- Blog
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by Pete Green
I was really excited to be asked to help with the yacht delivery of Nellie lll, a 2002, Hallberg Rassy 36 from Ardrossan to Portsmouth for her new owners. The route is 550 nm. and should take a 3 person crew, 4 days sailing nonstop…
Ardrossan
Ardrossan is a seaside town in the Clyde Estuary opposite The Isle of Arran where the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry leaves for the island. This is fortunate as the connecting train stops right next to the Clyde marina. The skipper, Mark, and I found the boat and took advantage of the light winds to bend on the headsail and remove the cockpit tent. The third crew member, Max, arrived on the evening train. Max is participating in Halcyon’s career development scheme, this was his first yacht delivery.
Weather Delays
Finding a weather window for a yacht delivery is crucial, however, in March it can be difficult to undertake a passage halfway around Britain and have fair conditions. Low-pressure systems can roll across the country relentlessly. Unfortunately the forecast changed for the worst when we arrived and the four clear days we had planned on utilising for the passage were no longer fair. We were unable to leave on Sunday the 13th as planned: winds of 30+ knots were predicted. The crew had plenty to keep them busy though; there is a lot of preparation that goes into getting a boat ready for a yacht delivery. The yacht’s rigging is examined, the sails checked for rips, the engine is run and tested against the warps and spare parts and tools are stowed where they can be found quickly. Safety equipment is made ready and the boat is provisioned with fuel, water, and of course food.
Troon: Port of Refuge
By Monday 14th the SW winds were due to ease and a route was planned down the Clyde Estuary, North Channel and across to Dublin. Taking this route towards Ireland would allow us some protection from the wind rather than sailing in the middle of The Irish Sea. Nellie lll has all her lines at the mast so the mainsail was reefed and hoisted in the shelter of Ardrossan’s outer harbour, allowing the crew time to tidy the halyards in calm waters. Outside the harbour, a confused swell had built up making conditions difficult. The wind, instead of easing as predicted, increased in strength with gusts of 30+ knots. Although weather forecasting can be very accurate, certain wind directions can lead to local anomalies and predictions can be plus or minus 20% different from the expected projection. In addition to the increasing winds, heavy driving rain set in, soaking the crew who were already wet from the copious spray. The Hallberg Rassy handled the conditions perfectly, cutting through the waves with ease. You could almost hear her sigh when the skipper made the sensible decision to sail into Troon as a port of refuge. 27 miles were covered that day, 130 is a more usual 24hr average!
The weather continued to blow hard on Tuesday 15th; Ayr Bay was a mass of white horses. We spent the time checking the boat after her shakedown sail, planning a new passage through the tidal gate at Stranraer, prepping food and taking advantage of the marina’s bath… Wednesday 16th dawned fair with the Inshore Shipping Forecast promising winds of force 4/5. Nellie lll left Troon harbour just after noon, passing the lighthouse on Lady Isle to port: we had allowed 8 hours to sail the 40nm to Stranraer, plenty of time to arrive in time for the tide to sweep us through the North Channel. Once underway the crew settled into a 3 on 6 off watch pattern with time allocated for cooking and cleaning duties.
Dublin Bay to Milford Haven
The approach to Dublin from the northeast is very beautiful and also very busy. Make sure you contact port control as you approach the channel. Poolbeg Yacht Club is situated on the banks of The River Liffey a few miles outside of the city. There is space on the outer pontoon for visitors but not much water depth. A deep low pressure off the west coast of Ireland and a high-pressure system centered over Europe resulted in near gales forecast for The Irish Sea: another 24-hour weather delay! Fortunately, we were held up on St Patrick’s Day and were able to see a little of the colourful festivities.
Codling Bank, SE of Dublin Bay, is surprisingly shallow in places causing overfalls and interesting eddies for the sailor to wonder at. Our next destination was Milford Haven, 110nm away across the Irish Sea. The winds around Lands’ End were strong and easterly making rounding this headland impossible, our plan was to refuel in Wales and wait for a break in the weather. We arranged a berth in Neyland marina so we weren’t restricted by the lock opening times at Milford Haven. The marina is well protected with good facilities but shallow. We were amazed to see the pontoons rise and fall 7m’s during a tidal cycle.
Lands’ End to Portsmouth
On Sunday 20th we used the Hallberg Rassy’s 55 hp Volvo Penta engine to motor out of Milford Haven, leaving the oil refineries, fuel vessels and associated tugs astern of us. The seas were confused and the swell was large as we hand steered across The Bristol Channel with the easterly wind on the beam. We passed Longships Lighthouse on the dawn tide of Monday 21st: a major milestone on this yacht delivery. Wind over tide made for a bumpy ride, then progress was slowed further when the tide turned against us as we passed The Lizard. The rest of that day and night was spent tacking across St. Austell Bay towards Start Point. Fortunately, the wind eased through the night and we could motor directly across Lyme Bay.
The final important tidal gate was through The Needles Channel at the entrance to The Solent. However, the tide was just beginning to turn against us when we arrived. The decision was made to take the inner passage to the north of Shingles Bank, staying close to Hurst Castle. The concluding leg of the yacht delivery was the passage through The Solent to Portsmouth, the winds were light as the sunset and we berthed Nellie lll in Royal Clarence Marina.
Hallberg Rassy Living
It was a privilege to spend 10 days living aboard a Hallberg Rassy 36. It is such a beautiful yacht that effortlessly combines seaworthiness and comfort. The deep centre cockpit helps the sailor feel secure, a design that allows for a large aft berth with headroom and storage space. The accessible navigation area has ample room for charts and almanacs, the galley was functional even in rolling seas, and the heads/drying room practical and efficient. I particularly liked the clever design of 2 salon berths. Whilst on passage the delivery crew slept exclusively here, rotating their cribs in sync with the watch system. The passage from Ardrossan to Portsmouth is one that I will remember for many reasons: challenging winds, tidal gates, a beautiful boat, sailing to each of the 4 home nations, and for the seamanship and friendship of the crew. An incredible voyage!
This article was written by Susan, one of our yacht delivery crew members. As well as delivering this beautiful Hallberg Rassy, Susan has helped us with numerous other yacht deliveries. To find out more about Halcyon Yachts then please visit: https://halcyonyachts.com/