Conwy to Liverpool Passage Planning

Alison has described the trip but I wanted to make some notes about the planning.

We had originally wanted to do the trip from Holyhead to Liverpool as one cruise, stopping in Caernarfon and perhaps Beaumaris. In the end we stopped at Deganwy and I decided that in Robinetta we really need to do this trip at neaps.

The problem with a spring tide is that it happens around midnight and noon. The distance is around 40 nm so in a 3 knot boat you have to leave around midnight. I like night sailing and that's exactly what we did from Portaferry to the Isle of Man last autumn but a day time trip was more what we had in mind.

At neaps high water is around 8 am and 8 pm. This works well for Liverpool Marina which has a lock which operates HW± 2 hours and is manned between 5am and 10pm.

 So at neaps it is possible to leave Deganwy or Conwy marina when the flap gate is open for the morning HW and arrive at Liverpool for the evening HW.

The earlier one leaves the more tide there is to fight out of the river and up the side of the Great Orme but one might get the last of the flood east once round. Leaving around HW helps at first but then its a slog against the ebb along the North Wales coast.

There are two other decisions to make. The main one is the choice between the Queen's Channel and the Rock Channel. The Rock Channel is considered difficult and not to be attempted without local knowledge by all the cruising guides and almanacs but the Liverpool Sailing Club provides excellent pilotage notes for it. Their observations indicate more water than the charted depths claim and that was our experience in 2017 too.

The Rock Channel permits a shorter passage and one which allows better views of the coast and avoids a long leg sharing the channel with shipping. I think it should be the default for recreational boats coming from Anglesey. Departure via the Rock Channel is more challenging as it is done on a falling tide but still a good option as it allows more hours of favourable tide heading west than the Queen's Channel would.

The other decision to make is whether to go inside or outside the wind farms. I planned the route outside as this seemed safer but in the end we had a little north in the east wind and we just couldn't make headway in that direction so we went inside.

My conclusion is that it doesn't matter. The guides talk about the wind farms 'closing off' the North Wales coast but it isn't true. You can pretty much ignore the wind farms. There is plenty of water on either side of them and gaps between each one if you want to hug the coast and then head out to the Queen's Channel.

There are really no ports of refuge on this coast. It is really to be avoided completely in strong northerly winds. We had easterly winds, starting strong but promised to die and that's what we got.

Rhyl has a marina of sorts but again, access is only around high water and any passage will likely be there near low water.

There are anchorages in the Dee at Mostyn and Hilbre Island. The channel to Mostyn must be entered near Rhyl so the decision must be made quite early. Most boats will be too fast to need it. By the time one gets near Hilbre Island one has the flood and Liverpool feels achievable.

Once past the Dee one joins the sailing directions for the Rock Channel at the Hilbre No. 1 buoy. The directions skirt the East Hoyle Bank and the Great Burbo Bank. But the directions are for leaving on a falling tide and one is entering on the flood after half tide so there is likely to be at least a fathom of water over the banks. We snuck over the edges of both banks and we saw as much water on the green patches on the chart plotter as we did on the blue!

The view on the sea is completely different from the chart. The banks are totally submerged and the coast of New Brighton appears unencumbered. However one navigates the Great Burbo it is essential to obey the instructions through the Rock Gut. It does get quite shallow. Edge too far north and one could hit the submerged training wall but the tide will push one south towards the perch on the end of the concrete spit. For us, heading straight for the Brazil buoy seemed to work well.

We called Mersey VTS in the Rock Channel before entering the Gut. They were friendly and helpful and said there was one big ship coming in behind us.

Once in the Mersey the tide takes one in and there are small boat buoys and the Mersey Ferry to avoid but its a fine sight and at neaps the tide is less than 2 knots. Just have fun.

We got to the marina in the gloaming. The lock has a red/green light array which is the best guide to finding it. We treated the river as a traffic separation zone and crossed at right angles.

The lock has plenty of space outside it and out of the current to wait for the gates to open so there is no need to wait to cross the river. Inside there are pontoons either side to tie up and wait for the inner gates.

The marina buildings and exit are between the Coberg and Brunswick docks so turn left out of the lock and carry on along the wall until you see them. Find a spare berth as close to the bar as you can!