Penarth Quay, Cardiff 51:26.71N
03:10.57W
9 September
We had been promised a good day to finish Part I of the
voyage - and this was duly delivered. The winds were always going to be a
little light, but forecast from the N and then going NE, which should have
allowed us to sail 90% of our route to Cardiff Bay. Exiting Swansea was
straightforward as we were almost at high tide, so locking out of the barrage
was a matter of a few feet rather than several metres. It's still a
little disconcerting, as they equalise the levels by opening the gates -
creating a waterfall out of the lock.
The sun shone as we made our way up the Bristol
Channel. An odd place - massive tides and alarming depth changes and
moving banks - but not at all bad scenery, with views across to North Devon and
the odd bit of attractive South Wales coast in between industrial
scarring. Despite being a major shipping area we saw few ships - which
confirms that Wales' industrial past is indeed in the past. We were
followed by a dredger for some time off to dig out some shifting sands at Holm
Bank. A few tankers in the distance and a fine gaff rigged boat sailing
up and down the middle.
Once again the tides were against us. We had a little
help first thing, but then had up to 4 kts against us for several hours. Very
depressing seeing a boat speed of almost 7 but an SOG of 2 and bit! We
managed to sail quite a few bits, and motor sailed the rest. The wind
decided to go S and SE for while, but was quirky all day. We finished
with a nice little sail into the main channel in the Bay, apparently all
alone. Fifteen minutes later we were feeling our way into the Wrach
Channel and toward the Barrage locks. We were just after low water and
any deviation from the channel would have meant running aground. The
range here is large, and today was springs and a big one at that - so the tidal
range was well over 9m. Arriving at the outer harbour we were surrounded
by ominous mud banks and lateral buoys lying on their sides. Having got
permission to enter the outer harbour and hoping to be in the lock within a few
minutes, we ended up holding station for around 20 minutes. Not fun
surrounded by 15m concrete walls, gusting winds and occasional surges from the
locks - again, the bowthruster was magical and a couple of one second bursts
kept us in line. As we waited the queue built - so that when we made into
the lock (first) we were joined by 3 other yachts and half a dozen motor
boats. The barrage level is close to high water - so we were lifted
almost 9m. This is a not a serene experience. The water rushes in
on all side and the boats (especially those rafted in the middle - surge back
and forth. At least there are floating pontoons at each side.
Once through and out we hang around for a few minutes before
locking into Penarth Quay Marina. No depth change - so just a wait and
then a motor through to our berth. A good marina and home to Swallow for
a well earned rest for the next 3 weeks after 2,067 miles since mid-June.
Tomorrow, after giving Swallow a good clean and exploring Cardiff Docks,
we will pick up a car and head back to Evenlode. I'll then rejoin
Swallow to take her round Land's End to Dartmouth with friend and fellow former
AA and Deloitte partner - Brian Whitefoot - also now a Yachtmaster. Ann will be safely at The Courtauld!
