randauk
regular
Reged: 31/05/2008
Posts: 11
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hi all
hello, newbie here, can any one tell me when does coastal crusing become offshore curising and how far out ( assuming conditons are right) can a 27 foor cabin crusier, ( wooden) with a 35 hp motor twin blade prop at 8 knots capacity,safely go?
and what would be the advised routing in such a boat to sail from bristol to cardiff? if I wish to get from bristol to cardiff and then eventually to milford haven?
thank you
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Damo
regular
Reged: 22/02/2005
Posts: 2905
Loc: k keeper,Portishead
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"Offshore" is generally considered to be 60 miles, but for most folks it is when out of sight of land 
It depends how seaworthy your boat is - there have been plenty of wooden fishing boats of that size plying the seas for a long time. I wouldn't like to be at sea in the average river cruiser unless it was pretty flat conditions, and I would also say that distance off isn't the issue - it is how soon you can get to a safe harbour.
In the upper Bristol Channel you would never be more than an hour or two from safety at 8kn, but along the North Devon/Cornwall coast it would be risky in anything other than a well-found sea-going boat.
Bristol to Cardiff is a straightforward passage: down the river, turn left and follow the buoys to Cardiff  Pick a gentle day and you will wonder what you were worried about Also remember that your 8kn through the water will be more like 12kn over the ground, so your journey will be a lot shorter than the map distance (as long as you aren't daft enough to push against a spring tide )
Same for the rest of the journey - in good conditions it will be a longer hop to Swansea, then Tenby, then Milf Haven, and you never need to be more than 4 - 5 miles off the coast. If you can anchor then the stages can be shorter. The trickiest bits IMO would be Nash Point (do you go inside or outside the Passage??) and St. Govans Head (where the Race can be quite nasty).
The Lundy and Irish Sea Pilot will give you plenty of info.
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Never be at a loose end with the Yosemite bowline 
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LizzyD
regular
Reged: 17/05/2006
Posts: 154
Loc: Bridgend
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I agree with Damo on this. Bristol to Cardiff is quite a nice trip and I'd do as Damo suggests. I always stay close to the English side of the channel until I reach Clevedon. Then, the sails go up and we let the wind take us across, heading for Penarth pier. when we're near the pier, it's all hands on deck for "lines and fenders", dropping the sails and motoring the last bit into the Barrage.
With Swansea, I always take the mid channel route leaving the sandbars on my starboard side. The tidal flow is fairly brisk, so although you feel like you're miles off land, you are clearing the problem area fairly quickly.
St Govan's Head? Only been there once and we got into serious trouble. I have never experienced sea like it and never want to again. Bev was convinced that we were going to die (that's not an exaggeration for this post. She truly believed that we wouldn't get out of it alive!) and I was so frightened, I shook like a leaf. So as far as St Govans Head goes, I won't be going there again. A very, very wide berth is the order of the day. It wouldn't stop me venturing west, but that piece of headland belongs to Satan himself!
Soak up the info on here mate. I've learned loads from this site.
Take care all,
Lizzy D
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randauk
regular
Reged: 31/05/2008
Posts: 11
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fantastic ty both for your info and advice, with regards to inside or outside? I dont know yet as I havent picked my boat up yet I hope I can crusie it from essex to milford via the thames, then kennett and the canal through bristol and homewards. with regards to letting the sails go and letting the wind take us, I am afraid I dont have sails only a chug chug deisel that wil do 8 knots lol thank you once again and I am  sure I am going to ask lots more silly questions , thing is I want to always keep learning new things and hope to never think I know it all. cheers :-)
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Sneds
regular
Reged: 26/02/2007
Posts: 2503
Loc: Bristol Channel
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Give us a shout as you come through Bristol
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"See the rainbow not the rain"
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randauk
regular
Reged: 31/05/2008
Posts: 11
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ooh and a quickie according to the boat yard the boat I hope to buy is a full displacement hull clinker built of wood and according to them it is a coastal boat and not just a river cruiser. ( whatever that all means lol )
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Sneds
regular
Reged: 26/02/2007
Posts: 2503
Loc: Bristol Channel
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As long as boat is up for it, and I'm not working, we can escort you over to Cardiff.
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"See the rainbow not the rain"
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randauk
regular
Reged: 31/05/2008
Posts: 11
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wow thanks sneddon dont know when it wil be yet as I am going to view the boat this saturday , then if it looks alright I shall get a proper survey done before buying. ( if its a wreck or rotten I will save my survey money and keep saving up for a better boat)
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chrishelen
regular
Reged: 07/01/2007
Posts: 1326
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Now im interested,Clinker built,Wood, does it get any better?do you know what make of boat she is? any pics?
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randauk
regular
Reged: 31/05/2008
Posts: 11
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yes and yes but I am being quiet abiout it as I am am about to buy it ( if shes sea worthy of couse )
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Alcyone
regular
Reged: 09/04/2008
Posts: 543
Loc: Bridgend, Wales, UK
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Good luck. We've just bought our first boat. We've spent the last couple of weeks tidying her and she goes back into the water on Friday.
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