The last few days of this year's journey were among the most dramatic. Following the experience of white water rafting down the Avon to Bristol, this time it was the Big One. Our Mutual Friend Goes To Sea.

On Saturday the 16th November, I set off alone for Portishead, on the Severn Estuary, leaving Bristol harbour at around 3:00 in the afternoon. The forecast for the next day was good to make the journey up to Sharpness, so I decided to go for it.

This is not a common view of Clifton Suspension Bridge, but you can see from the picture that the weather was not of the brightest. It was grey when I left Bristol, but as I moved on down the Avon towards Avonmouth it got greyer and mistier, and cloud and drizzle moved in.

It was a strange experience having to call Avonmouth Signal Station to report my movements, and although they told me it was mostly clear, they did say I would be able to see a container ship that had just left Avonmouth moving across my path. "It's only about 10,000 tonnes, nothing too major". Oh, so just the 500 times the size of me, that's all right then.

As I've said before, Ellen MacArthur I ain't, but the single handed crossing from Avonmouth to Portishead in the gathering gloom was exhilarating, mostly because I wasn't sure exactly where I was going. It all looked pretty straightforward in the maps and charts, but once I got out there, with no banks to guide me, it was a little scary.

I was pleased to spot the inner and middle light buoys, and took a course just outside the middle one. After a few minutes, I could see a green light in the distance, on the coast, so assumed, correctly as it turned out, that it was Portishead marina lock.

I arrived there safely in the by now pouring rain, and tied up for the night ready for the journey up to Sharpness. I'd made it!

Dave, the Pilot, arrived as promised around 2:00 the next afternoon to guide me up the river. This is not a compulsory requirement, but I'd decided that for the first journey ever up river, I'd make use of all the professional help available.

When I'd arrived in the lock, it was high tide, so the water level had only gone up about 6 feet to get into the marina, but the journey out was rather different. We'd requested 'first lock out', when there is just enough water to cover the cill, so we dropped about 30 feet in the huge new lock, before motoring out beyond the jetty.

Having cleared the jetty, we immediately turned and crossed the King Road to catch the tidal current further out, and then started to move up the river. Dave took the tiller, so I was able to relax and enjoy the view and experience.

Not only was he full of excellent advice, he was also good company, and I prised his life story out of him en route. The weather was beautiful, the sea / river was flat calm, just like a mirror. Conditions were perfect, and we made good time. The proof is in the attached picture (Severn Crossing in the distance).

During the trip, we experienced all the different currents caused by the tide flowing in fast, whirlpools, and back eddies across the rocks, following the deep water channel all the way. We made good time because with OMF chugging away at 1900 rpm we make about 5 mph on a good day, but with the current carrying us along too, we were probably doing twice that over the ground.

We arrived in the rapidly approaching dark at Sharpness at just before high tide with the temperature dropping like a stone. It was a clear night, which had kept the visibility clear, but by cracky it was cold when we got there. We then rose 35 feet in the lock to arrive in the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Everything is on a different scale on ship canals. Dave helped me tie up, and then we went to the Dockers club in Sharpness.

Going to sea is great fun, but going for a pint afterwards improves the experience!

And just to make the point, take a look at a road atlas, and see where I left from and where I went. It doesn't look too bad for a little narrow boat, does it?

Back To Home Page