Skomer Island

We had reached Milford Haven on Sunday evening. I needed a rest after an exciting passage from Lundy and Vagabond needed a good clean. This is not because the Purser and I had made a mess in the cabin, it was because the sand and mud brought aboard from the mooring ropes at Ilfracombe had got everywhere on deck and below.



The Plank (turn your PC on one side!)



There were also the chores that occur through wear and tear. Some rope ends needed whipping and I needed to find somewhere on deck to stow the fender plank,  which is placed outside of the fenders when the dock wall is somewhat irregular. It was used to good effect when alongside the wall in Padstow and again alongside the waiting pontoon here. It was now thoroughly dirty and could no longer be stowed in the cabin.

Make do and mend

So we had a day of “make do and mend” and they used to say in Nelson’s Navy.

Inevitably, you get interrupted when doing such stuff about the boat. People want to stop and talk, to say how pretty she is (even with 2 months worth of grime on her decks) and find out what sort of boat she is and what I’m doing with her. I really need an advert for the blog that I can hang from the boom when in port (or some business cards to hand out!).

The discussion then turns to where to go next. Several boats were aiming for Ireland. No one was going north. In fact there was no -one who had....

I mention Skomer and Ramsay islands. Other skippers shake their head – ‘It means going through Jacks’ Passage and then Ramsay sound. Lovely when you get to Skomer but you have to be careful. Mind you, the Puffins are fun....”

The weather forecast for  the next day (Tuesday 24^th July) - by all three weather forecasts  that I follow – suggested F3-4 from the South in the morning,  dropping over night and then 3 4 from the South  or variable for the following day. Sounded just right for Skomer and beyoond. 

Skomer it was tomorrow.

I read two Pilot books about Jack’ passage.

DONT GO THROUGH AT ANYTHING OTHER THAN NEAPS. (We were half way between springs and neaps. )ONLY go through at slack water – the two Pilot books differed as to when slack water occurred.......

From my point of view I wanted to go through as the tide turned from running south to running north. This was because of a complicated tidal current situation in the estuary itself.

‘Leave at 12:50’, I said, and booked the lock accordingly and went off to read my emails. One was from the Estate Agent. The possible purchaser of our house had now read his survey report and over a dozen questions as a result. I put my creative writing hat on to compose a suitable reply to them all.  ‘Yes, the bottled gas system had been installed by a competent engineer in 1973. No, I didn’t have a gas safety certificate.’  Etc etc

Next morning, the wind was as forecast. I was just casting off to go to the lock when the Estate Agent called. ‘The purchasor has more questions’. “’Sorry, Gary, he’ll have to wait, I’ve a lock to catch and I’ll then be a bit busy for the next 5 hours.’



Dale - on the way out of Milford Haven



Out of the lock, into the estuary. Up go the sails and we run down river with the wind on our beam. The water is smooth and we romp along, overtaking a couple of large boats in the process.  Now there’s a first! We had to tack a couple of times to get out of the mouth, past the inlet of Dale at the mouth and then the tide turned.



Now  we are making scant progress towards our destination.  Freddie springs into life and pushes us along.

There’s a boat between us and the shore  who seems to be making better progress, so I tur in to follow a mile or so astern of him.

 It was a glorious sunny afternoon with vibrant colour and excellent visibility: in fact at one point I looked West and could clearly see what seemed to be an island in the far distance.  Yet there was nothing on the chart in that direction between us and the Southern tip of Ireland 50 or so miles away.  Perhaps going to Ireland was not so silly after all. Fortunately, I hadn’t taken my passport, so sense prevailed and we ran along the western end of the south coast of Wales.

Despite the tide, with Freddies help  there was a real likelihood that we’ll arrive at Jack’s passage too early.

To the right of us lies a wide sandy bay  – ‘Anchorage’  it said on my chart. It’s not in the Almanac or in Cumberlidges guide to the Bristol Channel but ‘We could pop in there and anchor for a bit, until the time was right’ I thought.



 The skipper of boat in front thought so too as he turned and went in. His dinghy went off with the dog. I went in too, anchored some way away and started to read the paper.

 I was awoken by the sound of his engine and looked up to see him well under way and moving towards the passage. 



Overfalls



Up came the anchor in double quick time and we rushed off to follow him. He  had clearly been through the passage several times before. Instead of dashing straight through, he snuggled up to one rock and then went through at angle to the apparent channel. I copied and was glad that to have done so for the overfalls on the direct route (despite the “slack tide”) looked pretty nasty.



We were through the narrows and turned left (sorry, to Port) to run along North side of the island to the inlet where we could park for the night.  We nosed our way in and the guy in front took the last visitors buoy, so we were in for another bouncy and noisy night on the end of the anchor chain.



Through!



Whilst cruising looking for a suitable, shallow and protected spot to anchor , there was a thump from the centre board. I had hit a rock. It was marked on the chart, so at least I knew where I was....



That panic over, we settled for the night and a sat and watched puffin (some desperate to get out to sea to get fish, others staggering home overladen and anxious to find their burrows and young)  until the light was too poor to see. Several attempts to capture these as bits and bytes proved that I am not a wildlife photographer.....

Approaching Skomer Island, Jacks passage on the right

Tomorrow, it’s on 05:30 start for Ramsay sound and then on to Fishguard, as we cross St Brides Bay and move into Cardigan Bay. ST BRIDES BAY CAN BE A TRAP IN WESTERLIES says the Pilot sternly. ONLY PASS THROUGH RAMSAY SOUND IN CALM CONDITIONS, AT SLACK WATER ON NEAPS AND IN GOOD VISIBILIY.

The forecast is calm and misty. We're a couple of days before Neap tides.....