Category: Sailing Directions

Caernarfon Notice to Mariners 19/2025

Notices to Mariners, Safety, Sailing, Sailing Directions

Mariners are advised of the current positions of the Aids to Navigation listed below.

Yellow Highlight =Change of position since last
Aid to NavigationDepth
(5 metres off correct
side of AtoN,
adjusted to CD).		LatitudeLongitudeLight
LLANDDWYN ISLAND
SW ROCK BUOY
S CARDINAL		8.5m53ᵒ 07’.89 N004ᵒ25’.15 WUnlit
LLANDDWYN ISLAND
NE ROCK BUOY
S CARDINAL		2.02m53ᵒ 08’.04 N004ᵒ24’.47 WUnlit
SAFE WATER MARK7.64m53ᵒ 06’.95 N004ᵒ25′.14 WL Fl.10s
C 1 STARBOARD5.38m53ᵒ 06’.96 N004ᵒ24’.71 WFl.G.5s
C 2 PORT0.34m53ᵒ 07’.12N004ᵒ24’.71 WFl.R.10s
C 3 STARBOARD1.7m53ᵒ 07’.23 N004ᵒ 23’.88 WQ.G
C 4 PORT1.8m53ᵒ 07’.12 N004ᵒ22’.72 WQ.R
GRAMPIAN CASTLE
S CARDINAL		N/A53ᵒ 07’.26 N004ᵒ 22’.96 WVQ(6)+LFl.10s
C 5 STARBOARD1.93m53ᵒ 07’.19 N004ᵒ23’.37 WFl.G(2).5s
C 6 PORT2.3m53ᵒ 07’.16 N004ᵒ21’.91 WFl.R.5s
MUSSEL BANK PERCH5.59m53ᵒ 07’.32 N004ᵒ20’.92 WFl.R(2).5s
C 8 PORT3.76m53ᵒ 07’.63N004ᵒ19’.43 WFl.R.3s
C 10 PORT2.1m53ᵒ 07’.95 N004ᵒ18’.22 WQ.R
C 7 STARBOARD2.3m53ᵒ 08’.14 N004ᵒ18’.13 WQ.G
C 12 PORT3.03m53ᵒ 08’.50 N004ᵒ17’.38 WFl(2)R.10s
C 9 STARBOARD3.58m53ᵒ 08’.57 N004ᵒ16’.88 WFl.G.2s
CHANGE BUOY
S CARDINAL		2.19m on station
6.09m in channel		53ᵒ 08’.81 N004ᵒ16’.72 WVQ(6)+LFl.10s
SEIONT RIVER
BIFURCATION		-1.21m53ᵒ 08’.55 N004ᵒ16’.79 WUnlit
TRAETH GWYLLT
STARBOARD		6.04m53ᵒ 09’.29 N004ᵒ16’.08 WFl(2)G.10s
C 13 STARBOARD3.74m53ᵒ 09’.54 N004ᵒ15’.89 WFl(4)G.10s
C 11 STARBOARD4.2m53ᵒ 09’.88 N004ᵒ15’.63 WFl(2)G.5s
C 14 PORT7.38m53ᵒ 10’.23 N004ᵒ15’.41 WFl.R.5s
C TEMP53ᵒ 10’.53 N004ᵒ14’.67 WFL(2)R.5s
C 9 STARBOARD
PORT DINORWIC		1.29m53ᵒ 10.69 N004ᵒ13’.81 WFL(3)G.10s

David John O’Neill
Harbwr Feistr Caernarfon Harbour Master

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New North Deep Buoy Positions

News, Notices to Mariners, Sailing, Sailing Directions

We have had the following email form the Harbour Master regarding the new position of the buoys for the North Deeps new route.

We have now moved the North Deep marks to the co-ordinates listed below to mark the new channel. We have also rigged two ‘race marks’ with yellow beach marker buoys:

NDI 53 18′.370 N 03 50′.920 W
NDM 53 18′.662 N 03 51′.659 W
NDO 53 18′.864 N 03 52′.208 W

Race marks

53 19′.180 N 03 55′.845 W
53 18′.626 N 03 53′.012 W

We will issue a local notice to mariners.

I would be grateful for any feedback on the positioning of the marks.

Many thanks
Matt

This is not official yet and should be used with caution as the North Deep was used. Initial feedback indicates that there is more water in this channel than the old North Deep. If you could feedback any of your own comments to me I will summarise them as a club and pass them on to the harbour master.

Steve (NWCC Sailing Captain)

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Gwennol’s Cruise, 2014

Members Articles, Sailing, Sailing Directions

Our boat, Gwennol, is a 23 year old, 31 foot Jeaneau Sun Odyssey, with Yanmar 2GM20 engine. The fuel capacity is 10gall, plus a 5 gall jerry can, say 70 litres in all.

The crew, with main responsibilities were Pat Tyson-Jones (sails and chef), Pete Bland (electronic navigation), Gwyn Jones (engine, and general worrying). Three is the ideal crew for  this boat- four would cause too much congestion on a long trip

On this trip, unless conditions were ideal, we preferred to maintain at least 5 kts » Read more

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Rock Channel

Sailing, Sailing Directions

The Rock Channel is a useful half tide access to Liverpool for small boats (which includes large yachts) as opposed to ships.  This route can cut 5 miles off the journey and can also be a lot calmer in my experience than the swell you can experience at the entrance to the main channel.

I’ve put the following two links in which you can choose between. The first link is older but has some nice chartlets and a historical article about the Rock channel.  I followed this route with success on the way back from the tall ships race and never had less than 4m under the boat 2 hours before high tide.  The depths were similar to our standard trip in and out of Conwy.

Liverpool Yacht Club Guide to the Rock Channel can be accessed from this link. Updated 2010.

Alternative guide at Chris Michael’s page on liv.ac.uk can be accessed from this link. Updated 2018.

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Conwy Channel approached soon after low water

Sailing Directions

The following report by our Commodore Tony Mead could be a help for boats that are judging when to enter the channel.

At the mid point between numbers 1 and 2 buoys the depth of water as I approached was 5.4 mtrs, With this depth at this point I never had less that 1.2 mtrs beneath my keel at any time on the approach to the Harbour Entrance. The soundings at the shallow points were, 2A Buoy – 6.2 mtrs. 6 (scabs) Buoy – 3.2 mtrs. Rounding the Perch Beacon 2.8 mtrs (shallowest point), the best water after rounding the perch inbound is found by keeping slightly up to the Morfa side of the channel until abeam of the final Port Hand Buoy near the CYC Start Line.

Bearing in mind that my sounder reads beneath the Transducer Ruby, touches bottom at a reading of 1.2 mtrs. I could therefore have entered safely, with a margin for error, on the flood with a sounding of 4.4 mtrs between 1 and 2 buoys. this would have given me .6 mtrs under my keel on rounding the Perch. The predicted height of tide, at the 1745 (BST) time that I started in at from the mid point between 1 and 2 buoys, was 2.8 mtrs.

Needless to say all of the above should only be used with caution and is totally dependant on boats that do so maintaining the correct ground track between the marks and not allowing themselves to be carried off it by cross tidal flows.

As an add on to the above, the sand bar over the tunnel, that extends from the Deganwy Marina approach seaward port hand buoy towards the Aberconwy School playing fields has migrated away from the buoy towards the school and, the best water to cross it is found close to the marina approach buoy.

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