England:Bristol Channel and River Severn Estuary
From Skipper2Skipper
General Information on Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary
If you draw an imaginary line between St Govans Head (Wales) and Hartland Point, tho the East of that line starts the Bristol Channel. It is a large stretch of water, subject to very strong tidal streams, sandbanks (shifting!) and rocks. It is also subject to a formiddable south westerly swell. It is not the place to navigate if you don't have an engine and don't know what you are doing. In addition to the above hazzards, there is plenty of commercial shipping, so do watch out.
Most of the harbours are tidal and are accessible 1.5 hours onwards after High Water.
River Severn, up to Sharpness, is also fiercely tidal. However, given good weather and understanding of the tides, it is perfectly feasible to sail the entire estuary and into Bristol Channel to Bristol or Cardiff.
Between Sharpness and Bristol lie 24 miles of water Sharpness and Cardiff there are 38 miles, so do plan the passage carefully so as not to end up with 7 knots of tide against you. In terms of navigation the channel, it is not difficult, the channel is well marked, but is not possible to navigate on one tack, in fact pretty much every point of sail will be required at some stage or other. As with the whole of Bristol Channel, there are plenty of sandbanks. If you are not sure about what you are doing or have not navigated this area before, please seek help and advice from a harbour master at any of the marinas. It is best to consult a harbour master at Bristol or Sharpness.
As far as the entry into the Port of Bristol, you would have to navigate the River Avon. River Avon is a busy shipping area, so make sure you know rules of the road! The River Avon is fairly shallow, so you will need to consult the tide tables to make sure you will have enough water to get to wherever you need to get to. As a stopover anchorage you can use Portishead Pier (north of the pier), and there is also a marina which is not accessible LW+-1H
You can also hire a pilot, but that tends to be rather expensive. Consult the harbour master for help.
Harbours, Marinas and Ports
- Bristol
- Bristol City Docks Marina
- Portishead
- Burnham On Sea
- Watchet
- Ilfracombe Marina
- Swansea
- River Taw
- River Torridge
- Padstow
- Sharpness and Sharpness Channel
- Avonmouth and River Avon
- Weston Super Mare
- Bridgewater
- Watchet
- Minehead
Reading materials and publications
- A must is the "Blue Book", which is a local pilot, published by Bristol Channel Yachting Association.
- Nicholson's Ordnance Survey Guide to the Waterways. This is probably the best one to get ofr general navigation.
- 'Lundy & Irish Sea Pilot' by David Taylor, Imray, is also quite useful
- 'Bristol Channel & Severn Pilot' by Mr. P. Cumberlidge. This is probably one of the oldest and well established guides and contains a wealth of information on sailing the Bristol Channel.
