would also allow a bit more time for the wind and waves to moderate.

With contradictory forecasts from different models, I left not knowing if I would be heading direct to Ireland, to Milford Haven, to St Ives or further up the Cornish or Devon coast, that was resolved when I downloaded multiple models at 08:40, had the inshore and shipping forecast from the UK Met office and the forecast from Met Eireann. St Ives would likely be too exposed to waves and a poor starting point going NW, Carnsore was a long way off in light winds and would require much more motoring so I decided on Milford.

A few large sets where coming through as I passed The Longships
but now it was reasonably comfortable as I was not bashing directly
into the waves.

The engine went off at 08:00 and I was sailing on a reach in a WNW Force 3 - 4, after 3 hours the wind backed to WSW at 3 - 5 knots and the engine went on for a couple of hours until the wind had backed further to SW and increased back to F3 - 4 so at 13:30 the engine went off and I was making good progress with the cruising chute.

From mid afternoon mist turned to fog and by late afternoon visibility was some times down to less than a quarter of a mile. The engine had to go on again at 18:18 when the wind had dropped to 4 - 7 knots and stayed that way for the rest of the night. 

Sailing in fog is always tense, even with radar and AIS to help.
Here the Irish fishing boat went right around me unseen as I went
N making 5.5 Knts through the water, 4 over the ground.
 The first “Range Ring" is half a mile from the boat.

The fog got gradually worse and by Turbot Bank, 3 miles short of  the entrance to Milford Haven, the visibility was down to well less than a cable (200 yards) and I was navigating with 2 independent GPS systems and charts (the plotter and an iPad with Admiralty charts) and Radar. 

Milford Haven VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) called at that time with traffic information, a request for current visibility at my location and to ask for my intentions as a ferry was outbound, fortunately using the west channel whilst I was using the east but it was another thing to keep an eye on with Radar and AIS.

I was spending a lot of time watching the radar, and paying the price with a "crick" in the neck as I could pick up the buoys at a mile or more on radar but only at 1 and later 2 cables visually - and these are big well lit buoys to help the big tankers going in and out.

I anchored on Dale Shelf at 04:15 for a few hours sleep and a rest day before heading for Ireland.

Dale

The big French catamaran on the right left Newlyn 8 hours after
me but despite having a foul tide around Lands End arrived
only 1.5 hours after me.  

A quick passage with a lot of engine and some quick sailing, 119 nautical miles in 23.5 hours.

Canadian yacht White Cloud, we would meet again, more than once.

Click here for Milford to Ireland.

2022 Celtic Circuit, Days 17 - 19 Youghal to Dunmore East and Milford Haven

The trip from Youghal was tedious, damp and unpleasant, the (short) night at Dunmore was worse.

The plan was to head for Waterford or one of the anchorages on the 10 mile long estuary leading there. I set off in overcast damp weather with little wind, after a couple of hours sailing the wind failed completely and I ended up motoring the rest of the way in a choppy sea.,

Drizzle was followed by bright sun but with a shallow fog giving variable visibility, generally half to one mile but it closed to a few boat lengths as I approached Dumore East and the entrance to the estuary, dodging a lot of pot buoys. Travelling up it in thick fog was not attractive so I headed for a small anchorage next to the Dunmore East harbour.

Youghal to Dunmore East.

Visibility had improved somewhat but was still less than 300 yards, measured by radar and GPS as I passed the harbour wall. A couple of hours after I arrived the fog cleared but it would now be a long struggle against a foul tide to continue up river and the weather forecast suggested that the next day would be a good time to head to Milford Haven, take a rest day there and then hopefully pick up a favourable wind to The Isles of Scilly on Thursday.

Dunmore E harbour from the anchorage after the fog dissipated
and a calm sea - almost.

The pilot does warn that the anchorage is susceptible to swell but as can be seen from the photo above, there was very little. This was deceptive, late in the evening the boat swung broadside to the swell which was of just the wrong wave length for Sancerre, a shallow gentle roll was amplified by each successive wave until she was rolling wildly, the cycle would break then start again.  It was violent enough that I had to wedge myself into the bunk but by one in the morning it was apparent I would get no meaningful sleep so I decided to leave.

I motored out of Dunmore for a couple of miles, another mile would have been useful to clear Hook Head and associated over-falls but with pots about and the night being very dark I changed to sail in light winds. These picked up through the night and I had a good sail reaching right across St Georges Channel.

A pleasing bit of navigation despite the computer doing the initial
number crunching, one trivial (a few degrees) under way change after
leaving the Coningbeg rock S Cardinal buoy just off the Irish coast and I
ended up right on the planned way point at the NE corner of the Smalls
TSS. Course changes to avoid shipping cancelling each other out.

Daybreak heading out across St Georges Channel with the Cruising
Chute, that came down at 9:45 as the wind increased and I went on
with "all plain sail" making 5 - 6 knots.

Grassholm c 12 mile ENE of Milford, it has the only Gannet
colony in Wales and the 3rd largest in UK. The smell down
wind was not pleasant, fortunately I was making 5 knots through
the water and 7 over the ground so it didn't last long.

Just past Grassholm the wind died, with the tide changing I would not get to the entrance to Milford before the next favourable tide and, with rain starting, on went the engine. The water off St Ann's Head west of the entrance to the Haven was incredibly rough given slight to moderate seas previously and only c 4 knots of wind. Two knots of west going tide was probably the reason but I have not seen it on previous passages.

After an early night I thought the wind and wave gods had it in for me, the wind backed to the SE and increased. The Dale Shelf anchorage has no shelter from this and the boat stated bucking about, not as uncomfortable as the roll in Dunmore East but not good and there was always the chance of a dragging anchor or getting bad enough to require a change of anchorage. Around 02:00 the wind veered and moderated, so all was well.

The boat swinging to the NW with the SE wind before heading
back east. (the track to the SE was a glitch when I was reloading
the plot.

80 miles in 16 hours.

Click here for Milford - The Isles of Scilly.

2022 St Kilda Days 20 & 21 to Dale Bay then St Margaret's Bay IRE.

Milford Haven is long so to shorten the trip on Wednesday when the wind eased I moved to the anchorage at Dale Shelf on Tuesday afternoon, motoring till past most of the oil facilities then a pleasant but chilly sail, that turned into a bit of a theme on this trip.

10 miles in two and a half hours.

It was another early start on Wednesday, again a theme for this trip and not a welcome one, I was up at 02:30 to find a light mist but visibility not that bad, I could see the land around the bay and lights several miles away on the oil terminal. The fog horn at St Ann's Head was sounding not far away but was not really concerning given what I could see. 

I was away at 03:00, turned around Dale Point and into dense fog with visibility a few boat lengths. I didn't see any more land until approaching Ireland!  I was very close to land but had the comfort of some buoys, GPS and radar and made a point of closely following the track I had on the plotter from when I entered last year, a favourite ploy of mine.

Radar watch in fog at night is usually a strain and concentrating on a small screen you have to watch out for sea sickness which on this occasion I just avoided until a belated Stugeron kicked in. I had a bit of a scare passing south of Skokholm when the collision alarm went off as the Irish Ferry came from astern at high speed, fortunately due to the possibility of over-falls I was rather further out so she went past less than a mile away, unseen except on Radar and AIS - hopefully both ways!

Leaving Milford, once out of Dale the visibility varied from
a few boat lengths to perhaps half a mile on occasion until off
of this pic.

Crossing to Ireland

I had to remain under power until 08:20 when some wind set in and I was then able to sail in variable winds until I got to the SE corner of the Tuskar Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) by which time the wind was light and on the nose so to avoid the TSS (you have to follow the direction of the lane or cross heading at right angles) the engine went back on until past then again for the final approach into St Margaret's Bay. 

There was some drama with flooding on the way over but I'll cover that saga in a separate post. Here.

61 miles in 13 hours. No pictures due to the fog and a lack of anything interesting at the Irish end.

Click here for days 22 & 23, to Wicklow and The Skerries.

Round GB 2021, Days 67 - 68. Dale & Sandy Haven Bay, Milford Haven.

I woke late and found a report on Facebook that a couple of Jesters might be in Angle Bay to the east but there was a familiar looking boat with a blue ensign  two or three hundred yards away on the pontoon moored near the moorings so I pulled up the anchor and went over to take a look before moving east. There I found Chuck with his Sadler 29 J'Hana, a fellow member of the RAFYC who had done the 2021 Jester and the 2019 Jester Baltimore. In front of him was a veteran Jester Challenger David and his Achilles 840 "Headway III".

Sancerre, J'Hana and Headway III.

The three of us had a good natter and a look at each others boats before deciding that the strengthening wind and increasingly choppy water was not going to make this a sustainable berth, especially with a poor forecast, so Chuck and I moved to Sandy Haven Bay a short distance east on the north coast of the Haven likely to give much better shelter. David, who was well rested decided to head for Padstow, N. Devon before the forecast strong northerly winds arrived.

J'Hana in Sandy Haven Bay

After a peaceful night Chuck moved on to find a rare marina berth to pick up his wife who was coming up for a short holiday. 

The 96ft Topsail Schooner "Johanna Lucretia" , built in 1945
she is now used for sail training and briefly replaced J'Hana
in the anchorage, probably stopping for Sunday Lunch. The
fenders floating of the stern were probably a safety measure
for the briefly noisy swimming party.

If the forecast is accurate 2 days out, and you never know it might be, I will probably use the last of the strongish wind on Tuesday morning to make a dash for Newlyn - the winds do not look good for a hoped for excursion to Lundy.

Curry night tonight and I just realised I didn't bring any ginger 😒

Slide show all of my pictures from Sorrento Bay to Milford Haven. Page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click here for the trip to Newlyn.

Round GB 2021, Days 65 - 66. Sorrento Bay to Dale, Milford Haven.

The time had come to bite the bullet and do a long leg across the Irish Sea, ideally I would have carried on down the coast inside the off lying banks, had a night at anchor (due to Covid marinas, harbours etc. were off limits) before making a "short" crossing to Wales or a longer one to Cornwall. 

Two factors ruled this out, the wind was forecast to be northerly veering east and I did not want to cross to Wales against an easterly and second there are no sheltered anchorages along this stretch of coast or on the north Devon and Cornish coasts, although Padstow harbour gives good shelter if the tide allows you to get in over Doom Bar.

I therefore would have to go direct. Milford Haven seemed a good option especially as I was likely to find there competitors from the recently finished Jester Challenge, that if I had not been delayed I would have been doing. 

That decided, a decision was needed on which channel to take through the dangerous off lying banks. There are significant over-falls off of the Arklow banks and with a brisk Northerly wind I decided to follow the coast for about 40 miles and exit south of the Arklow and Glassgorman banks.

Wiklow Head

The trip down was almost a dead run which with a  quartering sea was quite uncomfortable, but less so than some of the previous legs, the wind on the way over was F4-5 mainly the latter with gusts well into F6 and I made very good time. The entire trip was done under the headsail alone, much of the time reefed.

 

Unfortunately I was not quite quick enough to get the last of the favourable tide between Skomer Island and "The Smalls" (an area of Islets, rocks and reefs annotated on the charts as an "Area to be avoided") and into Milford. If I had been an hour earlier at St Davids Head I would have been at anchor 2 or 3 hours earlier than I managed.

The entrance into Milford requires care at night, of course it can all be done using GPS but I like to identify the lights etc. and  there are a lot of them. I headed to Dale Shelf anchorage in the NW corner of the Haven which is large and reasonably sheltered from the northerly wind. 

Annoyingly the half moon set when I was a about a mile short so it was very dark as I felt my way in not in this case helped by any shore lights or lights on the delimitating buoys one of which I almost hit. I anchored well clear of permanent moorings at 02:30.

This Topsail Schooner initially caused me some confusion when I
arrived with a huge anchor light on something obviously big,
more on her in my next post.

110 miles over the ground in 21 hours averaging over 5 knots with the last few miles under engine well below that because of the adverse tide.

Click here for time in Milford Haven and a change of anchorage.