Blue to Brown: Clovelly to Penarth

Saturday was a big day for us. We had precisely two days left before we had to get back to work, and just over 82 miles to go.

Having checked the weather window the night before, we agreed that a 9am departure would be best to take advantage of the tidal currents.

The Bristol Channel has some of the strongest tidal currents and the highest tidal range in the world. If we timed this wrong, we wouldn't just be going nowhere. We'd be going backwards.

Today's goal was to try and get to Penarth.

While we might have just about been able to make it to Portishead before the strong Bristol Channel tides turned against us, to get into Portishead Marina you need to go through the lock. And with Cheeky Monkey's deeper than you'd think draft, we can only get into the lock about two hours either side of high tide.

The plus side of this little Welsh layover was more time to navigate the busy Bristol Channel (tides and traffic), a free night in a Boatfolk marina (a neat little perk of being Portishead berth holders, even if we haven't technically even docked there yet), and if I'm honest, I just liked the idea of sailing to the country of my mum's family. Hi Nan, if you're reading this. 👋

When we planned this leg the night before, the winds looked considerably lighter than anything we'd had so far on this trip, so we were excited to finally shake out the reefs and use the full sails for the first time on this two-week journey.

Another fun thing we had to factor into the plan was the Bristol Channel currents. In order not to mess this leg up entirely, we HAD to be around Shag Point and somewhere near Ilfracombe by midday, which is when the tide would turn in our favour and pretty much push us where we needed to go.

Now, unfortunately, the night before, I'd had to reposition the anchor bridles that had slipped off, and my back audibly went "clunk" and I was in a lot of pain. Really annoying, given it had only just started to feel better. I hoped, on a wing and a prayer, that a good night's sleep would make everything better by morning.

It was not better by morning. So I had to tell Rich he'd be sailing this one pretty much solo. I'd be on hand to help where I could, but don’t expect any fast movements from me.

For those of you that haven’t been sailing with us on Cheeky Monkey, sailing is one of those activities that’s like an avocado - not yet, not yet, not yet. Quick go now!

So, enough back drama. On with the fun sailing stuff.

We built in a bit of extra time to lift anchor, just in case three nights of good holding meant we were properly stuck on something down there. At 8.30am we lifted anchor, and crossed our fingers that we weren't wrapped around a rock.

Considering how rough it had been, wind and swell bashing us from every angle, we were pleasantly surprised at how well the anchor had held. Perhaps too well. 🤔

To our delight, it came up perfectly fine, and the clay-based seabed all over the anchor (and now me) perfectly explained why our holding had been so good these last three nights. Yay us. 💪

The sea state was calm, and the wind an easy 14 knots. And, most importantly, for the first time on this trip, it wasn't coming from exactly the direction we needed to head. 🙌

So we shook out the reefs that had been a permanent fixture for two weeks, and had the full sails up. Off we go!

It was a gloriously sunny day, at last the kind of weather we'd been wishing for on this whole trip.

About an hour in, as we passed Saunton Sands and Barnstaple, the wind died down a little to about 10 knots, but we held a decent 6.5 knots.

An hour after that we passed Woolacombe. Rich was ridiculously excited to pass this childhood holiday spot from the sea. If we'd had more than two days to get to Portishead, we might have even dropped anchor for the night at Woolacombe Rest. But we had places to be and couldn't afford any delays. Luckily the wind picked up to a whole 12 knots, and we were now doing 7.4 knots. Shag Point was on the horizon, and we were perfectly on track with our schedule.

By midday we passed Shag Point, and could see Ilfracombe up ahead off the starboard side. We only bloody did it. Hit the milestone bang on track.

Fun fact for anyone wondering why we cared so much about the timing: the tidal currents in the Bristol Channel pack the equivalent punch of a hurricane, four times a day. Imagine trying to outrun that on the school run.

From this point on it should have been easy going as we picked up the tidal assist, which at this point we were very grateful for, because the wind had died right down to 6.5 knots, but miraculously we were still doing nearly 7 knots. That tidal assist really was a welcome boost. Dare I say it… Rich luck strikes again. 💁‍♀️

Rounding the headland around 1pm, passing Combe Martin, we were travelling downwind. With the wind still not getting much above 6.5 knots, we switched into Rich's favourite mode, goose winging, and our speed inched up to nearly 8 knots.

At what point does the Bristol Channel go from blue to brown?

If you've ever looked at the satellite view of the Bristol Channel on Google Maps, you'll notice it's brown. Like proper poo colour. Ever since we started planning this trip, I've always wondered what it’s like and how it transitions from the beautiful clear blue seas we had in Brixham to the murky brown mess from about the Weston-Super-Mare area.  No judgement here, I grew up in Clevedon, and the sea there has always been brown.

Around 2pm, passing Lynton, I found my answer. The brown appeared first as muddy puddle-shaped clouds in the water. A few at first, small, but there. The further up the Bristol Channel we went, the more of them there were, and the bigger they got. Until…

By 4pm, passing between Rhoose and Minehead with the big tents of Butlins in view, the sea was completely brown. Not quite the shade I remember from a childhood on Clevedon beach, but 100% brown, and definitely not blue anymore.

Bristol Channel myths

Now I feel like I need to explain something that still to this day absolutely baffles me. When we planned this trip and started telling fellow sailors about it, they all said some version of "ooh, be careful in the Bristol Channel, it's absolute mayhem there, boats everywhere." By this point we were eight hours into the leg, well into the Bristol Channel, and we'd seen precisely one boat. And that boat happened to be the Waverley.

So, if you think this counts as busy, you should stay well clear of Portsmouth. That sailing ground was chaos at best, and a big part of why we gave up our Gosport berth and moved to Brixham in May 2024.

By 5pm we were SO close to Wales. The wind had picked up to 18 knots, but we were going downwind so we barely felt it. That was until (because there's always a catch right?) just as we passed Lavernock the swell picked up, hit us on the beam, and spun us around until we caught the wind again. At that exact moment I was below deck trying to rest my back, using the downtime to refresh my memory on lock protocol (there's an order to these things, you know). So when it all kicked off, I slid across the floor on my back, iPad in the air, then jumped up on deck to figure out what the hell had happened and help Rich.

He had it entirely under control. He's a pro. But yes, with 18 knot winds we probably should have had at least one reef in the main or furl in jenny (the genoa) a tad.

Rich's first lock-in

Given that up until this point I'd been the most useless sailor on board, courtesy of my continued  back issue, I put my newly gained VHF skills to use and called Barrage Control. They said we might just fit the 18:15 lock. Vessels are let in every 30 minutes, on the quarter to and quarter past the hour, so you want to time your arrival carefully to avoid getting stuck fighting the tide in the Bristol Channel while you wait.

For anyone planning a trip to Penarth, I'd highly recommend the Almanac instructions. Perfectly clear diagrams and instructions, just make sure you read it before you depart, not while you're on the approach. Otherwise, Boatfolk's own Pilotage and Approach advice are worth a look too.

So we made our way up the Wrach Channel, carefully watching our depth on Orca. This channel is dredged  regularly, so should be fine, but you never know when it was last dredged so there always that in the back of your mind. We were ready for Rich to experience his first ever lock.

Small bragging note: I've actually sailed in and out of locks before, thanks to my Competent Crew training with Commodore Yachting in Gosport. So yes, just a little reminder that I’m technically more qualified than Rich 😏

By 6pm we were fendered up and in the lock. How exciting!

Rich was in awe of the whole process, the engineering, all of it. And, true to form, he had his boat face on.

Then, to Rich's delight, there was a second lock to contend with. Thanks entirely to my excellent organisation and VHF skills, the lock into Penarth Boatfolk was waiting for us with both gates open, so we sailed straight on through.

By 6.30pm we'd followed the instructions hollered down at us from the marina office window and were berthed up for the night.

Considering Rich had pretty much solo sailed the entire leg, I was on beer dispensing duty, and poured myself a very large tequila to help numb the back pain.

By 8pm we were cleaned up and headed to the pub for dinner, partly because we were down to the dregs of our food supplies, and partly because the walk would do my back good. Motion is lotion, after all.

By 9pm, bench secured in the pub garden, drinks and dinner on order, we took in the last of the sun next to a very busy road. In hindsight, this pub was a poor choice. The food, while speedy, wasn't great, and a youngish-looking teenager rushed outside and vomited all over the patio. Nice.

And that's how our day ended. Tomorrow we'd set sail for our final stop - Portishead.

Cheeky's Stats

• Route: Clovelly to Penarth 
• Departure: 08:33 
• Arrival: 18:30 
• Distance: 60.7 nm 
• Passage Time: 9 hours 56 minutes 
• Average Speed: 6.1 knots 
• Maximum Speed: 11.3 knots 
• Average Wind Speed: 13 knots 
• Maximum Wind Gust: 25.4 knots 
• New countries visited: Wales 

Just so you know: some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Which means if you do end up buying something through a link, we earn a tiny bit of commission (at zero extra cost to you). We basically throw every spare penny straight back into fixing up Cheeky Monkey so we can keep the adventures going - and hopefully avoid sinking.