Ribbing In Swansea/Tenby

matt h · 02 April 2007, 20:27

This weekend Im heading to Swansea/Saundersfoot Area for a change of scenery, (nothing to do with my boss wanting to have a play and saying he will pay for all fuel)

i do have a 04 Good launch Guide which gives me most of the info But where is the Best place to Launch/store trailers, also Tidal Situations, (Drying out)I know Mr Codprawn

has taken some really good pics of the sand bars etc,
Any Ideas and advice would be great,anything to particulary to watch out for??

codprawn · 02 April 2007, 21:21

Swansea
Nab rock slip in Mumbles - gets VERY busy but 2 great slips - use main one at highish tides - other at all states. You have to register with the council at the hut - show insurance etc - costs about £5 to park and launch. Go around the haedland and you are on the Gower coast.

Burry Port/Llanelli (home of Avon)
All slips are FREE and plenty of free parking. Would be perfect but for crap tides. Slip into the sea itself is fine but not very sheltered. Sand is firm at the bottom so you can recover from it but the tide goes out a long way!!!
2 slips into the harbour - but you can only get in and out for about 1hr now - see my story on dredging!!!
Advantage of Burry Port is you are so close to Worm's head and North Gower - also Tenby only 20 miles away.

Haven't ventured to Saundersfoot/Tenby yet but Pembroke has some great slips as well.

No petrol at any harbours but boats are common and even Tesco and Sainsbury seem ok to fill up at.

codprawn · 02 April 2007, 21:24

Try looking at Swansea/Gower with Google Earth - good high res shows everything fine. Nothing further West of Gower yet though!!!

You mention tidal situation - just remember they are huge - a hovercraft would be best!!!

xpertski · 02 April 2007, 22:51

I would agree with codders, he gave some good info there!

It does depend on what vehicle you tow with, as if you can, i always like launching at Port Eynon, its a beach here in the Gower, fantastic routes either way from there, around to mumbles, or along past the other beaches and towards the loughor estuary. you need a 4x4 there though as its loose sand at the top of the beach then firm as you get maybe 50 metres down the beach.

Mumbles for me is the next preferred option, and the main slip would be the one to use, we had to jusr register, and get a plate from them, dont think we had to show insurance. its a ncie sheltered slip and has a good range with the tide!

I wouldnt advise burry port slip as it tends to be a bit dodgy as its not well sheltered, its fine if there is no wind and no swell, but a small amount of swell makes it very difficult to launch and recover there, you cant just ease the boat out, then abck onto the trailer....coming in alst time we launched there was a bit interesting, with the swell which was breaking onto the slip, carrying us onto the slip as it broke, a bit dodgy..... even though it was calm at sea!

pembrokeshire has some stunning scenery around the coast if your thinking that route also!

Downhilldai · 02 April 2007, 23:17

Saundersfoot harbour has a slipway with access approx 2 hrs either side of HW. From there, you're straight out to Tenby, Caldey Island, etc. and a lively blast across Carmarthen Bay to Gower coastline, or head further West for Skomer, Skokholm and Ramsey Islands and the shelter of Milford Haven Waterway. Problem with S'foot is that on Bank Holiday w/ends it gets VERY busy and access to the harbour is via the main car park, which will be full if the weather's fine.
If you're looking for easy slipway, plenty of deep water at virtually all states of tide and interesting coastline, you won't go far wrong with MH waterway. You can launch for free at Neyland, Pembroke Dock and Dale, amongst many others. Easiest to access by car is probably Pembroke Dock, where you can launch for free at Hobbs Point (steepish slipway) or Warrior Way (East Llanion).
I personally quite like the Llanelli / Burry Port / North Gower coastline, but it does dry out and if you're unfamiliar with it, you may get caught out

Parking for car and trailer should not be a problem in any of the above.
Good luck

Alex Brown · 03 April 2007, 00:18

Depending on the weather, I should be out on the water Friday and/or Saturday, probably for the usual jaunt out to Skomer, but depending on conditions maybe round to Tenby or upto St Davids.

Let us know if you do venture into the area..... similarly, if you are in Swansea, see if you can get a picture of the lesser spotted codprawn while you're there

-Alex

matt h · 03 April 2007, 08:02

Hoping to see Codders out this weekend but have been informed by unreliable sources he might be working!! will keep trying tho!! Come on Codders!!

Hobbs Point looks to be a good bet , is there fuel there or nearby? and Hosepipe etc, also do i need to take my insurance details and all that stuff, ?? Basically i have to meet Boss in Tenby, havent been there before, is there a jetty there or do i beach it ?? swimmers etc? does it dry out at Tenby?? Oh so many Questions!!
Also i guess its swansea coastguard?? what is there frequency etc

havener · 03 April 2007, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

Also i guess its swansea coastguard?? what is there frequency etc

Depends where you are.

For Gower, etc up to River Towy, Carmarthen it's MRCC Swansea, Tutt Head, Mumbles, Swansea - 01792 366534 MMSI 002320016

From River Towy westwards, it's MRCC Milford Haven, Hakin Drive, Milford Haven - 01646 699600, MMSI 002320017. Calling Ch16, weather on Ch84 0734 plus every four hours thereafter.

Don't forget also if you're in the Haven waterway, Port Control VHF Ch12.

It's a wonderful area, enjoy!

Simon

Mugshot · 03 April 2007, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

Hobbs Point looks to be a good bet , is there fuel there or nearby? and Hosepipe etc, also do i need to take my insurance details and all that stuff, ?? Basically i have to meet Boss in Tenby, havent been there before, is there a jetty there or do i beach it ?? swimmers etc? does it dry out at Tenby?? Oh so many Questions!!

Tesco is just down the road from Hobbs Point, as is Asda. You wont need a copy of your insurance and theres no hose pipe either. For what its worth I would suggest you consider Neyland slip which is directly opposite Hobbs Point. Garage near to the roundabout at the top of Neyland. Only reason I mention it is it's far easier to park there.
However if you're going to launch in the Haven then steam round to Tenby it may be in your interests to launch a bit closer to the heads, in which case Gelliswick or Dale may be more suitable.
I'm not too well up on the Tenby situation I'm afraid, I have a feeling Alex is quite familiar with it though. I know the harbour does dry out though.
Having thought a little more about it I do think that if you're thinking about launching in the Haven then it would be far far easier for your boss to drive to your chosen slipway. Tenby to Hobbs Point or Neyland would be about 15 mins, its considerably longer by sea.

matt h · 03 April 2007, 18:08

today, i went for a bit of a drive, From Bristol to Pembroke to Tenby then Saundersfoot, ok ok just doing a recce.., im going to launch at Saundersfoot and head to Tenby from there, lOOKS AWESOME!!
Tides are into Neaps and High at 09.49 on Sunday so i guess i will have to be out by11.49 am
Am i right with that or do i have a bit more time, ??

Downhilldai · 03 April 2007, 19:34

Saundersfoot should be ok at that time - I saw some excavation going on in the harbour a couple of weekends ago, so it may be a bit deeper now

There's nowhere really suitable to land at Tenby after the harbour dries out, other than beaching it - no jetties or pontoons and if there's a bit of swell, you may not want to beach it. I assume you're planning to return to Saundersfoot on the evening tide - nice idea if the weather's fine. Can be a long day out if it's a bit rough/windy/raining, etc. You could perhaps anchor off the beach on the incoming tide, and get a lift back out to the boat later on, if anyone's around. Problem with the coastline there, as opposed to MH waterway is that there aren't really any suitable landing places with pontoons for lunch, a pint, etc., whereas on the Haven, there's quite a number. Plenty of opportunities afterwards though in Tenby and Saundersfoot. I suppose your boss will have plenty of suggestions for this

matt h · 04 April 2007, 08:38

Thanks for all your input chaps, Have a great easter Blast!! looks like the weather is going to be superb for Ribbing!!

Downhilldai · 09 April 2007, 09:01

How did you get on Matt?

matt h · 09 April 2007, 13:03

Hi all, launched at Saundersfoot, superb weather as you know, went around the island, awesome, UNTIL, they wanted to do some photos, so looked at one beach and the surf and breaking waves on the beach looked to much, so went to another quieter beach, came in as i normally do and my boss jumped off the Bow, with the boat just on the sand, then a few waves picked up and swung the boat round very quickly,

Now we were broad side to the incoming waves, now i was stranded with the boat leaning completely over on one side, although they were holding on, there were a few screams as the boat was getting swamped and pushed further up[ the beach, (and getting heavier with the incoming water)i jumped out and tried to manhandle it too deeper water, no go.
i then got the 1 child out and her mother,(yummy) Wayne ,my boss jumped out and we got it into deeper water, whilst watching the engine depth carefully i managed to dink the prop, futher in to deeper water, ichecked the prop and it had bent right over, after gently bending it back, it snapped, Whilst trying to play it down, we headed back to Saunderfoot, They were all fine albeit wet but warm,and they seemed to enjoy themselves, Wayne wants to get a rib, and he still loved the experience but not sure about his wife,(she pays my wages) oops!

Apart from the obvious, what could i have done differently??, i know its all a learning curve and passenger safety is of prime inportance,

how would somebody else take hold of the situation??

What did i do so drastically wrong???
Help!!!

codprawn · 09 April 2007, 13:20

Glad everyone was ok. Shame you had a bad ending though. Beware of any waves on a beach - boats suddenly become hard work. One dodge is to lay a strong anchor before you come in.

The other is to come in at speed kicking the engine up last second - doesn't do the hull much good unless it's soft sand.

Best advice of all is to avoid beaches with waves!!!

Mugshot · 09 April 2007, 13:38

I'm glad everything turned out ok, it's such a shame that your visit to this spectacular area of the country was spoilt though. Especially as the weather w so good.
I was actually pondering this problem the other day as I really dont fancy going in and tackling waves or other more hidden dangers like nasty rocks, yet it would be nice to get in and have an explore or picnic etc and It crossed my mind that a small inflatable might be an option, chuck it on the boat when you know you're in an exploring mood and pump it up when needed, I'm not sure how practical it is though.
Tim M mentioned it the other day too in the Scratchells Bay thread.
I actually carry a spare prop with me too just in case I give the other a smack.

Alex Brown · 10 April 2007, 10:48

A good way to ensure you don't end up broad side on is to drop the anchor maybe 20 or 30metres off the beach, swing 180, lift the engine up and then let the boat go into the beach carefully off the anchor rope backwards - this way the bow will always be head onto the waves. Obviously you'll need to pull yourself into deep enough water to get the engine going again, but from what I recall, the thousand islands boats used to do this up at St Davids.... I have a feeling you'll find that venturejet still do that now, but I'm not sure.

The alternative is to launch within the haven on one of the many slipways where there is no surf

-Alex

Downhilldai · 10 April 2007, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Brown

A good way to ensure you don't end up broad side on is to drop the anchor maybe 20 or 30metres off the beach, swing 180, lift the engine up and then let the boat go into the beach carefully off the anchor rope backwards - this way the bow will always be head onto the waves. Obviously you'll need to pull yourself into deep enough water to get the engine going again, but from what I recall, the thousand islands boats used to do this up at St Davids.... I have a feeling you'll find that venturejet still do that now, but I'm not sure.

The alternative is to launch within the haven on one of the many slipways where there is no surf

-Alex

Spot on

Beaches can be a problem with rolling waves. Probably best to keep in deeper water, away from the breakers. Put it down to experience and don't let it put you off coming back. Glad everyone was ok. I always carry a spare prop ......just in case.

matt h · 10 April 2007, 13:09

i like that idea, and i guess if the rear of the boat is touching the sand when the waves break , just pull on the rope to shorten it,!! thanks again chaps, going to look at replacing my searider soon so boathunting will begin, have narrowed it down to three boats!!