TMLondon
regular
Reged: 10/03/2008
Posts: 54
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This may seem a silly question, i've never had much experience sailing around firing ranges, and now i'm on the channel i've got the Castlemartin range between Dale and Tenby. Looking at the charts it extends 12miles off shore, is there a protocol for sailing either around or near it?
(apart from ducking if a missile comes over?)
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www.yachtshoestring.co.uk
1969 Wooden Folkboat
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mrbloto
regular
Reged: 31/12/2007
Posts: 201
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the times of firing are normally posted at milford marina neyland marina or any of the yacht clubs in the area the range boats are both ends of the extremities, they normally ask you to stay outside of!! turbot bank!! west end!! st govans!! the east end we have had drones above us and shells within 200metrs of the boat if the weather is bad they will wait for you to pass
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Damo
regular
Reged: 22/02/2005
Posts: 2626
Loc: k keeper,Portishead
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As a rule of thumb they never fire at weekends, so traversing the coast shouldn't be a problem then. If you ever go to the public viewing area when the tanks are firing, you can see why you need to keep well offshore - shells can ricochet a loooong way.
If the weather is calm the inshore route has some of the most spectacular coastal scenery anywhere, and in many places you can go right up to the cliffs and sea caves and watch the climbers.
Some good info and contact details here
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Never be at a loose end with the Yosemite bowline 
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Damo
regular
Reged: 22/02/2005
Posts: 2626
Loc: k keeper,Portishead
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Church Rock, Broadhaven
Stackpole Hd, St Govan's Hd beyond
Castle Head
Battleship Buttress
Linney Hd
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Never be at a loose end with the Yosemite bowline
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savageseadog
regular
Reged: 19/06/2005
Posts: 4611
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Suitable logo for your boat................
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If I'd wanted to live in a Banana Republic I'd have gone to South America.
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Alcyone
regular
Reged: 09/04/2008
Posts: 441
Loc: Bridgend, Wales, UK
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Hope I'm not boring anyone with this.....
There is teh wreck of a liner in Bullslaughter bay, right under a radar station for Castlemartin. We always dived it at weekends. In 1992, three of us spent a week down West and decided to dive this wreck. We set out from Dale, informing the coastguard of our intentions. We did see a red flag, but assumed that, since we had spoken to the coastguard, they could not be exercising. I was half way through evicting a lobster from it's hole when I was dragged upwards by someone pulling on my surface marker bouy line.
when I reached the surface I was informed that I was in deep trouble, that there were dozens of German tanks waiting to fire, at thousands of pounds per hour, and that I would likely be charged the bill. We were escorted back to Dale by the Navy launch, all our details taken. As soon as we passed crow rock, they started firing. It was a boiling hot day, and they must have really hated waiting in those tanks.
Rather than air my dirty laundry over the airwaves, I telephoned the coastguard to complain. They could not apologise enough, had a record of my call and took full responsibility. No further action was taken and I was sent a letter of apology. I didn't get my lobster though.
Even now, we still have a laugh over a pint, thinking about those Germans sweating in their tanks whilst they waited for me to finish my dive......
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Damo
regular
Reged: 22/02/2005
Posts: 2626
Loc: k keeper,Portishead
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Up until about 1991 the red flags were only flown during firing, as per what you would expect. After the new Lt.Col arrived they were flown continuously, which made it a bit tricky for us climbers to know when it was OK to climb.
There was a concerted effort by the climbing community to get access to Range West - the best stretch of unclimbed cliffs in the UK - which culminated in a mass trespass at dawn one Saturday by about 40 of us. Some of us had been going in for a while, entering before dawn and keeping below the clifftops all day, so we knew the lie of the land pretty well and could avoid the frantic security patrols which were all over the place after the Guardian reporter had phoned the Commandant for a comment! (There is a climb named "Cowboys and Spoilt Children" after his response  )
Me and my climbing partner spent half an hour crouched on a ledge just below the top, after being spotted, until a patrol had moved away, before creeping round the end of the fence and coming back to Stack Rocks car park from a "legal" direction. We pretended not to know all our mates who had been arrested by the MP's 
The outcome was that the MOD now provide annual briefings for climbers who want to climb in Range West (weekends only, outside of the nesting season)
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Never be at a loose end with the Yosemite bowline
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Alcyone
regular
Reged: 09/04/2008
Posts: 441
Loc: Bridgend, Wales, UK
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There's a beach a little to the West (If my memory serves me) with a cracking stack on it. We'd often pull up there for lunch between dives, there were often climbers dropping down the cliffs (no easy access) to go over the stack.
We played a game of rounders there once with driftwood and pebbles, until we broke one blokes foot when a pebble struck off the 'bat' caught him square. He never came diving with us again after that. Strange fellow.
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Damo
regular
Reged: 22/02/2005
Posts: 2626
Loc: k keeper,Portishead
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Sounds like the Elegug stack at Stack Rocks - impressive guillemot colony on the top, which makes climbibg very unpleasant just after the nesting season
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Never be at a loose end with the Yosemite bowline
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Alcyone
regular
Reged: 09/04/2008
Posts: 441
Loc: Bridgend, Wales, UK
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That looks right, although I remember more sand than that at the base. Stunning bit of coastline along there, although I've ot been down there for some years now.
Never remember being bothered by Guillemots. Iv'e been bombed by Fulmars when in the water, and chased by Skuas in Scotland, but can't remember ever having a problem with Gullemots. What deodorant were you using?
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