Pwllgwaelod to Neyland

Dawn at Pwllgwaelod

I rarely sleep very well at anchor, and this was no exception. The anchorage suffered from occasional sets of rollers coming in. Nothing big, but enough to set Robinetta in motion from side to side. The pump also went at least three times. I had tied Worm alongside as soon as we came back from the pub, so she did not bump Robinetta, but as the waves rolled us Worm would snatch at her forward line so it creaked.

Julian suggested putting the kettle on at 06:20, and since we wanted to be away from the bay by 07:30 it felt like a sensible idea.

By 07:05 we were ready to go, so I switched the engine on to warm up while Julian hauled up the anchor chain. We had put out about 40m, expecting to be anchored in 10m at the top of the tide, and it certainly held us securely. The anchor came up easily, and was clean. Julian did sluice the foredeck down but that was to get rid of rust from the chain rather than muck off the anchor. He left the anchor on the foredeck rather than lashed to the bulwalks, as the forecast for today was “smooth to slight”; nothing to roll the anchor round on the foredeck.

We motored across Fishguard Bay in flat calm, with almost total overcast. The clouds were high, but in marked contrast to the clear sky when we went to bed. It did feel as though there was a little wind, and we got the main sail up before I went below to cook porridge. The sail just about filled, but that was all.

Strumble Head from the north

 Strumble head light operates 24 hours a day, and we could see it flashing as we approached. We also saw porpoises in hunting mode, and a couple of seals in the water. We went close in to avoid any overfalls off it: not that there were any! There were some swirls where overfalls could develop in a higher sea state than we had though.

Just past the headland there is a narrow passage that leads to an anchorage in the shelter of the lighthouse. Julian wanted to have a look, and had laid our course between Strumble Head and the island beyond. The channel was supposed to be 10m deep on the contours, but we quickly got down to five beneath Robinetta's keel, so I turned away and we carried on outside the island towards St David's head. That was when the adverse tide hit us, hard.

We had to fight our way south west at 1 knot for about 45 minutes (it felt longer), then we were back at about 2.5 knots. The tide runs against us for 9 out or 12 hours along this stretch, and there was nothing we could do but endure it. There were a few compensations. The porpoises were very actively fishing south of Strumble Head, and although they ignored us (porpoises are not interested in humans, unlike dolphins) we saw quite a lot of them. There were also flocks of gulls sitting on the silky water, obviously digesting their breakfast.

Common Dolphin off Porthgain

Three hours after rounding Strumble Head we were still only abreast of Porthgain, with two hours to go before we reached St David's Head. A small pod of common dolphins came and played round us for five minutes, which lightened the monotony a bit. George was on the helm, and although the main sail was up it was hardly drawing, with the wind virtually on the nose. Julian unfurled the jib whenever a breath of wind appeared, then had to roll it away almost as soon as the breeze died.

Entrance to Porthgain, marked by pillers

Our slow progress along the south end of Cardigan Bay finally finished at 13:40, when we rounded St David's Head and pointed towards Ramsey Island. The wind shifted with us, making it clear that we had been generating our own head wind, but there were ripples on the water, promising a breeze, and finally we could see blue sky on the bow, not grey. It looked as though we were sailing into summer.

Approaching Ramsey Sound from the north

We enjoyed Robinetta's passage through Ramsey sound. We had read up on the route carefully, and Julian had entered it into the chart plotter, and we had chosen our timing with care. The tide was virtually slack as we entered; Robinetta started to accelerate, then slowed back to engine speed as she outpaced the tidal push. Once we changed course to clear The Bitches the wind actually came just forward of the beam, and we were able to put the engine in neutral and sail at 4 knots. That was lovely while it lasted, but the wind soon went light again.

LIfeboat station in Ramsey Sound

Leaving Ramsey sound we found that overfalls were beginning to form. They are marked on the chart, but we were surprised to see them, given the tide had only just begun to turn in our favour. They made us reconsider our decision to head through Jack Sound, which is noted for much worse overfalls! Instead we headed for the west end of Skomer, to use Broad Sound.

Ships at anchor in St Bride's Bay

St Bride's bay felt much bigger than it looked on the charts, due to its deep indentation, and Jack Sound looked huge. The scale was distorted by three large ships at anchor on the north side of Skomer, which were closer to us than we realised as we cleared Ramsey Sound.

With the wind very light, and back on the nose, we lowered the main sail again to save it from the sun which was now shining out of a clear blue sky. A family group of common dolphins came by, with a mother keen to show her baby off, and another adolescent tagging along too. Almost impossible to photograph but great to see. As I went below to phone Neyland marina to book a berth the gentle swell began to build, and by the time we reached the western end of Skomer, this became overfalls.

It took us about ten minutes to reach calm water again, but once we were in Broad Sound the sea was flat, with the slightest of ripples. As soon as Julian noticed the possibility of wind he unrolled the jib, which filled, so up went the main again. Robinetta was only making 2.5 to 3 knots over the ground ( a lot of it from the tide) but we could not get over the cill into Nelyand's upper basin (cheaper than the all tide one) until about 20:00, so speed was not an issue. We had steerage way, so the engine went off. Glorious silence! Wonderful scenery and weather. The dull and slow morning was forgotten as we enjoyed the afternoon.

We saw a couple of of yachts coming through Jack Sound. There was no sign of excess motion of their masts, so it looked as though we had avoided the passage unnecessarily, but did not regret our routing. We were getting good views of both Skomer and Skokholm as we sailed between them.

A series of speed boats went past, their wake disrupting the smooth sea, but everything else was peaceful, and we decided on an early dinner. Julian went below to cook, while I stayed on watch, with George doing the helming. The occasional whine of George's extending arm became more frequent, and as we cleared the end of Skokholm I realised we had lost steerage way. Once the engine went back on the idyllic hour was over. The wind died totally, so I rolled the jib away, and the blazing sun made me ask Julian if he agreed that the sail should come down.

Heading for Skomer

Without Skokholm's shelter and the steadying effect of the sail we discovered Robinetta was rolling in swell, and every motor boat that came past caused wild gyrations. Julian put the stove up on its gimbals, which only helped a little, and he brought the dinner up in a grumpy frame of mind. The sun was too hot now the wind had gone, and he could feel it burning the back of his neck. The dinner (new potatoes, buttered cabbage, and tinned stew) was excellent.

We rounded St Ann's Head at 18:00, and were in Milford Haven and flat water. We motored gently up towards Neyland, looking at the port facilities and scenery as we passed, and reached the entrance to the marina at 20:10. I phoned the office and checked the water depth over the cill. There was 6', which would give us 18” under the keel, so we headed towards the upper basin.

We could not tell which berth was P5 initially, and went into P6. This was not a problem as there was plenty of space, and we quickly decided it would be fun to back into the correct berth instead of going in forward. I pulled Worm up onto the pontoon, then stayed ashore while Julian manoeuvred Robinetta round and reversed in perfectly.

We were securely tied up, with the engine off at 20:30, just as the light was going.

For a perfect sailing weekend we would have liked more wind, but we added 80 nautical miles to our progress round Britain, and saw some beautiful coast line.