Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Monday 22 July 2019

Some helpful notes about dinghy cruising Southpool Creek in the Kingsbridge Estuary


Camp cruising up Southpool Creek

A number of people has asked me for basic details about sailing in the Kingsbridge estuary
e.g. what are the anchoring/mooring rules? Which beaches can you legally land on?

So, below I have tried to give some basic details, starting with Southpool Creek. As I sail up other creeks, I will add further details.

 I do not guarantee that these are all correct either, so for detailed information straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak – contact the Salcombe Harbourmaster’s office or their website, details of which are at the bottom of this blog article.

On the visitors pontoon inside the bag area

Basics about the Salcombe harbour area:


·        Speed limit is 8 knots from just south of the bar.

·        Sand bar has a least depth of 0.5 metres LAT and should not be negotiated on an ebb tide with strong onshore winds or swell.
·        The whole estuary is a marine site of special scientific interest and a local nature reserve with a 5m tidal range. High Water 05 hours 23 minutes before Dover. Maximum range 5.7 metres. Mean range (Springs) 4.7 metres. Mean range (Neaps) 2.2 meters
·        In the creeks, watch your wake speed, be aware of mudflats on falling tides and anchor with extreme care in the eel grass areas that line both sides of the shore between north sands beach and Batson Creek entrance. Within this area stop engines and paddle to shorelines.
·        Beaches along the East Portlemouth eastern shoreline are privately owned and each has rules about BBQ’s and lighting fires. On all beaches be aware of swimmers in the water. There is no mooring on the foreshore along the East Portlemouth beaches.
·        Swell and breaking waves affect the Wolf Stone rock area just north of the bar and the sunny cove anchorage on the eastern shore opposite Wolf Rock.
·        During dinghy races, there is a small powerboats fairway established on the western shoreline between North Sands beach and the town landing stages. Speed is dead slow in Batson Creek area.
·        Harbour master can be contacted on VHF ch 14 or 01548 843791
·        Water taxi is VHF 12 or 07807643879
·        Batson Boat park 01548 844010 -  Car/Boat Park spaces can be booked in advance on a weekly basis, sat-sat, or arranged on a daily basis with the attendant upon arrival -  email: b.oatpark@southhams.gov.uk  Launching at almost all states of the tide for trailable small craft. The trailer park is locked overnight to prevent unregulated access.

The pontoon at Batson Creek launch ramp - waiting time 10 minutes 


Mooring:

Further details available from download harbour guide or harbour office, but here are the basics that might interest dinghy cruisers:
·        Visitors from sea - swinging moorings are available off the town between Mill Bay and the Fuel Barge. Visitors’ buoys are marked with a “V” and state maximum length, up to 9m on orange buoys.
·        Anchorages adjacent to town include off Town/Fishermans Beach and Smalls Cove (avoiding the Yacht Club racing start line when appropriate). An anchorage further from town is available north of “The Bag” where the residents moorings finish, in the vicinity of the Saltstone. Anchoring is prohibited in the middle of fairways and near to ferry or cable crossings. Anchoring or drying out is allowed up the creeks, although one or two beaches along Southpool Creek are private.
·        Short stays alongside Normandy pontoon (eastern side) in the entrance to Batson Creek are available for water and provisions but are restricted to half an hour at busy times.
·        There is no anchoring in the fairway or in the bag area

Looking across the lower bag area 

Visiting Kingsbridge by boat - should you wish to go up river

·        Only for boats with draft less than 2 metres, LOA less than 11 metres and prepared to take the ground,
·        It’s a 3.5 mile trip from Salcombe to Kingsbridge. Kingsbridge creek is navigable 2½ hours either side of high water as the basin dries out. The main estuary up to Kingsbridge is wide and shallow at high tide. At low tide the channel runs through mudflats.
·        Visiting vessels can use the middle section of the main pontoon on the western side of the basin. However, small dinghies could also dry out on the mud flats to the west of the slipway although getting to shore many be an issue!
·        Kingsbridge has a launching slipway at the end of the large car park. Vessels up to 1 metre draught can be slipped dependent on the tide.
·        Before proceeding to Kingsbridge check berthing availability with the Harbour Office and note that visitor mooring fees and harbour dues are payable, if you want to go alongside pontoon or harbour wall for evening


Kingsbridge marina basin 



Visiting Southpool Creeks

·   
·        Southpool Creek can be accessed 2.5 hrs either side of high tide -  a tree lined creek which is wide and quiet when the tide is in, especially once past the small craft moorings.
·        Both have small visitors’ pontoons towards the head of each creek – neither have any water supply
·        There are extensive areas of flat mud that you can dry out on along both creeks.

See previous posts about sailing this creek and a video on my Youtube channel - www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy

The visitors pontoon at the head of Southpool Creek


Harbour facilities back at Salcombe

·        Fresh water is available at Normandy Pontoon and Batson Quay. During June, July and August fresh water is available on the Visitors’ Pontoon in the Bag between 1000 & 1100 daily.
·        There are two Harbour Authority showers at Whitestrand, pin code printed on your harbour dues receipt. Alternatively, Salcombe Yacht Club is happy for visiting yachtsmen to use their showers at the Yacht Club situated at Cliff House – I’m not sure whether that would extend to dinghy cruisers – but I cant see why not 😊

Looking towards the entrance to Batson Creek and the main pontoons at the town centre 

Visitor charges

·        Harbour dues are £1.00 per metre length.


Insurance

·        All craft using the Estuary must be covered by insurance for third party liabilities. The current level of third party insurance required is £3,000,000


Local beaches

·        The Beaches of East Portlemouth are privately owned and use of the beaches is at the discretion of the owners. No mooring of any boats on the foreshore. No camping and no BBQ’s or camp fires.


Local pubs up Southpool Creek

·        Southpool – The Millbrook Inn - http://millbrookinnsouthpool.co.uk/
·     


Thoughts about currents and winds within the lower estuary and Southpool Creek

Regular readers of this blog will already know I am no expert sailor – dodgy sailor yes! So, here are some thoughts and observations which are personal, or have been related to me by locals, or that I have read somewhere but can't remember where (an age thing becoming sadly increasingly more frequent). Anyway, everything below comes with a healthy warning!

·        The current within the estuary seems to me to be based on a normal 6 hr cycle and the main current shifts between flood and ebb. It seems to me that the main current during the flood flows up the channel on the western side, the strongest bit in the middle of the channel but that could be just co-incidental, happening on the occasions when I was there. In the bag area I think Snapes, Scoble and Tosnos Points have strong deflectory influences on the flood current. Currents seem very strong close to Scoble Point and also on the easterly side up to Ox Point area. Tosnos Point deflects the current across to Halwell Point near Frogmore Creek entrance.

Looking north up the bag area towards Halwell point and the entrance to Frogmore Creek 


·        On the ebb, from Kingsbridge, the flow into the bag area is equally between Tosnos and Halwell points. However, many local dinghy sailors tell me it then runs strongly down the eastern side of the channel before being deflected at Ox Point across to Snapes Point. From here it runs south to the fuel barge, being deflected off Ditch End beach. From the little ferry crossing area, the current then ebbs straight down the middle of the channel.  remember, I don't guarantee that any of this is correct - I'm a very amateur sailor. 


With regard to winds, my impression is that they tend to funnel up or down the main fairway channel so it is either a beat or a run.
·        A valley near Mill Bay beach on the eastern shoreline funnels winds especially during easterly winds. Similarly, westerly winds are funnelled down the valleys of North and South Sands which can cause problems if the winds are northerlies and you are heading in across the bar area. Short tacking will be required. In fact, the bar area in south westerlies can be rather ‘interesting’ given the effect of the steep, tall Bolt head area cliffs. Be prepared for some nasty unexpected gusts!
·        Northerlies and easterlies will also be funnelled along Frogmore and Southpool Creeks.
·        I have always found winds in the bag area to be difficult to read and very fluky shifts. There are lots of wind shadow areas in this part of the estuary and it is here that I am always caught out and my lack of sailing seamanship shows through.

In a choice of wind or current, local sailors tell me to think and use ‘current’.


Useful publications and websites:

·        The Salcombe Tourst Information centre – 01548 843927 email info@salcombeinformation.co.uk

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