Sharpness to Bristol in June 2015

[Gunna Do]

I'm planning to take my 50ft Nb down to the Kennet and Avon via the tidal Severn. I'm hoping to go early June and will be taking a pilot.

Are there any boats out there planning similar and would be prepared to share costs?

[cotswoldsman]

Great trip. Check with insurance in my case I had to have pilot on board for the other boat I went with they were ok for him to follow a boat with a pilot

[Gunna Do]

Many thanks John. I have already arranged cover to include the Mersey as well as we are based at Rufford. They didn't state that they required me to carry a pilot for either. The Mersey is quite straightforward but it wouldn't be sensible to go down the Severn without!

[cotswoldsman]

Many thanks John. I have already arranged cover to include the Mersey as well as we are based at Rufford. They didn't state that they required me to carry a pilot for either. The Mersey is quite straightforward but it wouldn't be sensible to go down the Severn without!

I am also doing the Mersey this year to the MSC are you at St Mary's. I have to say the Bristol trip is the onew time I have was told to get a Pilot

I am moored in Burscough at present

[bottle]

 

It is very difficult to offer advice to a vessel which is more than a few metres away. On open water, such as the Severn, craft very quickly drift apart so we will not agree to take convoys of craft. Experience has shown that convoyed boats can stray into areas of water which are dangerous. We, as pilots are unable to assess the manoeuvrability of an individual boat or the competency of the skipper unless we are actually on board. There are sections of the passage where the boat navigates in fast moving water and requires the helmsman to respond immediately to a situation. Any craft following another with a pilot on board is not legally a ‘piloted vessel’ and thus we cannot take responsibility for its safety.

 

From here: http://www.gloucesterpilots.co.uk/services/leisure/

 

ps. That is not my bold, it is theirs.... Your choice.

[Gunna Do]

I am also doing the Mersey this year to the MSC are you at St Mary's. I have to say the Bristol trip is the onew time I have was told to get a Pilot

I am moored in Burscough at present

We're in Fettlers. Stuck in now until sometime in March because of the works on lock 6 though not a problem as not intending to go until May. We have to get BSC and the dreaded MSC done. Looking for a surveyor to do both at once - some hope!

cheers

Graham

Edited January 11, 2015 by Gunna Do

[Tom Richmond]

I drove over the severn bridge the other day at high tide, have to say it is a scary piece of water... Would love to do it one day though!

[luctor et emergo]

There is no law that requires you to have a pilot when sailin the Severn. What you do need, is a chart, a tide table, and a knowledge of navigation. Many boats sail the severn without a pilot all the time.

 

Just make sure your narrow boat is prepared for the journey

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

Thoughts on Sharpness to Bristol. Wait for a neap tide (springs can be 19mtr) and a quiet weather window plus check for flood water coming down the river. The method nowadays is to go from Sharpness to Portishead marina and next day Portishead to Bristol. Clean the bottom of the fuel tank before giong on bumpy water I used a vacuum cleaner and thin pipe. . Set anchor and chain (secured) where they can be deployed quickly. A pilot is cheap if you get it wrong.

Edited January 13, 2015 by The Bagdad Boatman (waits)

[craftycarper]

I'm planning to take my 50ft Nb down to the Kennet and Avon via the tidal Severn. I'm hoping to go early June and will be taking a pilot.

Are there any boats out there planning similar and would be prepared to share costs?

if you time your trip to coincide with the bristol harbour festival there is normally a large gathering of boats at the sharpness end of the canal waiting to do the trip, often they have signs up inviting others to join them and share the pilot, I know the rules say different but this seems to be quite normal to travel down in convoy,also be aware that portishead marina were you will be made to spend the night is somewhere around thirty quid a night so check river conditions for the day after you leave sharpness as well or it could get a bit pricey if you get stuck there for a few days good luck and enjoy

[cotswoldsman]

The £35 I paid included the lock fees from memory it is £18 for extra nights

[craftycarper]

The £35 I paid included the lock fees from memory it is £18 for extra nights

. Sounds about right don't know anyone that's made the trip in the last couple of years but that's what the last person I know paid, also as the development of portishead continues to grow at an alarming rate the marina is gradually filling up with floating champaign palaces and I expect as space becomes a premium avalable spaces will get less whilst cost gets more, when did the over night stop at portishead become an essential part of this journey it never used to happen when portishead docks as it used to be was just home to a few old working boats, but now it's a plush overpriced marina everyone that make the trip is forced to stop there for at least one night ????

[Rob-M]

. Sounds about right don't know anyone that's made the trip in the last couple of years but that's what the last person I know paid, also as the development of portishead continues to grow at an alarming rate the marina is gradually filling up with floating champaign palaces and I expect as space becomes a premium avalable spaces will get less whilst cost gets more, when did the over night stop at portishead become an essential part of this journey it never used to happen when portishead docks as it used to be was just home to a few old working boats, but now it's a plush overpriced marina everyone that make the trip is forced to stop there for at least one night ????

The marina is about to have another set of pontoons installed to accomodate even more boats. Living not too far from the marina I see a few narrowboats throughout the year in the marina. I'm not brave enough to bring ours round though.

[Loafer]

Thoughts on Sharpness to Bristol. Wait for a neap tide (springs can be 19mtr) and a quiet weather window. The method nowadays is to go from Sharpness to Portishead marina and next day Portishead to Bristol. Clean the bottom of the fuel tank before giong on bumpy water I used a vacuum cleaner and thin pipe. . Set anchor and chain (secured) where they can be deployed quickly. A pilot is cheap if you get it wrong.

 

19m tidal range? Are you sure? I'm not!

[craftycarper]

19m tidal range? Are you sure? I'm not!

. I look out of my living room onto the mouth of the avon were it meets the severn and the biggest tides I have seen is just over 14 meters and the flood gates are closed at lamplighters and pill, they are around 1 meter high so 19 meters would be a bit of a disaster I would imaging locally and nationally

[Scholar Gypsy]

 

19m tidal range? Are you sure? I'm not!

 

 

 

Wikipedia says 14.5m

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

Still 43 foot. Fast enough for me.

[Tom Richmond]

Frequently asserted to be second largest tidal range in the world, second to Bay of Fundy.

 

Edited after I stopped being lazy and googled the statistic.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Tom Richmond

[Tim Lewis]

There is a programme on ITV as I type (Ade At Sea) about the Bristol Channel.

 

Tim

[blackrose]

There is no law that requires you to have a pilot when sailin the Severn. What you do need, is a chart, a tide table, and a knowledge of navigation. Many boats sail the severn without a pilot all the time.

 

Just make sure your narrow boat is prepared for the journey

 

As you know Henk, I did it from Portishead to Sharpness (with a pilot) in May 2013. I did the bit from Bristol to Portishead without.

 

My guess would be that most of the boats without pilots are small sailing vessels or motorboats with reasonably experienced coastal skippers. As I'm not one myself I'd still pay for a pilot next time.

 

Anyway, it is a great trip, but even with a pilot I'd choose my day carefully just for peace of mind. Leaving Bristol at 5am in darkness and then coming out to sea was quite stressful even though it was flat calm. The thick fog bank that I went through on the Avon for 20 mins didn't help my stress levels! Thankfully the fog didn't extend to the mouth of the river. Once I had the pilot on board at Portishead I could relax and enjoy the trip.

 

A few pictures from my trip:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2015 by blackrose

[David Mack]

My guess would be that most of the boats without pilots are small sailing vessels or motorboats with reasonably experienced coastal skippers. As I'm not one myself I'd still pay for a pilot next time.

10 years or so ago we were moored up in Bristol Floating Harbour alongside a couple on a particularly brick-shaped wide beam who were relocating from the Thames to the Warwickshire Avon, and heading off the next day without a pilot or any particular preparations! We took the safer option of returning the way we had come, so I never found out how they got on.

 

Last September we watched a narrow boat leaving Sharpness for Bristol, again with no pilot, at about 6.00 pm. The owner said she had done the trip several times before and it was a doddle. Her new partner, who seemed to have some lumpy water boating experience, sounded less than convinced, and positively winced when she got out her tiny folding anchor on about 20 foot of rope. We watched from the entrance lock as they sailed off into the setting sun. But at least the estuary was like a millpond. It would have been pitch dark when they arrived at Portishead.

[Old Son]

out to sea was quite stressful even though it was flat calm. The thick fog bank that I went through on the Avon for 20 mins didn't help my stress levels! Thankfully the fog didn't extend to the mouth of the river. Once I had the pilot on board at Portishead I could relax and enjoy the trip.

 

Now that really is flat calm!!!

[luctor et emergo]

 

As you know Henk, I did it from Portishead to Sharpness (with a pilot) in May 2013. I did the bit from Bristol to Portishead without.

 

My guess would be that most of the boats without pilots are small sailing vessels or motorboats with reasonably experienced coastal skippers. As I'm not one myself I'd still pay for a pilot next time.

 

Anyway, it is a great trip, but even with a pilot I'd choose my day carefully just for peace of mind. Leaving Bristol at 5am in darkness and then coming out to sea was quite stressful even though it was flat calm. The thick fog bank that I went through on the Avon for 20 mins didn't help my stress levels! Thankfully the fog didn't extend to the mouth of the river. Once I had the pilot on board at Portishead I could relax and enjoy the trip.

 

 

I know Mike, and what I meant to add to my post, is that unless you know what you are doing navigating on chart and instruments, it is of course advisable to take a pilot. I would. I just wanted to point out/correct the oft trotted out half truth that one MUST have a pilot.

[Gunna Do]

Many thanks for replies and the set of pics. I hope my passage is as calm! My wife and I are both ex-lumpy water sailors. I have Ocean Yachtmaster quals and love it out on the open ocean though NOT in a Nb. It's generally the land that hurts and having lived in Gloucestershire and seen the Severn in all its moods, I wouldn't even think about not using a Pilot for a Nb trip. A much more powerful boat - maybe!

Graham

Edited January 17, 2015 by Gunna Do

[blackrose]

Many thanks for replies and the set of pics. I hope my passage is as calm!

 

I was very glad when I left the mouth of the Avon to see it so calm. I was very lucky to have such a good day. I've bounced around on my boat on the tidal Thames several times, so I know the boat can handle it, but some people seem to think that unless it's rough on tidal waters then you're not doing it properly! I suspect that sort of talk is bravado, but they're welcome to take their boats out in rough conditions if that's what they like - I'll go out there when it's calm if possible.