The safety of the vessel, crew and passengers is at all times the responsibility of the skipper.
Anyone putting to sea (and especially in the Bristol Channel) should only do so in a well found boat (preferably inspected by the RNLI under their SeaCheck scheme) with at least two practical and efficient means of propulsion. They should be in possession current charts of adequate scale for the areas in which not only they expect to pass but any other areas to which they may be required to go due to weather or any incident which may occur. They should have adequate navigation and safety equipment. The skipper must be suitably knowledgable and experienced in the collision regulations, seamanship and navigation and have passed the appropriate RYA yachtmasters qualifications (both shorebased and practical. See RYA Website), and also have a good local knowledge of the area through which the vessel will pass. Portishead Cruising Club welcomes any skippers unfamiliar to the area to the club on Wednesday evening, where there will undoubtedly be able and willing volunteers who will informally pass on some of their experience of the channel.Disclaimer: The accuracy of the information contained herein cannot be guaranteed. It is posted for interest and not deemed reliable for navigational purposes. Portishead Cruising Club does not accept any responsibility for the safety of any vessel or its occupants whose course or actions are in any way determined by anyone acting on information contained herein. These pilotage notes are not comprehensive, nor are the list of hazards they contain.
Information on tides and navigation in the Bristol Channel can be obtained from the Arrowsmiths Bristol Channel Tide Table. Available from:- V. Arrowsmith-Brown, 34 Hill Grove, Bristol BS9 4RQ, 0117 940 6902 bristolchanneltidetable@blueyonder.co.uk
Port Of Bristol Company Chartlet of Avonmouth and Kings Road
When approaching from the South. Contact Avonmouth Radio (CH 12) before you reach the Welsh Hook cardinal buoy. The operators at Avonmouth Radio are very friendly and helpful, and can advise on the shipping movements into and out of Portbury and Avonmouth Docks.
It is preferable to sail along the Southern edge of the 'Bristol Deep' shipping channel. If however passage is being made on the Northern side then the preferred place to cross is before or around Battery Point at Portishead after first making sure that any such crossing will not impede the passage of any ship restrictred to the deep water channel. Avoid the area around King Roads which is used to swing large ships accessing Portbury or Avonmouth docks, when the tide is coming in the ships may need to turn through 180° to allow them to stem the tide. After passing Battery point stay South of the shipping channel. Cross the Portbury dock entrance close inshore after checking that there are no vessels entering or leaving the dock. Aim to pass the pier head at least 50mtrs off. Beware of ships and large Tugs which may leave the docks at any time.
When approaching from the North. Cross close in front of the Avonmouth (Royal Edward) dock staying well clear of the disused fuel pier on it's North side. It is recommended that Avonmouth Radio be contacted (CH12) to ascertain any impending shipping movements.
The pilots and tug operators who take the ships in and out of the docks are by necessity very skilled at their work. However a large ship is very restricted in its ability to maneouver especially when travelling at low speeds. If you are at all uncertain as to the intentions of a ship, keep well clear and contact Avonmouth Radio, who will also be able to give helpful advice.
Entering the river. At the entrance to the river Avon watch your depths and keep North around the swatch bank. Many boats have waited for a tide on the bank. It is soft mud which can give a poor return on an echo sounder.
The following speed restrictions operate in the River.
Vessel drawing 1.9m or more 7 knots over the ground/6 knots through the water
Vessel drawing less than 1.9m 9 knots over the ground/9 knots through the water
In addition you are required to slow down past moorings (there may be people in a dinghy amongst the boats).
If upon arrival at Avonmouth you cannot get into the River Avon - either too early or too late on the tide - then anchoring is possible inshore, between Portishead Dock & the Royal Portbury Dock entrance fairway. This anchorage is to be avoided in an onshore wind, here again seek advice from Avonmouth Radio. Current navigational instructions for the River Avon state that vessels up to 99.0 metres in length, with a mast height of up to 27.0 metres are permitted to navigate to the City Docks without the need to obtain the Haven Master's sanction.
Powerlines and the M5 motorway bridge, restrict the airdraft about a mile into the river.
A Visitors buoy is situated just up river of the club slipway. This should be used with care & depths monitored, as it dries on Spring tides. It can also be used as a temporary mooring whilst loading/unloading stores & crew. It would be wise for visitors to contact the Moorings Officer (see Vice Commodore above) to enquire if a mooring is temporarily available for any planned visit.
See the Visitors page for a list of the facilities in Pill.
If a stop at Crockerne Pill proves unsatisfactory, a boat can proceed the 3.9 miles up river to Bristol City Docks & lock in at Cumberland Basin as long as arrival is no later than 15 minutes before predicted high water. Contact Bristol City Dock on VHF Channel 14. If you do intend to lock in at Bristol it is recommended that you phone the Dock Master (0117) 927 3633 in advance to notify them that you require the lock. When they are not too busy, the operators at Avonmouth radio may be able to notify the Dock Master on your behalf, if you ask nicely.
Chapel Pill is situated half a mile upstream of Crockerne Pill. The land surrounding Chapel Pill is private and there is no public access ashore. Club members are reminded that access is only permitted following written consent from the land owner. However the Pill can be viewed from the adjacent Bristol-Pill cycle path.
The journey via tender from the clubhouse to chapel pill is potentially very dangerous with large vessels navigating the river and occasional large standing waves in the river. A heavily laden tender will be less maneouverable and also have a greater risk of being swamped. Statistically the most dangerous part of sailing is the trip in the tender. Always wear a lifejacket. The journey is obviously safer if you carry a hand held VHF and call Avonmouth for any shipping movements. Note: A VHF radio should only be used on tenders belonging to a vessel with a VHF license.
The tidal rate in the river can exceed four knots. If you want to travel in the direction of the flow then it is possible to get to Chapel Pill and back by rowing but be aware that you will be carried with the tide when crossing the river. Most trips in the tender will be taken using an engine, if so it is necessary to carry at least one oar in case of engine failure. It is also essential to carry a bailer, there will be times when you will need one (in emergencies you can use a wellington, a shoe, or a baseball cap to bail with). At night display a light.
When making the journey via a tender the following risks are reduced if the journey is made on the Shirehampton side of the river.
It is advisable to call Avonmouth Radio or Bristol Docks to ascertain if there are any ships making passage in the river.
Portishead Hole proper is the area of moorings just outside and to the east of the entrance to Portishead Dock. However the term is also used to refer to the area bounded by Portishead Pier, the entrance to Portbury dock, the shoreline and the shipping channel. i.e. this approximates to the brown area below the words 'King Road'
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
This area can be used as an achorage, however local knowledge is required. The area is also very exposed. Contact Avonmouth radio CH12 for advice before attempting to anchor in this area.
Important: The Bristol Channel experiences the second highest tides in the world (up to 15 Mtrs) with corresponding rates of tidal flow. There are numerous sand banks and shoals which dry at low water, not only do these constitute navigational hazards but also restrict the widths of the channels through which the tide must pass. There are a number of islands and submerged rocks which are hazardous to navigation.
Every time you sail in the Bristol Channel and the Severn Estuary the experience will be different. After several uneventful and stress free passages it is easy to be lulled into complacency. When the sailing is good it is very good, however when the weather turns you can easily find that making your required course is difficult. The channels are relatively narrow in places and there are many shoals and shores. The tidal streams can limit your course over the ground, and there are not many places to shelter especially at low water.
When the wind is blowing in the opposite direction to the tide, then short choppy waves can develop. These waves will considerably slow your progress down through the water. This is especially important if you are attempting to punch the tide as you may not make any forward progress or even end up going backwards over the ground.
Even when you have set out in good conditions when the tide turns the sea state can change considerably.
For example, imagine you have entered the Bristol Channel from the West and are running before the prevailing South Westerly in a force 6 and the tide is rising. As the boat is running the apparent wind speed is reduced to a force 5 also the tide is also taking you away from the wind further reducing it to an apparent force 4. So you are sailing along at 6 knots all sails drawing. The boat is making nearly 10 over the ground and with the flat seas you are having the sail of a lifetime.
Now the tide turns and you head back. The wind is still a force 6 but the apparent wind is higher as both the tide and the boat are heading into it. The apparent wind is now nearly force 8, the wind over tide conditions kick the waves up into short choppy seas the bow is regularly scooping solid water, the wind howls through the rigging and spray fills the air making visibility to windward difficult. Same day, same wind speed, same boat - different conditions.
Beware of the buoys !! Unless you are sailing either directly with or directly against the tides you will not be travelling in the direction that the boat is pointing. The buoys in the Bristol Channel are robustly constructed to cope with the extreme tidal rates. A combination of these two factors means that a buoy which appears to be well off your bow may be in your path and if you hit it then you will do at speed and more than likely the buoy will sustain considerably less damage than your own vessel. Another factor which could lead to a collision is that your speed through the water may only be a couple of knots, the distant buoy seems 10 minutes away but in fact due to the tide you will be at its location in 3 minutes.
There are a large number of sandbanks in the Channel. It is possible to go ashore on these but definately not recommended. Even the hard patches of drying sand will become quick as the tide comes in. Also if your boat is anchored off the sands then getting back to it against the tide may not be possible. Bilge keel and flat bottomed boats have dried out over low water on the Welsh sands, this is risky as there are a couple of wrecks on the sands, and also dangerous as the sea conditions can deteriorate rapidly meaning that your would have to float off in breakers (it has happened, nearly resulting in the loss of the boat involved).
With tidal rates of 3 - 5 knots (and as much as 8 in the shoots channel), progress can be made against the tides. However the accepted wisdom is to sail with the tides when they are favourable (at which times you can double your normal expected distance over the ground) and rest during the three hours when the tidal rate is at its quickest against you.
In good visibility navigating is probably easiest by following, the buoyed deep water channels. Keep just outside the shipping channels, and navigate from buoy to buoy.
Anchoring - anchoring in the tide is not recommended. When the tide is moving in the same direction as the wind, conditions can be as calm as a millpond. However being carried by the tide you could be making three knots over the ground. If you put your anchor out then when it bites it will have to pull the boat through the water at three knots. The force will dramatically pull the bow down and could cause the boat to oscillate in the water. The anchor will either bite deep and hard or be dragged through the bottom until it snags on something immovable, in either case you may not be able to retrieve it.
There is real danger if the anchor warp is not securely held in the stem head. If the warp passes over the side of the boat then the downward pull of the anchor can rapidly roll the boat. Open boats have been overwhelmed in less than a second by having their anchor warps over the side.
If there are any waves then these will compound the problems with anchoring, and may mean that recovery of the anchor or cutting the anchor warp may not be possible.
It is good practice however to have an anchor ready, if the engine fails or the vessel is dismasted timely use of the anchor could prevent the vessel from being pushed by the wind/tide into a rock, island, buoy or other hazard.
Apocryphal stories of 'days gone by' tell of sail powered cargo vessels being left to drift up through the channel on the basis that unless they are blown by the wind that they will naturally drift in the fastest flowing (i.e. deepest) water and consequently navigate themselves. As the water flows around any obstructions then this flow will also carrry the vessel clear. However I do not know of anyone brave enough to put this into practice. I include this as an interesting anecdote only, and do not recommend that it is tried.
Tides - The tide starts to rise at the Western end of the channel first, consequently the maximum rate of flood tide also passes up the channel from the West (i.e. maximum rate at Lundy is approximaitely one hour before Cardiff, and Cardiff is 30 minutes before Avonmouth. If you are moving to the east then you will stay in the fast tide for longer, the duration of the tide will be more than six hours. Going West on the ebb tide and you will be losing on the tide as you will be sailing towards the low water.
Hydrographic Office - Notices to Mariners
(For additional pilotage informations see the other Bristol Channel Clubs and Marinas WebsitesLink to the 'Bristol Channel Yachting Association')
