Dear Joan,

ARNSIDE

I’ve been a member of Arnside Sailing Club for over 20 years, and although I do not sail my own boats there much, I have crewed regularly on Morecambe Bay in small cruisers and day boats.

The ebb can be very rough with a real risk of being swept out to sea should an emergency such as capsize or engine failure occur. I agree with many of Bill Sweet’s comments on the place, but with one important caveat: namely that sailing to Arnside on the flood is potentially just as difficult as sailing out on the ebb. Let me explain:

One cannot sail in or out of Arnside except on the top of the tide, and even then you need a minimum height of about 5m (Barrow) to get comfortably over the bar. If sailing into Arnside it is essential to arrive within HW ±1 hour*, not least because the currents either side of this time slot are too fast for any dinghy to sail against them. Local lore, endorsed by Cedric Robinson, the Queen’s Guide to the rights-of-way across the Kent Sands, has it that the leading edge of the tide (or bore) spreads across the sands at the speed of a galloping horse. An equestrian friend tells me this is 15 to 20 mph. People caught out in the middle on foot have drowned, being unable to out-run it. The water which follows immediately behind this leading edge flows equally fast. It is essential not to allow one’s desire to reach Arnside before the turn of the tide to lure one into this region of fast shallow water.

If one sets off up the bay from Morecambe early on the flood, all goes well until one encounters banks which have not yet covered. It is very easy at this point to get misty-eyed about Riddle of the Sands and Swatchways etc, and go drifting up one of the channels between them. In my experience this option should be treated with great caution. It is far safer to anchor until the banks are covered.

If, however, you do go on, you will be swept rapidly up the channel until the water over-tops the enclosing banks. You will then be entering the fast-flowing water behind the leading edge of the tide. Heavy boats (Drascombes) have been swept out of channels and rammed sideways across the banks on their bilges by torrents of water not even deep enough to float them. There is a real risk in some areas of being driven over training walls and other obstructions. The only escape from this situation is to ride to a big anchor for an hour or two until the dangerous period passes and the strong currents, and standing waves which follow, begin to die down. It is a situation best not got into in the first place!

On the subject of Roa Island, the North-West DCA group held rallies here at one time, but interest tended to fade after the year when Gerald Harrison’s Lugger was comprehensively ‘pooped’ by a following sea in the Walney Channel. Morecambe Bay is a wonderful wild place which is enjoyed by a small band of local sailors with a fund of hard-earned local knowledge, but it can be a seriously hazardous and frightening place if you do not know it, and find yourself there at the wrong time.

HW Arnside = HW Barrow + 30 mins. DC