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Sunday 5 February 2012

St Annes Head

The sketch above is of St Annes Head the entrance to the Milford Haven waterway. The largest natural harbour in the UK. I did the sketch as we came in to the "Heads" on our yacht. It was quite calm and we were under power. If it was not calm then we would be in the wrong place as this is shallow water and becomes very "lumpy " with short sharp seas in many conditions of the tide depending on the wind strength and direction.
To confess we did make a mistake going out of the Heads when we first moved around to sail the Haven. We were going out to Skomer Island and cut across the corner of the Heads. The wind was going in one direction and the tide in the opposite direction.  The seas were short and we were getting wet and very uncomfortable. After about 20 minutes we took the plunge and turned around and went back the way we came for another 20 minutes little realising we had all but cleared the shallows. Another couple of minutes and we would have been clear,duh!.
We then took the main channel and got out to Skomer which was well worth the trip to see the puffins and seals in the anchorage of South Haven. Consulting the chart again it was embarrassing to see the shallows clearly marked. We were never in any danger as there was plenty of water to navigate in but it should have been obvious it would not be pleasant sailing in those conditions.
Still you live and learn.
Today I am doing some work in the gallery and then watching Wales v. Ireland.

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