Round Britain for the RNLI Blog

The forecast was for light winds and calm seas… not a bit of it!

It started early… up at 3ish to get the boat ready to get out of the harbour before the tidal gate shut at 4ish. What I hadn’t planned for, based on the forecasts I had, was for fog! Well, mist really at Padstow but it got worse a bit further on. Do I go or not? That was the question very much on my mind. Well, every forecast I saw suggested that it should clear and with forecast light winds and a slight sea I reasoned that it should clear but if it didn’t then I would talk to the coastguard and see if they can help with traffic info.

It didn’t clear! In fact it was never more than a mile or so all the way across but with the OK from the coastguard, no shipping showing up on their AIS (that covers the big boys), I continued on but with a very sharp lookout all the time. The big news though was the sea state. There certainly were no big waves and it was never more than a slight to moderate but it was the short, choppy stuff that made planeing difficult. Eventually I got the rhythm of the wave pattern and it became easier and so I was actually able to keep the speed up at about 14kts most of the way but boy was it uncomfortable! I can only describe it like driving for 7 hours in a car while going over a sleeping policeman every 5 yards! Again, nothing at all dangerous or even a worry just very tiring and requireing total concentration if I wanted to keep the speed up. It really only smoothed out 5 miles from Milford Haven.

I had my first dolphin moment too… a pod swam alongside and ahead of the boat for several minutes. I stopped to take photos and they must have got bored and I didn’t see them again. Again, a little later on another pod joined me but this time I tried to take photos whilst still on the plane but it was so bumpy I don’t think I got anything. I haven’t checked the photos yet because of the 3G issue but I will over the next couple of days.

Entering Milford Haven everything changed… the sea flattened, the mist cleared and the sun came out and that is how it remained all day.

All in all an eventful and thoroughly enjoyable but challenging trip. An excellent day.

I am now berthed in Neyland Yacht Haven who are giving me 3 days free berthing… thank you. Tomorrow (Sunday) I am collecting with my RNLI bucket at Milford Haven Tesco (with their permission) so please return to see how much I have raised for the RNLI.

Not a great deal to see on this leg as the mist was down almost all the way. It did clear just as I entered the Harbour though.

Click on pic to enlarge…

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Not my technology this time!

Unfortunately there is no 3G on the O2 network in Neyland Yacht Haven so I can not send pics. Sorry. I will get them up just as soon as possible so please don’t give up on them… they ARE on their way I promise.

If anyone in or near Milford Haven is prepared to come and get me and let me access your WiFi I would be very grateful

I’ve just spent an unnatural amount of time redesigning the screens and reprogramming our Philips Pronto multi-device Remote Control.

If you’ve not met one of these gadgets, they are an excellent alternative to sharing the 3 seat sofa with <insert large number> of individual handsets. You can see one here. Ours is a first generation RU940 (known as TSU2000 in USA).

The LCD screen is free format and you program each button you create to do any number of actions - so 1 button can, for example, switch on the TV, change it to the right input, and switch on the Sky box.

So, I have now set it up so that with one button I can swap from Sky to the DVD, instead of the several buttons on different remotes. Wonderful.

So that’s kept me busy for a while - I think it’s time to settle down in front of the IPL 20/20 cricket semi-final.

The day promised to be a great day at sea and it was, but not without a little hiccup at Land’s End.

It certainly wasn’t the calm, sunny day that the forecast promised but it was a good sea day none the less. I had originally planned to go outside everything and go 3-4 miles outside just in case there were overfalls but after sitting down with "Patch", Patrick the RNLI Mechanic, he said that there was plenty of water inside and given the weather and neaps that it would be fine. He was right. Rounding Land’s End, the inside route was spoiled only a little by the claggy, misty weather and a ground swell that looked like it had come all the way from America… and it probaby had! Nothing spoiled it for me though. Only last year I visited Land’s End and stood on the viewing point looking out at the boats wondering what it would be like to go around… now I know.

After passing inside the Longships Lighthouse the sea flattened out allowing me to plane again but the weather was murky until almost at Padstow when it brightened and the entry to Padstow, timed to arrive just after the tidal gate opened, was a wonderful sight. I have never seen such a busy harbour albeit that the action was on land with hundred of people milling around the inner harbour… holidaymakers. Many of them looking at my arrival and it is a little disconcerting to have so many watching me tie up to the harbour wall. Still, I reasoned that not many of them know much about boats so if I did anything wrong probably nobody noticed!

Tied up and off to the harbour office where they welcomed me with free berthing and harbour dues and offered to fill my fuel tanks. Wonderful. Then it was off to have fish and chips and relax for the evening. I spent that evening on the wall by the boat just talking to people… excellent.

Given the weather and the fact that I was now behind my proposed schedule I decided to make for Milford Haven while the good weather lasted. The problem was that the tidal gate only opens 2 hours either side of high water and if I left it until the high water the next afternoon then I wouldn’t be leaving before 1pm. So I decided to do what all proper boating people do… get up before dawn to "catch the tide". So up at 3am to be out just before the gate closed at 0415hrs… and so on to the next leg - Padstow to Milford Haven…

PS Photos will have to wait… still no 3G coverage in Milford Haven. I might try to scrounge some wifi but I don’t hold out much hope. May have to wait until Pwllheli!

Click here for pics