Jump to: April 13
Jump to: April 27
Jump to: June 14
Jump to: July 27
Wednesday 13 April. High pressure. Leave Liverpool Marina at 11:10 - only boat - (HW 9:51 7.9m; LW 16:38 2.2m; HW 22:17 8.1m). Mostly sunny, wind slackened off during day. Waves slight.
Jack-up rig Haven Seariser doing piling work on the dock wall near the
former Waterloo lock, north of the Cruise terminal, for the new Isle of
Man terminal:
Proceed past New Brighton (at 11:40) and through Rock Channel, following my waypoints. Then explore again the reported site of the wreck of SS Ulloa - still no sign of any significant sonar signal - confirming what I found a few years ago.
On over North Bank to He3 at 13:03 and then pass Hilbre Island.
There is a new buoy here - yellow with X top mark:
These are reported in Notices to Mariners as 4 "Oceanographic Sensors"
which were placed in 2020 for period of 12 months. Possibly associated
with plans for a tidal power lagoon along the Fflint coast near Mostyn.
[Later information: actually acoustic sensors to detect presence of
cetaceans - whales and dolphins]. This buoy is
still there: at 53 22.978N, 003 14.072W:
At 13:30 I approached the corner of the Hoyle Bank (near He4) - the seals were already established on the shelf nearest to deep water.
I calculated that I would want to take the ground about 2:30 [LW - 2 hours], so as to have time to get back to Liverpool marina by first lock. After some surveying, I found a promising spot and anchored at 1:50 with 0.7m under my keel. I was aground around 2:20 at 53°22.034N, 3°14.246W on firm sand. The Hoyle Bank edge has continued to move south for years, and this year it is again further south - so my last year's waypoints were no longer useful.
The seals at rest, with Hilbre beyond, from my anchorage:
As the sea receded, I hopped overboard to check the anode, remove some barnacles and check the stern gear. It was quite warm for the time of year - with light wind.
Marlin aground:
Stern gear all in order:
The gutter along the south edge of the Hoyle Bank at LW (2.2 metres
above CD):
Depths [in metres above CD; distances in metres] in anchorage area
that I used: (+ marks previous years' positions - now encroached by sand).
I refloated at 6:13, upped the anchor I put out to keep me in position as I refloat, and set off back to Liverpool.
Hilbre looking colourful in the evening sun
Lock into Liverpool Marina at 8:30 - only boat.
Distance run, mostly at tick-over, 29.1nm.
Wednesday 27 April. High pressure. Leave Liverpool Marina at 11:35 - only boat, but had to wait for 3 incoming vessels, - (HW 9:39 8.5m; LW 16:38 1.7m; HW 22:18 8.5m). Mostly sunny, light wind. Waves slight.
Giant floating crane [Lara 1] working on 12 Quays in-river berth at Birkenhead.
MSC Pilar alongside the in-river Seaforth container terminal
Reach New Brighton at 12:00 and head out through Rock Channel.
Perch at end of groyne and Lighthouse (disused).
Follow waypoints Chip, Corner, then head for HE3 buoy (at 1:07),
Hilbre Point (at 1:20) and pass seals on the Bank near He4:
I decided to explore further in to the Dee estuary - to check access
to the channel up to Fflint. I intially tried to go through East Bar -
passing my waypoint Deegut, but this seemed rather shallow. I passed the
mid-channel bank (which has continued to grow in recent years) on the
east side instead (just SE of Dee1 buoy) - and managed to cross to the main channel
successfully. The banks, and channel between them, have changed significantly since my previous
visits. See chart of my depths on this trip - as metres from CD (half tide is
5m above CD approximately).
After this excursion into the Dee, I returned, with favourable current now, to near He4 to dry out over low water. I ran aground at about LW -2 hours, which would give me time to get back to Liverpool for first lock.
At 2:23, I was aground at 53 22.053N, 3 14.139W. This is on the edge
of the "shelf" that lies south of the Hoyle Bank. It is far enough away
from the Bank that the seals are not disturbed. The only drawback is that
it is exposed to the east - so less sheltered than the spot I used 2
weeks earlier. My tracks (from this trip and previous one) near the location:
After a siesta, I hopped overboard to touch up the wooden strips on
the outside of the hull. The ground was firm sand with an inch or two
of silty mud on top. There were a lot of razor shells around - and I was
surprised to see one sticking up [ensis minor, about 150mm long]. I
thought it must be dead, but on trying to pull it up, I met with
determined resistance as the shell used its powerful foot to try to get
back down. Looking around, I saw many more half out. This surprised me
- the usual way to extract razor shells is either to put salt on their
hole, or to slice through the sand with a knife to stop them retreating.
Maybe the ground gets hard [rock, clay, shipwreck?] about 3 inches down so
they can't easily get fully into the sand.
I have never seen them "half out" before [here surrounded by sand
masonry worms]:
Marlin aground
A flock of common gulls near my drying location:
At 6:00, I refloated and headed back to Liverpool. Passing He3 at 6:33, with a seal resting on it. Then pass waypoint Corner at 7:20 - having crossed the North Bank with less than a metre under my keel.
As I approached central Liverpool the Isle of Man ferry Mannanan was leaving:
Clear night - sunset (at about 8:30) visible.
Lock into Liverpool Marina at 8:25 - only boat.
Distance run, mostly at tick-over, 31 nm.
Tuesday 14 June. High pressure. Leave Liverpool Marina at 13:45 - only boat, but had to wait for some resolution of manning of 9.46pm lock. - (HW 11:33 9.3m; LW 18:33 1.2m; HW 23:58 9.4m). Mostly sunny, light northery wind. Waves slight.
Huge cruise ship Mein Schiff 3 (also Mannanan) berthed at Pier Head
With a strong outgoing tide and a northery force 2-3, it was quite lumpy in the Mersey, but got calmer after entering the Rock Channel (at 2:14). Follow my usual waypoints - Corner - He3 (at 3:15)- Hilbre Point(at 3:30).
I planned to dry out in a similar position to the pevious trip (which had LW of 1.7m, compared to 1.2m on this trip). I calculated that LW - 2:15 would be a good time to beach - and duly ran aground at 4:15.
Seals on the Hoyle Bank
Marlin aground with West Kirby beyond.
The ground near my drying position was a bit more muddy than in April - so it was a bit more mucky to swap my anode. I also explored the razor shell habitat. There were a lot around - detectible from their squirts of water (they are known as spoots in Scotland). There were fewer sticking out than last time, and by disturbing them, I discovered that they can fully retreat: so I have no idea why they were half out.
At 7:45, I refloated and headed back to Liverpool. Passing He3 at 8:20, corner at 9:08 - having crossed the North Bank with least depth 1.5 metres.
Clear night - sunset (at about 9:30) visible.
Lock into Liverpool Marina at 10:00 - only boat.
Distance run, mostly at tick-over, over 24 nm.
Wednesday 27 July. High pressure. Leave Liverpool Marina at 12:40 - only boat - (HW 11:24 8.2m; LW 17:51 2.4m; HW 23:41 8.5m). Partly sunny, wind 2-3 from north. Waves 1 ft, inceasing to 0.5m at Liv Bar later. Some light rain in evening.
New Isle of Man ferry terminal under construction.
Quite lumpy in Mersey - outgoing tide against N wind.
Container vessel Maria Clara on Seaforth river berth.
Enter Rock Channel 1:12. Some waves from N - so MARLIN rolling a bit. Reach He3 by 2:28 and Hilbre Point at 2:45. I wanted to dry out on the sheltered S side of the Hoyle Bank - refloating in time to lock back at Liverpool. As a guide LW - 2 hours is safe. So I explored the area - near the seals and He4 to find a suitable spot. There were several vessels already aground: 2 yachts and a motor boat [they had come from within the Dee - Heswall, Thurstaston and West Kirby]. I finally ran aground at 3:28.
My survey of the channels on the SE side of the Hoyle bank (2022 data only, disregard
white splodge)
Seals on the Hoyle bank
Time to grease the sea-cocks and remove a few barnacles.
Marlin and other vessels aground
Refloat at 7:35 and head back to Liverpool. Again waves from the north caused Marlin to roll as she headed around the north Wirral coast. Crossing the North Bank near my waypoint Corner was shallow - 1.3m under my keel at 8:50.
Lock into Liverpool Marina at 9:35 - with one other vessel - a yacht.
Distance run, mostly at tick-over, 28 nm.
If higher resolution versions of the above images are wanted, please contact me. All information given in good faith, but please do not rely on it.
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