Legs 3 and 4

Tuesday 23rd July 2024

Up early this morning and ready for off by 0630 to make our way down to the first of the swing bridges that you have to pass through to get to the lock. As we arrived at the bridge there were already 5 yachts waiting ahead of us. 

    Boats gathering in Cumberland Basin

The low bridge was swung and we all made our way into the large Cumberland  basin to await permission to advance into the lock. As we waited a further 5 cruisers followed us into the basin.

      Waiting for the tide in Bristol Lock

We followed the yachts into the lock and waited until the tide in the river reached the level of the water in the lock. Once level the gates were opened at both ends of the lock, this known as free flow. We remained in the lock until an hour or so before high water at which point we set off for Cardiff. 

The run down the river was straight forward enough and we reached the estuary just after high water. Once in the estuary we were soon overtaken by the faster planing cruisers and we settled into our trip.

The weather was reasonable, there was a stiff breeze creating a few rough patches but otherwise the journey was OK. We arrived in Cardiff around 11am just managing to squeeze onto a full visitors pontoon.

We spent the rest of the day getting in some supplies including a visit to an amazing little bakery we found on our previous visit here.

Chatting with the guys on the other cruisers, who had arrived and tried up by the time we got there, I mentioned we were heading for Porthcawl. They seemed to think Aquitay would struggle to get through the lock into the marina there. We had also been informed that we should arrive around high tide, this of course meant we would have to punch a 3 knot tide for virtually the whole journey.

 Sunrise over Cardiff Bay as we leave our   moorings

High tide a Porthcawl was 0920 so we decided to leave at 0600 from Cardiff. 

So another early rise, up at 0445.

Planning completed we decided to try the curry in the Yacht Club and it was delicious and a real bargain at £6.00.

The following morning our departure was greeted by a lovely sun rise but ominous looking clouds out to the west. 

   Sunrise as we leave the Cardiff Bay

   moorings

There was only a gentle breeze as we left the lock heading west along the South Wales coast. 

As we rounded the headland at Lavernock Point the town of Barry came into view, with its beaches and harbour and the small Sully Island just off shore.

The tide was running fast against us and not wanting to push the boat too hard we continued slowly onward barely managing 6 knots. We did start to wonder if we would make our destination in time but as we ticked of the waypoints we eventually gained a bit more speed. Finally we rounded the infamous Nash Point with its two lighthouses, one of which is no longer used. The weather was deteriorating but we retained reasonable visibility as we passed through the narrow Nash channel. Here there are several large sandbanks and these tend to create quite a swell. This was our first time through this type of water but the boat coped with it ok, it was just our creaky old bones that ached having to counter the movement of the boat.

The lighthouse at the end of Porthcawl pier came unto view and we made good progress over the last five miles finally arriving around 30 minutes after high water so there was plenty of water to see us over the sill of the lock.

The entrance is narrow so we kept our fenders lifted until we were through the gate and into the marina, Dennis, the duty officer, was there to greet us and helpfully catch a rope. They are really good guys here, along with the local moorers, really helpful and welcoming.

                  Moored up in Porthcawl